Helen Mirren Slams UK's 'Savage' Americanization

Britain's becoming too cruel, expat Oscar-winner says
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 15, 2010 8:06 AM CST
Helen Mirren Slams UK's 'Savage' Americanization
Helen Mirren is shown in a scene from "Red."   (AP Photo/Summit Entertainment, Frank Masi)

Britain is becoming far too much like the US, complains Oscar-winning British actress—and Los Angeles resident—Helen Mirren. The 65-year-old told a French magazine that she feels her native culture is changing for the worse, and becoming too Americanized, the Telegraph reports. "England is constantly threatened by a savage assimilation," she said. "This isn't the case with France which remains furiously protective of its culture."

Mirren says she thinks British decency is fading and cruelty and anger is on the rise, as seen in the country's comedy. "I prefer the finesse of French humor," she said. "English humor is harsher, more scathing, more cruel and more surreal too, as illustrated by Monty Python and the TV series Little Britain, where situations are far-fetched and over-the-top." (More Monty Python stories.)

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