As recently as the Nineties, the US seemed to be at the vanguard of popular culture, from Twin Peaks to Friends, to The X-Files, and Europe seemed comparatively provincial by way of contrast. Yet somewhere between 9/11 and the Obama inauguration, America's magnetism for the young and ambitious seemed to gradually, but continually, diminish, with Canada and Australia proving popular attractions for jobseekers, and European confidence in individual national standings growing simultaneously. So what changed in the interim that caused the American Dream to wane? Was it the sense that in the Bush era of isolationism, every country had to look out for itself? Had the pre-Internet media carefully doled out only the select aspects of US TV and film, with the digital expansion by contrast causing indulgement to the point of nausea? Or was it simply that in a multi-polar world, America simply lost self-confidence?
Comment