Elizabeth Platt ([email protected])
Wed, 16 Dec 1998 17:47:44 -0800 (PST)
On Sat, 12 Dec 1998, <[email protected]> wrote:
> Subject: U2 on my English book!
>
> My English book has also a picture of U2 when it refers
> to the BRITISH CULTURE (England)!!!!!
> I think the heart of the four guys is only IRISH!!! And they
> hate England!
Bad move on the part of whoever wrote your textbook--the band have always
described themselves as Irish (though I think we've pretty well
established that they're not a bunch of Anglophobes, so you're missing the
mark on that one...)
Now, to be technical, U2 could be considered part of the broader
"Anglophonic" culture, e.g., English-speaking, but so could Americans,
Australians, Canadians, etc. Use of English as a first/sole language
hardly makes one "British"...
What should be objectionable here is the old problem of Irish culture
being expropriated or hijacked, in a way, and lumped in with British
culture, based solely on a shared language or geograpical proximity. For
years now--and I mean _centuries_ here--any Irish cultural figure (or
group) who was successful gets categorized as "British", even years after
the 26 Counties won their independence. Any of you college students, go
crack open your "British Lit" textbooks, and count the number of Irish
writers included therein--you'd be surprised how many there are. (And
that's not counting the 'hidden' Irish in literature--I was surprised to
find that the Bronte sisters were of Irish parentage, and C.S. Lewis, who
was of Irish/Unionist parentage, completely remade himself as an
Englishman...) Ditto for films and actors, as well as any sort of
non-traditional, non-folk musicians.
And the more successful the performer, the more likely he/she/they will be
"expropriated" by, say, the British media (and textbook writers), as a
"British" artist. Examples abound, and any observant Irish artist can
cite their favorites. Even Bono has been known to grouse about this sort
of thing; I believe he noted how "My Left Foot" was initially dismissed as
a piddling little "Irish" film when it was released, but once it did well
critically and financially (and scooped up a few Oscars), it suddenly was
being called a "British" film!
There are, unfortunately, some old racial and ethnic prejudices against
the Irish at work here, and so it's no wonder that folks can get sensitive
about it all. Now that Ireland is enjoying a big cultural boom-time,
it's become less of an issue, if just because the sheer success and
quantity of cultural output has sort of bulldozed over the prejudice! In
fact, it's now common to hear British critics and media pundits moan about
the public's embrace of the "Celtic fringe"--a term which in and of itself
could be seen as biased. Other tricks of the trade include baiting
artists over the conflict in the North, by felon-setting anyone who's more
"republican" in outlook, or, conversely, trolling through interviews for
juicier anti-republican comments (the more out of context, the better).
It's a page right out of the Victorian broadsheets, with their "Irish
apes" and "grateful paddies" (e.g., Fenians vs. those Irish who were happy
to have been "civilized" by British rule).
> My book has a picture of them (Bono with a MTV shirt and
> can you believe it? Larry isn't with sunglasses!!!) and it
> says that "They have had a very successful musical career,
> although their band was popular for a long time in Ireland
> before it became popular in other countries.
How long is a long time? U2 actually became popular outside of Ireland
quite a bit faster than many of their contemporaries, including some bands
from England. Certainly they clicked well in the US, and from the look of
it, they were already building an audience in Europe as well. Yes, I'm
talking about back in 1981/82...maybe they weren't playing football
stadiums, etc., but it's not as if they were slogging around the backroads
of Ireland for 5-10 years before being able to tour America!
Slan,
Elizabeth Platt
[email protected]
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