Take a "quintessentially British" comic actor and writer, stick him in a London taxicab and send him trundling across the 50 United States of America, and what do you get? You get Stephen Fry in America, a new book about his travels and also the name of an upcoming BBC miniseries documentary.
I recently saw Fry interviewed on BBC about his travels and have been fascinated by what I've heard and seen.
Most American readers are no doubt ignorant about even the existence of Stephen Fry, who is a highly celebrated personality here in England. All of you House fans might recognize his name because he co-starred in British television shows with his comedy partner Hugh Laurie.
What's most impressed me about Fry's current project is the way he speaks so respectfully of America. Here's what he said on the Steve Wright radio show:
"I didn't want to go and sneer. I didn't want to go and laugh at America. It's a lot harder to engage with them then you might think in your smart, European way. They are a very sophisticated people. There's a lot of sharp wisdom."
Find a trailer to Fry's miniseries here. Better yet, go here to read the introduction and epilogue from his book.
While in America, Fry clearly seeks out what he considers quintessentially American experiences, like going deer hunting with rural residents, swimming with sharks in Hawaii and attending a Wiccan function. Yet as he states in the book's introduction, he knew that even his 8-month journey would provide just the smallest snippet of life in our vast, wonderful, varied country.
Read the introduction to his book if you have time, but if not, here are a few quotes I found particularly engaging. I know I'm going to be getting my hands on that book and also doing all I can to watch the series!
The overwhelming majority of Americans I met on my journey were kind, courteous, honourable and hospitable beyond expectation. Such striking levels of warmth, politeness and consideration were encountered not just in those I was meeting for on-camera interview, they were to be found in the ordinary Americans I met in the filling-stations, restaurants, hotels and shops too.
He goes on to say that this is especially pronounced in the Midwest and South. I, for one, was amazed by the level of friendliness I encountered after moving to Chicago in 2002, even after spending the preceding four years in St. Paul-Minneapolis.
It is all very well to talk about living and dying, hoping and dreaming, loving and loathing 'as an American', but what does that mean when America is divided into such distinct and diverse parcels? To live and die as a Floridian is surely very different from living and dying as a Minnesotan? The experience of hoping and dreaming as an Arizonan cannot have much in common with that of hoping and dreaming as a Rhode Islander, can it?
As someone who grew up in both Minnesota and Arizona, I found this comment particularly insightful, although I thought it interesting that Fry assumes Americans identify only with one state. I identify closely with not only Minnesota and Arizona, but also with Illinois, as that is where I lived my adult life before moving to England last fall.
If you were to hear a Briton say 'Tch! only in Britain, eh?' it would probably refer to something that was either predictable, miserable, oppressive, dull, bureaucratic, queuey, damp, spoil-sporty or incompetent - or a mixture of all of those. 'Only in America!' on the other hand, always refers to something shocking, amazing, eccentric, wild, weird or unpredictable. Americans are constantly being surprised by their own country. Britons are constantly having their worst fears confirmed about theirs. This seems to be one of the major differences between us.
It's so true! I recently suffered through the bureaucratic tangle of obtaining a new visa and work papers here in England, and the inevitable reaction of English friends when I explained the process was an apologetic, "Only in Britain!"
America is not perfect, and I do not love Britain any less for loving America more. As all travellers know, the experience of a foreign country teaches you about your own.
Amen, Mr. Fry!
Stephen Fry is an institution in the UK and is well known for narrating the UK Harry Potter audio books.
I must recommend the TV series Jeeves & Wooster; this demonstrates both Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry's talent admirably. They both played regular characters, alongside each other, in Blackadder Series 4 (also appearing in previous series).
Fry will be the narrative guide in the upcoming game, Little Big Planet. Perhaps he will penetrate the American consciousness a little more with this ;)