This is just an impression, because I don’t follow entertainment/culture the way I used to. But …
When I was growing up, it seemed like all the best pop culture was British. I mean the great totems like the Beatles and Monty Python. Nowadays not so much. Still a lot of cultural prestige, and still a lot of very good British actors, directors and musicians, but no super-heavyweights. Any of them could be replaced and the pop culture of two continents wouldn’t shake.
I would say this has been the case since the 1980s, with the exception of US commercial comics. In that field we have a couple of figures whose presence has been game changing: Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman.
But the Spice Girls, Guy Ritchie … ? Britain’s record for generating pop phenomena seems to be getting thinner. Fads they can still do, and as noted they keep turning out tons of accomplished professionals. But not phenomena.
Maybe that’s no big loss, depending on how you feel about phenomena. At any rate, a change seems to have taken place.
Ricky Gervais.
Extras kind of flopped, didn’t it? He’s popular, but …
Eddie Campbell. He now lives and works in Australia, but originally British.
J.K. Rowling seems pretty huge. But would you consider Harry Potter a phenomenon or a fad?
J.K. Rowling is a great counter-example.
I think the massive success of British artists in rock music in the 60s/70s (the Stones, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, the Who, and on and on) was probably an anomaly that isn’t likely to be repeated. English musical imports still do fine, overall, though. Two recent examples of very big British artists are Amy Winehouse and Leona Lewis. Neither is Beatles-level big, of course, but they’re both very successful. (And quite good musically, I’d argue.)
I liked Extras, but I’ve got a serious Gervais fixation.
Have you heard the podcasts? The first few seasons are incredible.
Harry Potter is the counter-example. That is for sure a real, massive, long-lasting phenomenon.
Eddie Campbell, Amy Winehouse, Ricky Gervais … all notable stars and fine talents, but to me not the same as true phenomena.
And sorry if I sound like someone being interviewed on E!. It’s always been my ambition …