Home > How They See Us
‘High School Musical’ not at the head of its class
It’s hard to believe that in a country like Britain, where pundits constantly lament American cultural influences, there could be so much hoopla over this week’s UK premiere of “High School Musical 3.” But advance box office sales have been at record levels. Indeed there is so much hoopla that the London Times newspaper felt compelled to run a list of the top eight musicals of all time that are set in school.
According to reporter Sarah Ebner, the top of the list isn’t Grease… but…
1) Fame “I can’t help it. I know that I’ll probably get lynched (figuratively, if not literally) for not putting Grease first, but I absolutely loved Fame — the film and the spin-off series. The soundtrack was fantastic, the characters seemed real, and the film was a perfect mixture of energy, glamour and grit.” 2) Grease 3) Hairspray 4) High School Musical 3 “The latest installment in the Disney phenomenon knows just how to push all the right buttons. It’s got a real heart, catchy soundtrack, brilliantly choreographed dance numbers, and just enough drama to worry the youngsters a little, but not too much.” And it features teen heartthrob Zac Efron. 5) Babes in Arms 6) School of Rock 7) Rock N Roll High School 8) Footloose
And there you have it. The top eight musicals set in schools, according to the Times. (Giving this some thought, these might be just about the only musicals ever set in schools.)
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
Some Europeans are gloating over America’s economic crisis
“The End of Arrogance,” chided Germany’s Der Spiegel newspaper. “America Loses its Dominant Economic Role.” It seems that America’s financial crisis — which of course is also the world’s crisis — has at least some in Europe laughing all the way to the bank.
The article, written and reported by several reporters, said that a new America is on display these days — “a country that no longer trusts its old values and its elites even less: the politicians, who failed to see the problems on the horizon, and the economic leaders, who tried to sell a fictitious world of prosperity to Americans.”
Also on display, according to the article, is the end of arrogance. “The Americans are now paying the price for their pride. Gone are the days when the U.S. could go into debt with abandon, without considering who would end up footing the bill. And gone are the days when it could impose its economic rules of engagement on the rest of the world, rules that emphasized profit above all else — without ever considering that such returns cannot be achieved by doing business in a respectable way.”
Of course Der Spiegel isn’t the only newspaper that’s gloating at U.S. misfortune. London’s Guardian newspaper also wrote this week that the global financial crisis will see the U.S. falter in the same way the Soviet Union did when the Berlin Wall came down. “The era of American dominance is over,” wrote John Gray.
He said that a historic geopolitical shift has occurred. “The era of American global leadership, reaching back to the Second World War, is over,” he said.
And he seemed pretty pleased about it.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
The end of American capitalism as we know it?
This looks ominous. “The World As We Know It Is Going Down.” That’s one of the headlines in Germany’s Der Spiegel newspaper. It refers to the writer’s view that the U.S. financial crisis is signaling an end to U.S. capitalism as we’ve known it.
“The only thing that is certain is that the era of the unbridled free-market economy in the U.S. has passed — at least for now. The near nationalization of AIG, America’s largest insurance company, with an $85 billion cash infusion — a bill footed by taxpayers — was a staggering move.”
Another article in the same newspaper says that the rest of the world shouldn’t have to bear the burden for America’s lapses. U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is asking other countries to help buy up bad U.S. debt. The U.S. government is putting up $700 billion in taxpayer money in the hopes that the measure might restore stability in the financial system. Some countries are planning to help. But the German government has answered this call quickly and clearly: no.
The article quotes various German economists who are critical of the American rescue package for a number of reasons. Some don’t believe the plan is a well-balanced one, arguing that the government is only buying bad risks and, in doing so, nationalizing the losses. Other say the U.S. government should be more focused on passing regulations so that this type of crisis never happens again.
No matter what, many Europeans feel that — since so many of America’s bad loans were sold abroad — they’ve already had to bear enough of the burden.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
Europeans promote Obama over McCain
The European media is doing all it can to try to persuade Americans to vote for their fave candidate — Barack Obama.
On Wednesday, Michael Tomasky, the editor of Guardian America, called John McCain the biggest liar in modern history. He says that the same Wall Street that McCain wants to crack down on “is not only the place he’s never wanted to regulate in his career but is also the place that he also thought just recently should be handling Americans’ pension accounts.”
Also in the Guardian, columnist Jonathan Freedland recently warned that “the world’s verdict will be harsh if America rejects the man it yearns for.” He said that an America that disdains Obama because of his global support risks turning anti-Bush feelings into something far worse.
