Dear Author

[neadods]

(wow, it's been a while since I wrote one of these!)

Dear Author:

I know that you're British. I know that you're trying to set a scene very quickly. I know that America is surprising in how much territory our regional accents cover.

But just for the record, not everyone from New York sounds like they come from Brooklyn. And for that matter, Guys and Dolls is not an accurate record of Brooklynese.

Also - and again, I get it that you're British and this may be something that you either don't think about or don't want to think about, BUT! 1976 was kind of an important year in America. Especially July. Something about an anniversary of something, now what was it, it involved guys in red coats and a Declaration and some fighting, and yes we've made up and all, but you may have heard the odd mention of the event in your history classes?

SERIOUSLY. We as a nation didn't look up on July 4, 1976 and go "wow, it's the Bicentennial!" and then forget about it 24 hours later. Yes, it was particularly intense in early July, but it was kind of a year-long thing, especially for any state that counts as one of the original 13 colonies.

So, no, setting a story in New York on July 16, 1976 and not mentioning a certain little detail even in passing kind of stands out, no matter what the story is really about.

It especially stands out to old coots who *remember* 1976. Not all of your audience is knee high, I'm just sayin'.

Comments

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I do occasionally see comments from Americans to the effect that British people must be pissed off at the Fourth of July celebrations, but... to be quite honest, I think Brits generally see it as irrelevant to them *g*

It's like being part of an ex-couple after a bad breakup, I think. "He still wants me. He's sorry I left." :D

Thing is... I know about the abdication crisis. I didn't learn about it in school, but I picked it up quickly in British media/lit, and I'd expect any American author setting a story in London about a fortnight later to at least mention something like "they ran past a newsstand with headlines about..."

Heck, most of the news articles here about The King's Speech are naturally focused on the movie, acting, Oscar hopes, etc., but they generally have one half sentence about why the King's speech patterns suddenly matter. It's as if there was an article all about the movie and what it depicts without even that half-sentence. Wouldn't that stand out as a glaring omission?

[fyrdrakken]

It's like being part of an ex-couple after a bad breakup, I think. "He still wants me. He's sorry I left." :D

IIRC, one Holmes story involving Americans finished up with the case being solved and Holmes wanting to have a chat with one or more of the Americans on the topic of whether the US would ever rejoin the British Empire. Can't remember which case, read it years ago, but I found it amusing and eyebrow-raising at the time.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

... I think I dimly remember that, and more or less going >.< O.O

One of the souvenirs I used to have from the actual Bicentennial was a flyer a guy was handing out saying why we should reunite with England.

[fyrdrakken]

I did have kind of a wistful moment when I was in the UK on my six-month permit -- all I was allowed -- and discovered that citizens of Commonwealth nations could get permits for a year at a time, and keep renewing them. (My housemates included several South Africans and a Kiwi in the attic who had been in London for years and was replaced by a set of Canadians.)

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I think the only way to get past 6 months is to emigrate, which is a little drastic.

[penguineggs.livejournal.com]

But the Abdication crisis (and a fortnight after it) and a fortnight after a significant anniversary of the Abdication crisis are two different things. And, also, as someone else says, it's a bigger deal for the US to regard 1776 as the important year, whereas one could credibly argue 1947 or 1921 had more of an impact on the UK.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

the Abdication crisis (and a fortnight after it) and a fortnight after a significant anniversary of the Abdication crisis are two different things

Neither of which was probably celebrated by repainting large portions of the city. (Turning fire hydrants into little people was very in fashion at the time.)