Homework: English-language TV Programmes in Denmark

Homework: write a report on English-language TV programmes in your country. You must write between 220 and 260 words. In your report you should address the following:
- how popular these programmes are and why
- the effect they are having on local culture
- any changes you would recommend

English-language TV Programmes in Denmark

From New York in the 60’s alpha males in “Mad Men”, detective “Hercule Poirot”, countless sitcoms like “Friends”, “Two and a half men”, and “How I’ve met your mother”, to the Super Bowl  in American football, English-language programmes are well represented in Danish TV.

It is not uncommon to hear people using English words such as “nice, cool, hot, fuck, and super”. The word “fuck” is used to emphasize the meaning. It is not a word that mothers in Denmark have taught their children not to use. English words are used to express feelings so as to the English words are stronger and sound more genuine and important than the Danish counterparts.

Having said that, Danish people that like “Mad Men” feel that they have something in common with Swedish or French people that watch “Mad Men”. They use the same words such as “nice, cool…” Hence the English language and culture has become a dominant unifying force.

The older generation watches shows like “Hercule Poirot” and they don’t hear words such as “nice, cool, hot…” They may have trouble understanding younger generations.

The downside of the enormous influence that the TV shows like “Mad Men” have is that Danish and other languages are pushed to the side. Even bigger problem is that young people are brought up watching entertaining TV shows that are rather shallow and empty for meaningful content. I’m not worried though, the older generation have been watching shows like “Hercule Poirot” for years now and things go, after all, well in Denmark.

Teacher's comments:
Good job! Very insightful. Just a few errors. Well done!

Teacher's corrections:

From New York in the 60’s, alpha males in “Mad Men”, detective “Hercule Poirot”, countless sitcoms like “Friends”, “Two and a half men”, and “How I’ve met your mother”, to the Super Bowl  in American football, English-language programmes are well represented in Danish TV. (I agree!)

It is not uncommon to hear people using English words such as “nice, cool, hot, fuck, and super”. The word “fuck” is used to emphasize the meaning. It is not a word that mothers in Denmark have taught their children not to use. (Unfortunately) English words are used to express feelings so as to that the English words are stronger and sound more genuine and important than the their Danish counterparts.

Having said that, Danish people that like “Mad Men” feel that they have something in common with Swedish or French people that watch “Mad Men”. They use the same words such as “nice, cool…” Hence the English language and culture has become a dominant unifying force. (I agree!)

The older generation watches shows like “Hercule Poirot”, and they don’t hear words such as “nice, cool, hot…” They may have trouble understanding younger generations. (No doubt)

The downside of the enormous influence that the TV shows like “Mad Men” have is that Danish and other languages are pushed to the side. (true) An even bigger problem is that young people are brought up watching entertaining TV shows that are rather shallow (so true) and empty for  regarding meaningful content. I’m not worried though, the older generation have been watching shows like “Hercule Poirot” for years now and things are going, after all, quite well in Denmark.