Social "International Interview" Thread--All Are Welcome!

How do you plan to fix this mistake?

 

I don't

 

What fictional culture would you like to see used as an inspiration in SW and how?

What real life culture would you like to see used as an inspiration in SW and how?

What non-Star Wars species would you like to see implanted into Star Wars?

 

Ask away Violent Violet Menace

When it comes to Star Wars, I tend to not have any personal "desires" for it because I know it will never be what I wanted and shall be disappointed. I've always loved Star Wars for what it is and use of Eastern traditional influences; Hinduism and Buddhism fascinate me a lot so, you can argue, my desired inspiration is already covered. Wouldn't want anything fictional added to it because I feel it could undermine the current universe.

CAT PEOPLE!

 

It was more of an expression of surprise at the weird questions that have very little to do with getting to know Britain.

 

Well, feel free to ask anything about the UK and I will attempt to enlighten...

 

Nobody else is asking questions *hint, hint* but I was lost on what more to ask so I reused some of my old questions from another Interview Thread.

 

In Iran we have an expression. Whenever anyone is a cunning, wily, sly, conniving, scheming, double-crossing, backstabbing, manipulating ****, we call that person a "Churchill". With an indefinite article, as if it were a word. A Churchill.

Do you consider deviousness to be a characteristically British or English trait, or is that just a random undeserved stereotype the rest of the world has of you?

If yes, I guess my follow-up would be: on a scale of 1 to 10, how central would you say it is to the very fabric of who you are as a people?

 

LOL I'm gonna assume it is a left over from our imperial past. Probably undeserved now, but it might have been warranted at the time

A 1 now. We've gotten over the whole empire building thing.

 

Lovely pics and interview responses, DanielUK!

What's your fave spot in at Canterbury Cathedral? (for ex--how far can a visitor climb up inside? or is there a nice garden spot on the surrounding grounds you prefer?). I've been to a few places in England, but not Canterbury (yet)!

Roman museum looks very cool. (I really enjoyed the old Roman parts of the town of Chester when I was there...walking the old Roman wall, etc. Also seeing the Roman baths at...yes, Bath!) I'll be sure not to mention you when I go though . What interests you most about the Roman history of Britain?

And what an amazing pic of Northern Ireland...looks like a magical place to associate with your childhood! That's sad that your family had to leave due to the unrest. Do you ever get to go back to visit?

More thoughts/follow-ups to come in relation to your other responses...

Edit: What is the building visible in the pic of Kent as the "garden of England"? I do love an English garden...*sigh*

The "Giant's Causeway" looks like it would be a good location to see in a SW movie...actually, I think someone might have posted it in a thread started by Darth Nerdling about such sites...

 

This candle marks the location of what was the shrine to the murdered Archbishop Thomas Becket. During the Reformation, King Henry VIII destroyed the shrine and all the jewels was sold off or melted down. But, behind this picture is another powerful shrine which still stands. Well, it is very modern. It is a small book, filled with photos, and it remembers the names and faces of Christians - who died to protect the Jews during the Holocaust. It is very moving and quite difficult book to read.

It is a must to see, even if you're not religious like me.

Oh, that would be Boudicca the Celtic Queen. Led an almighty rebellion against the Roman occupation.

Haven't been in years sadly. But I intend to go back; was aiming to go to university in Northern Ireland.

That would be Scotney Castle

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/scotney-castle

 

Thanks Daniel for the great answers My turn for some follow-up questions!

I haven't been to England very often, but Canterbury is one of the few places I visited -- chiefly because I'm a mega-fan of Jean Anouilh's play Becket and I really, really wanted to see the RL setting for it. Are there any other literary works or movies about Canterbury that you recommend?

Since you know Northern Ireland very well, can you tell us a bit about differences between NI and England where you live now? Are there any noteworthy differences in terms of language, culture, habits, traditions, forms of entertainment, etc?

On a different topic, can you tell us a bit about the SW fandom scene in the UK? Is it The Super-Duper Popular Fandom or are there others that are more popular? Do you have SW fan groups, local conventions, etc? Celebration Europe was held in London a couple of times in the past, including last year, did you go and if yes, how was it?

Lastly, we blunt continental Europeans think that you Brits have elevated the polite understatement to an art form. Is this really how you talk among yourselves?

