This is a post I have been interested in writing for a while as someone who loves music, movies, and television. Having been living in another country I have of course been introduced to many kinds of new artists, shows, and films that I would never have otherwise come to know, and I have to say that I am in love with English media! Starting with their music.

Music here in the U.K is similar to in the states, but there seems to be less rap and hip-hop in their top charts. It seems the trend is more towards pop, dance, alternative, and folk here. Many popular artists from the U.K are known in America such as Adele, One Direction, Jessie J, and more recently Ed Sheeran, but there are plenty of amazing artists that are fairly unknown in the American music industry. One of my personal favorites would be Olly Murs, who was the runner-up on the English version of X-Factor in 2009. I am constantly listening to his new album while writing essays or cleaning my room or anytime really!

This one is always on repeat in my head:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5w4N3pKnQw&w=560&h=315]

Of course there are plenty of great artists here that are little known in the states such as Wiley, Robbie Williams, Rudimental, and Swedish House Mafia among others. I will add some video links at the end of the post with top songs from each of these artists. I think it is really interesting how American media easily penetrates through other cultures across Europe, most likely because we have a mass media culture that is a driving force in the world of music, movies, and television. Many of the big artists in America are popular in the U.K as well like Rhianna, Bruno Mars, P!NK, Pitbull, and Taylor Swift, but England holds its own in terms of having great artists who produce great music.

On to movies, or as the English say, films. This is the area where I feel like the U.K and U.S are most similar. There is huge cross over in terms of films, the most recent example I can think of being Skyfall, the new James Bond movie. Obviously an English film series that has had huge success in the states. Another example of this would be Harry Potter, a major English film series that is universally popular. At the same time though there are English films that are essentially unheard of in America. Two very popular ones that I was made to watch by my friends upon arrival were Snatch, and Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. Both are action comedies that are hugely popular in the U.K, even though both are somewhat dated. England certainly loves it’s comedy, probably because there is so much banter and sarcasm in its culture, so films like Simon Pegg’s Shaun of the dead and Hot Fuzz are very in demand as well. All movies that are big in America are also big in the U.K  so anything you might see at a theater in the states you would definitely find here as well, in addition to the English films.

As far as television goes it seems that like their films, the English love comedy. The most watched shows from what I can gather are sitcoms and reality shows. There are a few English programs that have gained popularity in the U.S such as Doctor Who or Downton Abbey, but it surprises me how many great shows there are that have not reached the states. This may be because many times Hollywood tries to make its own versions of popular English shows like The Office, Being Human, or The Inbetweeners. The American version of the office has done pretty well for itself, but generally great shows here in the U.K tend to flop after being re-done in the states. One of my personal favorites that I have discovered is Fresh Meat- A program about a group of uni students who are thrown together as housemates and the situations they go through. It is an absolutely hilarious show and I can’t wait for it to come out again every week. One fun fact about the show is that there is a character named Oregon! How cool is that?! Here is the season 2 (or as they say here, series 2) trailer:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_xUjrpwqyA&w=560&h=315]

Well there you have it-my assessment of the differences in Media between the U.K and the states. Media is such a powerful force in today’s world, particularly for my generation and those after it, so it is interesting to see the differences in music, film, and television across cultures.

I hope you are well, and let me know in the comments what is popular in the country you are studying in!!

Summer

P.S- Here are the other top songs I said I would post from above if you are interested:

Robbie Williams- Candy
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtOV7bp-gys&w=560&h=315]

Wiley- Can You Hear Me
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbQaCCb_Gzc&w=560&h=315]

Rudimental-Feel The Love
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oABEGc8Dus0&w=560&h=315]

Swedish House Mafia-Don’t You Worry Child
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1y6smkh6c-0&w=560&h=315]