He warns: “Until now, anti-Americanism has been exaggerated and much misunderstood: outside a leftist hardcore, it has mostly been anti-Bushism, opposition to this specific administration. But if McCain wins in November, that might well change. Suddenly Europeans and others will conclude that their dispute is with not only one ruling clique, but Americans themselves. For it will have been the American people, not the politicians, who will have passed up a once-in-a-generation chance for a fresh start - a fresh start the world is yearning for.”
Germany’s Der Spiegel newspaper also cautions that McCain has moved worryingly to the right. It praises Obama for shoring up his foreign policy credentials with the choice of Joe Biden.
Foreigners hope their approval might sway American voters to cast their ballot for Obama.
Permalink | Comments (4) | Post your comment |
Mexico captivated, worried by Palin pick
Most Mexican commentators believe Palin’s pick has rejuvenated McCain’s campaign and was designed to woo white women voters. “Palin…has transformed the campaign and taken out the boring and tedious parts,” writes Concepcion Badillo in the Mexico City daily La Cronica. But Badillo also points to perhaps Palin’s most troubling aspect south of the border: the fact that she only got a passport last year and has little foreign policy experience.
In a column entitled, “Keep a careful eye on Palin,” Milenio columnist Fernanda Gonzalez wonders, “This is the woman who would be in charge of American foreign policy?…Wouldn’t a better option be Joe Biden, who presides over the Foreign Relations Committee in the American Senate?”
Palin is also taking flak for her frequent references to religion, which pundits say recalls George W. Bush, whose reputation is thoroughly in tatters in Mexico. Jose Francisco Gomez Hinojosa, writing for the Noreste newspaper, mocks Palin, saying “She also sees a divine mandate in the construction of a controversial pipeline in the south of Alaska that’s been severely criticized by all the environmental organizations in the U.S. For Palin then, God is on her side, meaning (she believes) the American position that considers the U.S. to be the policeman of the world, the one who decides what happens in every latitude, is sent from God.”
Palin’s personal life has also fascinated the Mexican chattering class: The Seminario newspaper says her family drama is “worthy of a Televisa telenovela.” In Reforma, Jorge Alcocer says “The American electoral show is entering its final season and it will be better than any movie or TV series.”
Mexico remains firmly in the Obama camp, with recent polls showing him with a 54 to 16 advantage over McCain.
Permalink | Comments (3) | Post your comment |
Here’s something you don’t see every day …
A British writer asking his countrymen: “Why can’t we be more like the Yanks?”
In today’s Telegraph newspaper, Daniel Hannan argues that British politics should be more like America’s. He said Americans are fortunate in their optimism. “Theirs is the political culture that produced West Wing, predicated on the idea that even the people you disagree with are patriots,” he says.
Hannan also admires the fact that both McCain and Obama have had to prove themselves through the primary process. “Whoever wins, the U.S. will be well and ably led,” he says. “By way of contrast, imagine how Gordon Brown would have fared at such meetings.”
All in all, Hannan says that the United States is luck in its political system. “If Britain had a more Jeffersonian democracy — by which I mean dispersed powers, localism, the direct election of public officials, recall referendums and, above all, open primaries — we should live in a happier and more prosperous state,” he claims.
Of course Hannan’s column prompted a flood of comments from readers on the newspaper’s Web site, begging to be spared from any American influence.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
Looking for a few good men …
America is no longer home to “macho men,” forcing Hollywood to look to Britain to play all the tough guys in today’s big movies, according to today’s London Telegraph newspaper.
While the U.S. film industry once was dominated by men’s men such as Steve McQueen and Robert Mitchum, today’s leading men include the “fey” Johnny Depp and the “goofy and boyish” Brendan Fraser.
As a result, directors are looking across the Atlantic and to brawny British actors including Gerard Butler, star of the historical war epic 300. At the same time, the star of the year’s highest-grossing film, The Dark Knight, is Britain’s Christian Bale as a brooding Batman who dispatches his enemies with an array of martial arts skills.
Indeed the only U.S. actors apparently still capable of playing tough guys are now on the wrong side of 50 — Bruce Willis, Harrison Ford, and Samuel L. Jackson.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment |
Two Southern gems charm a Brit …
London’s Telegraph newspaper has sent a reporter to check out the tourist appeal of Charleston, South Carolina, and Savannah, Georgia.
And the verdict? Overwhelmingly positive.
Reporter Nigel Richardson called Savannah “one of the finest American cities to walk round.” He said Charleston appeared both “beautiful and affluent.”
