Catlin Castan
America and Britain: Reflection Through Contrast
While
reading Bill Bryson’s, I’m a Stranger
Here Myself, I immediately identified a similar theme that we have been
addressing all semester long. Specifically, in continuation of last week’s
class discussion, Bill uses travel, a change in scenery, as a way of
highlighting his major points of cultural emphasis. By showing us the British
and American cultures side by side, Bill offers us the chance to explore both
countries by way of contrast. Interestingly though, as we begin to analyze the “grey
areas” that exist between British and American culture, we begin to notice
things about our own culture that would have otherwise gone unnoticed; Bryson
gives us the opportunity to experience and understand our culture through a
different lens. This same moment of individual epiphany—our departure and
reunion with our cultural identity--also occurs when encountering humor and
travel.
On
page 11, Bryson highlights a major cultural difference between Britain and
America through the mundane comparison of marketing strategies for the respective
cultures/audiences. Specifically, he references a commercial for a cold relief
capsule and explains that while British commercials “would promise no more than
that it might make you feel a little better . . . A commercial for the selfsame
product in America would guarantee total, instantaneous relief”(11). Here, we
notice that Bryson—while being hilarious—allows us to both reflect and laugh as
we start to see the absurdity within our own culture. By use of humor and a
rather benign attack on our irrational and unrealistic expectations as a
country, Bryson is able to ignite our curiosity about our other cultural
shortcomings; He encourages us to think about other instances where we may be
acting absurdly outside of our awareness.
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