BÀI GIẢNG DẠNG VĂN BẢN (SCRIPT)

Môn học: Văn hóa Anh Mỹ

Unit 3: Attitudes (Britain)
3.1. Stereotype and change
3.2. Conservatism
3.3. Being different

Slide Nội dung

Hello. Nice to meet you again. In this Unit - Unit 3 we are going to look at the
1 attitudes of British people. There are three parts in this Unit: the stereotypes and
changes, conservatism, and being different.
12 stereotypes of British people you need to know about
1. British people drink a lot of tea
This is one stereotype that, most of the time, is actually right. We Brits love
to sip, slurp and gulp down tea while occasionally dunking a digestive in
there too. The fact that those abroad know about our love of tea means no
one will be surprised when you whip out the Tetley’s.
If you want to take it a step further, stick your pinky out when sipping to
2 ensure you fulfil the stereotype of a British tea-drinker.
2. We’re all friends with the Queen
Many foreigners you meet will ask if you’ve ever met the Queen.
For most of us, the answer is obviously a big fat ‘no’, but that won’t stop
your new foreign friends from quizzing you about the rest of the royals. No,
you don’t party with Prince Harry or shop with Kate, but you do know a
person who knows a person… or, you could just make up some big
elaborate story about how, yes, you were there for the Royal Wedding, and
yes, Harry is a Facebook friend.
3. We’ve never seen sunshine
Yes, it’s true, our weather isn’t the best and that’s something most travellers
you meet will be able to trump you on, but that’s OK. We have David
Beckham, Downtown Abbey and One Direction so a lack of sunshine is
something we can live with. And there’s always that one day in the summer.
4. We can’t handle the sunshine
As a result of the bad British weather, the general consensus is that when
Brits are exposed to the sun we just can’t handle it. It’s tops off, tanning oil
and no sunscreen so our white skin goes straight from pale to pink. Battle
this stereotype by getting the perfect tan through constant sun lotion
application, over a prolonged period of time, and show them exactly who’s
been kissed by the sun.
5. The Brits watch a lot of TV
For some reason around the world, we’re thought of as couch potatoes
addicted to our tellies. Yeah sure, we love a period drama and get glued to
the X Factor or a bit of Strictly but we’re not all about the little screens.
6. And speak rather posh
Accents obviously vary from town to town in GB but it’s still a common
misconception that all Brits speak like The Queen. This leads to a lot of
confusion when you say you’re British with a Yorkshire / Geordie twang.
Prepare to do some explaining…
7. We’re mad about football
With all of our football teams, sports bars and international stars you can see
how other people might believe it’s all we think about. If you’re not a fan,
you’ll quickly learn to pretend you are and arm yourself with a
make-believe favourite club, because overseas locals love to ask who you
support.
Or in my case, you just have to shut down any footie related conversation
with the revelation that you’re a Brit who doesn’t even know the rules of
football, let alone have any interest.
8. And love a good drink
Perhaps it’s the amount of pubs we have, our legal street drinking or the fact
that bingeing is our weekend habit – whatever it is, word has got around that
Brits love the booze. This means you may get a few furtive glances if you’re
not on the liquor but it also means you’re unlikely to be challenged at
drinking games. The Australians think they can take top place on the leader
board, but we know different.
9. We’re super polite
That would be correct – polite and proud. We are overtly appreciative and
profusely apologetic, but it’s what makes us so darn nice. We’d encourage
you not to try to prove this one wrong. Thank you, please.
10. We eat terrible food
With fish and chips, Sunday dinners and Nando’s, it’s hard to believe that
other nations think the UK doesn’t serve up good grub. You should defend
our foodie goods to the death and if they don’t believe you, ask your new
travel buds to visit you back home where you can show them that nothing
beats a Saturday night kebab.
11. We live in castles and cottages
Movies have a lot to answer for when it comes to stereotypes and it’s
because of flicks like Brave heart, Harry Potter and The Holiday that others
around the world believe our accommodation options are very twee and
 traditional. They haven’t seen the new build cul de sacs or council house
estates where the majority of us dwell – up to you whether you feel the need
to enlighten them or not.
12. Us Brits are emotionally stunted
Again, this could be one brought about by the movies or those awfully posh
accents we’re believed to have, or Hugh Grant; either way it’s thought that
Brits aren’t the best when it comes to showing their emotions or even saying
what they mean. We know that we’re far from emotionally dead and love a
good cry at Corrie, but to the rest of the world we stay tight-lipped, always
keep calm and just carry on. A great philosophy for life if you ask me.
At the start of the 20th century, the Conservative Party in
Great Britain seemed to stand at the summit of its popularity. This
ascendancy was temporarily halted by the Liberal victory in the
general election of 1906. By this time, however, the Liberals had begun to
lose trade-union and working-class supporters to the Labour Party, and the
Labour victory of 1924 spelled the end of the Liberal Party as an effective
political force. During the next four decades the Conservatives formed the
government most of the time. Their success was partly the result of their