 

The Cantebury Tales. Especially the adult version - filled with a lot of humour. Plus, mandatory you read it in Old English. There is also a film, with the same name, but is not about the works of Chaucer - it is set during World War II in Canterbury.

It is very different. Northern Ireland is mixed with Irish traditions and Ulster Scots (dating back to the Ulster plantation and Cromwellian conquest); believe me when I tell you entire streets in Northern Ireland can seem like two separate worlds and it is important to remember that. The "old ways" still exists and can get you in to trouble if you speak wrongly in certain parts of town. For example, I couldn't walk in West Belfast with an English accent because people will quickly guess I'm a son of a British solider.


One road see themselves as Irish and the other British; one speaks Gaelic and the other will only recognise English. My Grandmother would not have the colour green in her house because it symbolised the Republic of Ireland. That's how strict the traditions and beliefs are.

St.Patrick's Day has become a cross community event and has helped to heal the wounds, but events like the 12th July (a celebration of British victory against the Irish Catholics) is one major difference. A lot of Northern Ireland traditions tend to be celebrated in Scotland, which has a similar cultural and religious identity. Much different to England. England got over the religious dividends more quickly than other parts of the Kingdom.


England is much, much different to the rest of the United Kingdom. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have deep Celtic traditions and England has more or less done away with its Celtic past after the Norman conquest.

"YOU EEJIT!" is something I hear my mother say a lot and it means idiot lol and if you want to go for a walk, you say "I'm off for a dander"

I did not go to London's Celebration, no. But Star Wars is huge in the UK - especially in the South East. Massive student populations and I'm always stopped in public, if I wear a Star Wars t-shirt. Really fun community we have over here. Plus, the movies are filmed here!

That is 100% accurate lol

 

That reminds me of a question--is there anything like an annual event there in Canterbury that is designed to celebrate Chaucer/The Canterbury Tales? (like public readings or some kind of festival or something?).


College-prep English lit classes over here often have to read all or parts of TCT. As I recall, "The Miller's Tale" was the favorite among the adolescent set (largely for its earthy fart jokes and the scene where the guy thinks he's kissing his would-be love's face and it's actually, well, her arse).



I loved the description of the two special shrines inside the Cathedral. I agree with Chyntuck--the story behind Becket's murder is fascinating! (I know of the Antoulih play but haven't read that yet).

Edit: Boudicca the Celtic Queen looks like a badass! ...I'm getting a kind of Joan of Arc vibe from that illustration! I really should read more into all the Celtic history. My familiarity with UK history is all from more (relatively) modern periods and pretty much has all been focused on England. I haven't even made it to Scotland or Northern Ireland yet (though I have been briefly to Wales). Might be able to rectify that later this summer--I'm definitely going to be in Ireland this summer, and may be travelling out from there a bit. If plans start to develop for Northern Ireland, I'll be sure to check with you for travel tips!

 

You think they would, but not really. The Canterbury Festival (similar to the Edinburgh Festival) does have history talks, but anything about the life of Chaucer is rare. There is a museum dedicated to The Canterbury Tales (WHY DID I LEAVE IT OUT?!?); I once worked there, in college, and had to dress as a monk. The whole experience is an audio book tour, with different displays and dummies to represent scenes. And sicks his bum out at one point.

 

^Interesting. I guess I would have thought that St. Patrick's Day might be seen as _too_ "Irish" to serve as a cross-division healing event? Of course, that's based only my American associations with the day (which of course in turn has devolved into the most cliched/stereotyped associations with being "Irish").

Speaking of St. Patrick's Day, how is it typically observed/celebrated in Northern Ireland? Is it celebrated in England at all? Over here, of course, it's basically become an excuse to get as drunk as possible (not that I'm criticizing tying one on once in a while, lol) while wearing something green and a silly plastic "leprechaun" hat

Edit: I just noticed that the sign in the lower right of the last museum pic you posted proclaims that a visitor can "Experience the sights, sounds, and smells of Medieval England"...I think I would pass on experiencing the "smells"

Further edit: RE St. Patrick's Day over here...there are also major parades in big cities like Chicago and New York (which of course ultimately just seem to act as an aid to the primary purpose of getting as drunk as possible ...at least based on my experience a few years ago of entering a Times Square bathroom a few hours after the parade ended (unfortunately I had to miss the parade itself as I was in NYC for work reasons that St. Patrick's Day )

 

Yes and no. It is still a big drinking event, but it is still seen primarily as a 'Catholic' thing in Northern Ireland. There are parades, but it is strictly neutral - someone will complain in tricolours start randomly appearing. Only recently has it been seen as potential cross community event. I never once celebrated St. Paddy's when in Northern Ireland, only during my student days in England. It was more or less a "taboo" which my strict Ulster family.



