Are the British “cultured”?

[Astronutty]

A (Swedish) friend recently made an observation to me that she found the British to be very cultured. This surprised me so I asked her what she meant. Her point that with the wide access to libraries, book stores, BBC radio, museums and so on, she found the UK to be more cultured compared to her native Sweden. She’d studied at UK University and found most undergraduates were engaged in politics and the world around them.

I’d always thought of France as a more cultural place and didn’t think UK stood out in that regard.

Would you consider the UK a cultured country?

Yes and no. A lot of the uk population no, don't have the interest or intellect.

But a lot are. On mn people are well read, aware of current affairs, political views, films and theatre, museums, and art. Well travelled. Discuss legal case eg Maya Forstater. I think we are quite cultured. Hold our own against other countries.

We’re about to go into two / three very busy cultural months here in U.K. with the Coronation (royal culture) in the mix.
we have horse racing, tennis ( Wimbledon )garden shows (like Chelsea but smaller ones too), london Marathon today, cricket season, football finals, hosting Eurovision ( Liverpool), lots of theatre seasons about to start, tulip festivals, park summer events, concerts in parks, festivals ( absolutely tonnes everywhere of every description- Glastonbury being the mother festival from which all others are born!); food festival events, local fairs/ markets; religious events like first holy communion/ confirmation ( in Catholic Church , am sure others too); wedding season with all the cultural aspect’s associated with attendance) ; holiday season coming up, exam and prom season for year 11 and 13; etc etc.
it goes on and on - all examples of culture

Some people are, some people aren't.
Same as every other country.

Culture is everywhere in the UK and a lot is free or inexpensive.

Whether people access it or not is another separate issue, but it's certainly available - even if you only watch BBC 3 or 4, Sky Arts or similar.

Having lived in rural Denmark for the last 15 years HELL YES. I find local museums dull and unengaging. The local council wouldn't know culture if it came and bit them on the arse. They are completely closed off to new ideas which is incredibly frustrating when there is a massive pool of talent - large numbers of trailing spouses live in this county. I will say that Facebook has changed quite a lot - it's much easier to find local events and the idea of different festivals etc is growing.

Bleeding right we're cultured.

Go to footy of a Satday and you'll get singing, drinking, graffiti, ribbing of pensioners and if yer lucky a punch-up or two.

How much more culture do yer need?

Some people are, some wear their dressing gown to Tesco. The opportunities to access it are there, but not everyone chooses to take up the chances for many reasons.

Yes it depends though In some regards and potentially, if factors like the Ambition the drive , schio economics ect are there,

Whithout one or two or several factors? No

Only upper middle class ect that way inclined cause of familial /peer pressure and Schio strata pressure in mix..

As a nation I would say we are a mixed bag.

The internet can narrow the gap if you use it in such a way.

Yes definitely. As most nations are.

Some are, some aren't. I'm not from the UK but lived there for a while. Some people intimidated me they were so intelligent and informed but others, I wondered, wow, did you go to school even. A lot of people underestimated my level of culture so I think that there are stereotypes about different European countries' level of culture. Once an old colleague quoted shakespeare and I said the next few lines. He was shocked that I knew that. If I'd been English, he wouldn't have been! So weird.

Given time and access yes. Digital exclusion is a real barrier.

Cultured? Brexit 52%. Is this a joke?

This.

your friend was in England to attend university, so her main experience of people was already with those who are educated. If she stayed she would have been in a graduate job, with other graduates who were motivated and educated.

Still the gap has closed to "who could visit the British museum" say.

A lot of people have access now, some might just tweet and take selfies, that's choice not access. Almost every secondary school child I know regardless of parental income has a phone and wi-fi at home.

The one area that the U.K. really excels at is culture. Of course class weaves in and out of culture as it’s sadly so entrenched, but some of the most diverse, varied and interesting growth areas will have working class roots and then becomes mainstream.

We are brimming with the richness of culture, history and tradition. It’s in every corner, in every part of the country - almost everywhere has the most incredible story and history attached to it, if you take the time to explore properly.

For those of us that have lived in younger countries such as NZ, Australia, Singapore and US will see the most striking difference between older civilisations and newer, younger countries. It is totally incomparable and it is why so many tourists visit London and the U.K.

We are extremely fortunate it is still so accessible. I agree that many do
not take advantage, but I hope that is where many schools step in and offer children experiences and opportunities beyond their usual horizons.

Popular culture is often deemed less valuable, but may gain iconic status later as a sterling example of our times. We are blessed with world class museums that are free, art exhibitions and galleries of great importance - architecture, art and history in all four corners of the nation, and it is this cynical complacency that holds us back from truly valuing and recognising just how fortunate we are.
Our net contribution to music, film, literature, art etc is off the scale in totality, and is appreciated all over the world.

I'm an ordinary soul with few qualifications but I like art, architecture, books and photography. I've met people with lots of qualifications and excellent education but would rather discuss IACGMOOH over Chaucer or the architecture of Charles Barry or Sir Norman Foster.

I agree with others, we are a mixed bag.

Why all the Brit bashing threads?

Happy with most subjects, events etc.

Poetry is a step too far.

It's a national sport.

Agree and yes this is such a shame. I think there are masses of benefit from cultural pursuits in terms of emotional exploration and regulation. The arts are the general population’s psychotherapy. I think if we started to measure it in that way there would be huge demonstrable and marketable value. It can unlock people’s potential.

eg - see Besel Van Der Kolk on the power of yoga and performing arts for trauma.

I remember one of my teachers saying, "Pearls are cultured, people are cultivated". Just listening to a very obscure selection on Radio 3 and thinking some people are a but over-cultivated. 😂

I honestly think people don’t realise what a massive exporter of culture we are here too. Music is an obvious one but we are a massive player in TV and our film industry is huge.
People from all over the world come to take part in our culture too. I was watching Crufts a couple of weeks ago. Dog owners from all over come to show their dogs at Crufts. It is the number one dog show in the world. I knew it was big but had no idea how influential it was ( in the dog world)
Chelsea flower show is the number one horticulture show in the world.
we have Wimbledon, london Marathon, Wembley, lords, oval, twickenham for rugby, premier league for football. All world class, world leading.
we have Glastonbury- number one festival in the world.
I also found out the other day that Scotland is a massive producer and exporter of computer games. Who knew! I didn’t.
we have history on almost every street in every corner of the UK.
the streets of london will be packed solid on the 6th May for the coronation
culture is so ingrained in us that we don’t see it.
I love all cultures. I love French culture and Irish culture. Lots of overlap so maybe that is why.

Another one - game shows! We sell our game shows all over the world. We import sone too The masked singer springs to mind. But really we export more than we import by miles.
see also quiz shows. We Brits love quizzes. It is a massive part of our culture.
a quiz night in a pub is a classic night out ( and I think transcends class, although maybe the upper classes aren’t doing it - but they did have one in The Archers once so who knows!)