Books, Arts & Manners: Big Bad Brits (and Other Myths)

MEDIA people are different, if not from you or me, then from most Americans. They tend to be upper middle class and, if they are in positions of influence, to be Baby Boomers, i.e., between the ages of 35 and 55. Their politics and their values are influenced more by their generational experience than by anything else.

You can see these Boomer values in various ways in movies and on television, but they are most clearly revealed in today’s often bizarre ethnic and sexual casting conventions. The identity of the villain in particular says a lot about the human qualities the entertainment culture considers especially bad: things like uptightness and fatness. Of course, these days the industry is very much aware that there is good stereotyping and bad stereotyping. Given that “entertainment product” is one of post-Cold War America’s biggest and most influential exports, the assumptions behind the distinction are well worth unpacking.

JF

About the Author

Jonathan Foreman

Mr. Foreman, a writer at large for Standpoint magazine, is based in London and New Delhi.

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MEDIA people are different, if not from you or me, then from most Americans. They tend to be upper middle class and, if they are in positions of influence, to be Baby Boomers, i.e., between the ages of 35 and 55. Their politics and their values are influenced more by their generational experience than by anything else.

You can see these Boomer values in various ways in movies and on television, but they are most clearly revealed in today’s often bizarre ethnic and sexual casting conventions. The identity of the villain in particular says a lot about the human qualities the entertainment culture considers especially bad: things like uptightness and fatness. Of course, these days the industry is very much aware that there is good stereotyping and bad stereotyping. Given that “entertainment product” is one of post-Cold War America’s biggest and most influential exports, the assumptions behind the distinction are well worth unpacking.