American Import

Remember that dangling chad from a few blog posts ago, that Bueller in absentia? Well for those with weak stomachs, worry no more, a flat has been secured. Actually a house, to be more specific, near the famous Abbey Road studios and crosswalk. The latter of which will most assuredly be the subject matter of a digitally captured moment wherein I imitate, with my three closest friends, the iconic Beatle's album cover-- my own piece of rock n' roll kitsch. That being said, while there are few Brits as recognizable to Americans as the shaggy haired quartet... how many young Americans actually think of John, Paul, George, and Ringo as BEING British? It is no secret that Americans have a tendency to misappropriate cultural phenomena or perhaps more accurately, to conveniently forget their origins. And given that there is an entire generation of Beatle's "fans" who have yet to experience the simple joys of driving a car or completing tax forms, the question of cultural ownership remains.

Since 1776 when a young, upstart nation, severed its political umbilical chord from the motherland, how many ideas/celebrities/events have we unapologetically lifted from our English brethren?

Here is what I've come up with so far:

1) Cadbury Easter Eggs- Now you know why you could never place that Bunny's accent.

2) The Office- Before there was Michael Scott there was David Brent. Which makes you wonder, why the name change? Would the name David not work for American audiences?

3) Robin Hood- Disney, animated Fox love, and Kevin Costner- slap a Made in the USA sticker on it.

4) James Bond- Ironically only 2 out of the 6 actors to play James Bond were English. We're just waiting for the James Bond: Blowing Shit Up version starring Vin Diesel to officially call him our own.

5) Bulldogs- English, American, French, it doesn't matter. Unless it is wearing a bowler hat, it is American. We also have the rights to cute underbites in general.

6) A Christmas Carol- Once the Muppets got involved, we owned it. Sorry mid-19th century England but you still have coal, factories, and cholera to call your own.

Please feel free to add...