Teresa Nielsen Hayden wonders if this is a revelation to the English, being American she's aware of how lots of things there have histories in other countries, and I'd say not. We cannot avoid the fact that England's history is one of invasions and those invasions (both of and by) almost always leave their mark on our culture, I feel that many English people are aware of this tapestry even if they are not aware of the extent of it.
UPDATE: Teresa asks in the comments "Why do you think he thought it was worth doing?"
Well, first let me expand on the original point. Here's a view from my Mother's dining room window:
That is Conisbrough Castle, it's a fine example of a Norman keep, it also gets a mention in Ivanhoe. The name Conisbroughis thought to be derived from the name Kyningesburg which is enough like Königsberg to probably be understood in German. Conisbrough is five miles from Doncaster a name with Roman connotations. It is surrounded by many places that have "-by" endings as their name, Denaby and Conanby are right next door, "By" being an old Scandinavian name for village.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that to the even remotely curious there's plenty around to suggest the mongrel nature of England. Even by looking at just a very small part of it. It shouldn't be a revelation to find out that the English are the sum of very many parts.
That said, just because something isn't totally relevatory doesn't mean it isn't fascinating and being aware of the big picture doesn't mean that the details won't surprise you, so there are plenty of reasons for the program to exist. In my eyes it is well worth doing.
3 comments:
I am answered, then.
Why do you think he thought it was worth doing?
TNH
I saw Mongrel Nation when it was first transmited and thought that Eddie Izzard's motivation for making the series clear. It was a rebuff to the BNP, the Tories and others on the rabid right. The Sun, The Mail, The Express, even the BBC, seem to spend an unhealthy amount of time working themselves and others up into a frenzy about asylum seekers and East Europeans "flooding" the country. What Eddie did was to point out that the immigration we see today is not unique, but merely a continuation of a process that has been going on for 1,000's of years and not that big a deal.
Ah, that makes even more sense.
As I guess I was trying to imply you'd have to be totally incurious or willfully stupid to be able to live in England and not see the signs that England is a "mongrel". I guess that's got the BNP covered, then.
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