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Are you eating your own dog food?


Olwe

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I'm an American, and we have a phrase, to eat your own dog food, meaning you consume, use what you're selling to others, i.e., you stand behind your product and aren't afraid to use exactly what you're selling the public. So yes, over the past few decades -- especially in the 21st century -- British "period" media -- books, movies, television -- has exploded in popularity. And it's not just knock-off, boilerplate, hand-cranking. I'm saying your period productions (primarily audio-visual) have been unprecedented in quality and depth, let alone impact. For example, the 2011 Jane Eyre is a real stunner. And the Frankenstein Chronicles is amazingly evocative, despite its low budget and modest scope. And all the Jane Austen films are stunners as well. I guess I'm saying nothing in history compares to what Britain has done, i.e., the reworking of one of its era (primarily the 19th century) for entertainment or "re-rumination."

 

And so I marvel at this accomplishment. But then I wonder what the the "home audience" thinks, to what degree you British have been influenced by all the period output? One of the best examples in book form is Susanna Clarke's "channelling" of Jane Austen with her Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. What society has ever gone into such amazing depth in period, dare I say, nostalgic fiction? So are you eating your own dog food? What does all this mean to you British?

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  • 2 weeks later...

It is certainly popular over here; at least with a distinct demographic of people. Personally, while it's always nice to know that there is something positive that your country is known for; I sometimes wonder if folk from other countries think that's how we are now!

 

I'll give an example. In one of Tom Clancy's books (I forget which), the American President  meets Tony Blair (who was Prime Minister at the time). They have a conversation that ends with Blair saying " Very good, Old boy".  Calling people "Old boy" in a posh British accent is something that that probably only happened in P.G.Wodehouse books!

 

I love all those period dramas - it seems to be something that we get every winter. Some classic will be filmed. These days, I lap them up. But it wasn't always that way with me.

Hopefully, we also have modern books that are popular outside of Britain!

 

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