In general, he said he “loved walking in Savannah and Charleston, spotting, through tropical tangle, the ghostly cousins of a Chelsea mews or a Brighton seafront terrace, reading heritage plaques on reconditioned facades and visitors’ books in hallways that smelled of floor polish.”
In the reporter’s view, here were the top sights to check out:
In Savannah the Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, admission $4. The First African Baptist Church is at 23 Montgomery Street. Tours Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m., admission free but donation appreciated.
Gullah Grub is on St. Helena Island at 877 Sea Island Parkway. The Penn Center Historic District is signposted off Sea Island Parkway. A museum tells the story of the school for freed slaves.
In Charleston the Aiken-Rhett House is at 48 Elizabeth St. Al Miller’s Sites and Insights Tour: the Black History/Porgy and Bess Tour costs $13 for one hour, $18 for two hours.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
Does American count in the Olympics medal count?
The headline says it all: America Refuses To Accept Defeat In Olympic Medal Count.
For days newspaper reporters around the world have been yammering on about how the United States is the only nation in the world that ranks countries based on total number of medals — and not on total number of gold medals.
On Monday the London Times newspaper said that the recent Olympics were sensational, with China celebrating its ultimate aim of heading the Olympic medals table for the first time. Indeed everyone was celebrating — except those in America, where people believe that Team USA remains the main force in world sport.
The paper said: “The race for the Olympic title is measured in medals, it just depends on which medals you consult. The IOC issues its league table based on the number of golds won, which gives China the honors, but then admits that there is no official system in place to decide who is top dog. So the American public is reading tables counting the total number of medals, including silver and bronze, won at the Games. On that measure, the U.S. keep the whip hand over the home nation.”
However, the paper said that there’s no denying that the Olympics belonged to China in every sense. In Beijing, China contested almost every event and, even where they could not win medals, showed signs that they will be a formidable force in London in 2012. Like Australia, who sank from fourth in Athens to sixth in Beijing on the IOC medals table, the U.S. will have to accept that the rest of the world is catching up fast and that they will not be able to flex their sporting muscles for much longer.
The paper said: “The U.S. may feign ignorance, but there is a new Olympic order led by China, whichever league table you read.”
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
A nation of racist, gun-selling, unhealthy polygamists?
America is a nation of polygamists that sold large piles of weapons to Saddam Hussein and whose citizens are not entitled to emergency medical care.
For the launch of a new pro-America Web site www.AmericaInTheWorld.com this week, a special opinion poll of nearly 2,000 British citizens was conducted. It was startling to see just how little they know about their closest ally.
For example, 58 percent believe polygamy is legal in parts of the United States. (It’s not.) More than 80 percent believes the United States sold Saddam more than one-quarter of his weapons. And many see the United States as a racist society — much more racist than Europe.
The good news is that this new Web site, launched by “a few London-based friends of America,” is designed to make the case that the United States is fundamentally a good nation. “America isn’t a perfect nation but it’s not had a fair press in recent times,” the site says. Amen to that. The group — British Conservative Leader David Cameron will be at the site’s formal launch party — rejects both American isolationism and anti-Americanism.
And tomorrow — Aug. 20 — the group launches a two-minute YouTube video entitled “A World Without The American Soldier.” Check it out.
Latest comments
Let’s be sure and ignore the opinions of foreigners because WE’RE AMERICAN’S AND WE DON’T NEED NOBODY CAUSE WE CAN DO IT ALL OURSELVES…WE ARE GOD!! Nevermind the fact that they are making a very valid point. As for Socialism…why
... read the full comment by Stephanie | Comment on Europeans promote Obama over McCain Read Europeans promote Obama over McCain
When the rest of the world can take care of itself without running to America every time it hits a speedbump, then MAYBE we will listen to their opinion. In the meantime, they can keep yapping all they want — but THEY don’t vote.
And,
... read the full comment by DB | Comment on Europeans promote Obama over McCain Read Europeans promote Obama over McCain
Sooooo. in addition to listening to the army of liberal “talking heads” in the US,, Americans are suppose to also take the unsolicited advice of European “talking heads” also. Thanks but no thank to socialism
... read the full comment by dittohead | Comment on Europeans promote Obama over McCain Read Europeans promote Obama over McCain
Why is this story……even a story…..bet Castro supports Obama, too.
... read the full comment by dittohead | Comment on Europeans promote Obama over McCain Read Europeans promote Obama over McCain