I lived in Northern Ireland before the Good Friday Agreement, when bombings were routine and paramilitaries patrolled the street and not the police.

It is just an excuse to drink Guinness and get drunk. That's all there is to it lol But St George's Day has more or less the main day of celebration in England now due to the rise of political devolution and the "English question" being discussed in Parliament.

 

^That's interesting. I may have been one of those in the Rethink Your Life thread who sometimes didn't get it. That's funny that you thought about doing your whole response set as a joke

Totally agree with you about the American version of The Office. My husband and I watched the entire British version first, and even though we liked the early seasons of the U.S. show, we enjoyed the British one even more. We also liked the series "Coupling"



(in our opinion, it was soooo much better than the American series "Friends" )

Edit: Thanks for the other comedy recommendations. No, I've never heard of "The Mighty Boosh," but I will definitely try to check some of those recommendations out. I don't have the opportunity to see as many UK shows since I went to only free "over the air" TV several years ago and don't currently subscribe to any pay streaming services like Netflix, etc.

Futher edit:

^That's really nice to hear. Kind of poignant actually for me right now, since America currently feels SO divided. Of course, for most of my adult life, I've kind of thought maybe I would be better off living in Europe since I have a number of political/social/cultural views that seem much more "European" in orientation than American...(Actually, depending on how bad things get here, trying to make a permanent move is definitely something my husband and I may be seriously considering at some point....)

 

Depends where you go in Europe. The British electoral system, especially for Westminster Parliament, makes it near impossible for extremist voices to get elected; French don't tolerate it either and voters will do anything to prevent the Front National from gaining ground.

Other parts of Europe, not so much.

 

Oh sure...didn't mean to lump all of Europe together! And we've definitely been hearing over here about parallel nationalist movements in various European countries hoping to gain greater power. Let's just hope that the world as a whole comes through this apparent period of disruption ok...

 

Thread Announcements:

1) Daniel is going to be really busy for the next couple of weeks, so, at his request, we'll go ahead and wrap his round a bit early. So today will be a "last call" for any questions or comments for him.

2) Next up will be Gamiel (Sweden). However, I'm entering an extra- extra- busy period myself (including some time out of town), so after any last comments etc for Daniel, I'm going to have to put this thread on hiatus until the weekend of Saturday, March 18. I will be writing some questions for Gamiel and sending them to him by the end of this week so that he can have plenty of time to come up with his responses when we pick up again in March. Sorry for the delay but we all know how relentless DRL can be (another reason why I'll be soliciting opinions for alternative formats we might consider switching over to this summer, ones that might not necessarily require a permanent thread "host"...)

Thanks everyone!

Edit: Actually, I guess there's no need to halt the thread completely if there is someone else who would be willing to take over as "guest host" for a round or two...If anyone is interested in possibly doing that, feel free to PM me. If not, that's fine too and we'll just resume as planned in March

 

This is your last chance to find out my deep, dark secrets before I venture off into the void....

 

Is there a general sense among Brits of the colonial successor nations of Canada, the US, Australia and NZ as extensions of yourselves, and in a sense as distant compatriots, or is that feeling of "kinship" severed by now? In other words, do they feel like foreigners or not? I guess the litmus test of this would be: do you take pride in their achievements as if they were your own, or do you have a neutral outlook, as if they were Finland or Switzerland or wherever?

And which of them do you think is still the most like you, and which of them has become the most unlike you?

 

The Anglosphere - that's what we refer to Canada, US, Oz and New Zealand combined.

Australians and Kiwi's (New Zealanders) are seen as "us" and we don't consider them foreigners at all. Canadians and Americans are distant cousins; we jokingly consider their achievements (apart from America) as ours because of the Queen. Funny little joke we have among ourselves.

As for most like us, differently Australians. Mirror image to us - near identical in style of humour, too. Very strong, and friendly, sporting rivalry between us. But, Americans are very much unlike us; compared to the rest of the Anglosphere, the US is the most different. It's a republic, different style of government and alien culture to us. US voting patterns and opposition to social issues confuse us quite a bit.