3
having absorbed large numbers of formerly Liberal middle-class voters.
The Conservative Party thus became a union of old Tory and Liberal interests
combined against Labour.
In the interwar period, conservatism in Britain became closely identified with
the defense of middle- and upper-class privileges, an unconstructive
opposition to socialism, and, during the 1930s, appeasement (a deal-making
and commercialist approach to the rising Nazi menace). However, following
the introduction of a mixed economy and the vast extension of state welfare
 services under the Labour government of Clement Attlee after 1945, the
Conservatives reversed very few of their predecessors’ innovations when
they returned to power in 1951. Instead they claimed to be better able to
administer the welfare state efficiently. Indeed, to some extent they even tried
to outbid their opponents with their own programs of social spending,
including measures to encourage the construction of new homes.
Three decades later this era of liberal-conservative accommodation came to
a dramatic close under the government of Margaret Thatcher, whose
energetic brand of conservatism stressed individual initiative, strident
anticommunism, and laissez-faire economics. Thatcher’s commitment to
individual initiative was so strong, in fact, that she virtually repudiated the
organic view of traditional conservatives when she declared that “there is
no such thing as society.” By this she meant that what is conventionally
called “society” is nothing more than a collection of individuals. This view
had much more in common with modern libertarianism than with the older
conservatism of Burke. Thatcher’s Tory successors—notably David
Cameron, who served as prime minister from 2010—had a rather less
extreme individualistic orientation and reincorporated some of the
communitarian elements of traditional conservatism into their ideology.
On 31 January 2020, the United Kingdom left the European Union. This
withdrawal was called Brexit as you may know. Let’s look at the incident
from the perspective of British people.
4 Just off the north coast of continental Europe, there is an island called Great
Britain. Today, this island is closely connected to the rest of Europe; there
are direct trains to Paris and Brussels, and thousands of people, cars
and lorries cross the Channel and the North Sea every day between British
and continental ports.
Britain is very much a part of Europe; we are Europeans, and British
history and culture are part of European history and culture. In 1973, after
years of discussion, Britain joined the European Union. However many of
the people in Britain have never liked being in the E.U.; they imagine that
Britain is very different from other countries. Some believe that Britain is
better than other countries.
In 2016, the people of Britain (or more exactly, just over half of Britain's
voters) voted for "Brexit". Why ?
"We're different, aren't we?" says Eddie, from London. "We do things
differently. We don't want to become like other countries."
Millions of people think the same as Eddie. For example, a large
majority did not want Britain to join the Euro. They imagine that Britain's
"identity" will be lost, if we say goodbye to our pounds and our pennies.
They forget that things are also very different from one European country to
another.
It's quite a strange situation really; but it is a situation that can easily be
explained.
"Insularity" is a deep and historic part of British culture and society.
Great Britain's borders have been fixed by nature for thousands of years. If
you walk in a straight line for long enough in any direction, you will know
when you have reached the edge of Great Britain; you will find yourself in
salty water!
If you want to go to another country from Great Britain, you have to
take a ship, a plane, a train or a car; you can't just drive or walk across the
border. Great Britain is physically separated from every other country; and
 this is the main reason why British people imagine that other countries are
so "different".
Of course, lots of things about Britain are different from the rest of
Europe. We drive on the left, we like our pubs, we have sports like cricket,
we have our own popular TV programmes, we use pounds and pennies and
miles, we drink tea with milk in it, we don't carry identity cards, and our
policemen don't normally carry guns. So yes, Britain is different, in these
respects, from France or Germany or Spain, or Japan, or even the USA.
Nevertheless Britain's "difference" is disappearing fast! Fifty years ago,
British people drove British cars; today the cars in Britain are British,
French, German, Italian, Japanese and more. Today we buy petrol in litres
(not gallons) and fruit in kilos (not pounds). Fifty years ago, our favourite
foods were fish 'n' chips and "bangers and mash". Among today's young
people, the most popular foods and drinks are Italian pasta and pizza, Indian
curry, American hamburgers and colas, Chinese take-aways, Continental
beers and Mexican tacos.
As far as culture is concerned, young Britons love their Britpop bands;
but they also like American and Australian TV series, American films, and
Japanese and British video games.... In fact, they like more or less the same
things as young people all over Europe and North America!
The real problem is perhaps not that we are very different. It's just that
lots of people (in and out of Britain) imagine that Britain is different.....
because "Continentals" speak other languages, and old ideas take a very
long time to die.
Unit 3 has shown you the real facts and the attitudes of British people. See
5
you in Unit 4.