Douglas Adams on the English–American cultural divide over "heroes"

UK vs US Humor and “Heroes”

• Many see a sharp contrast: British stories often center on “losers,” tragicomic figures with little control who endure, complain wittily, then make tea; US heroes are expected to act, improve, and ultimately win or be redeemed.
• Several commenters tie this to a cultural comfort with seeing “the worst of reality” in UK comedy versus US escapism and glamorization (e.g., gangsters or antiheroes becoming “badass”).
• Adams’ Arthur Dent is cited as the archetypal British non‑hero: buffeted by events, never really in control, yet relatable.

TV & Film Comparisons

• Repeated example: UK vs US The Office. UK’s David Brent is poisonous and never redeemed; US’s Michael Scott shifts from abrasive to fundamentally lovable and pitiable.
• It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is seen as unusually “British‑compatible” US TV because its characters are irredeemably awful and never really learn.
• Ghosts UK vs US: UK ghosts are deeply flawed and money is a constant stress; US ghosts are mostly good people and financial stakes are softened.
• British SF (Doctor Who, Blake’s 7, Red Dwarf) is described as bleaker and more fatalistic than Star Trek/Star Wars, though some argue early Trek was also rooted in loss and flawed leads.
• Broadchurch and Slow Horses are cited as modern UK examples where central figures are inept, compromised, or only accidentally effective.

Failure, Self‑Deprecation, and Class

• Several note British self‑deprecation and understatement (“not bad,” “quite good”) versus American self‑promotion and hyped performance reviews.
• This is observed in workplaces and in YouTube “maker” communities, where machinists in particular lean into failure humor in a very British‑feeling way.
• Some tie British fatalism to post‑WWI/WWII trauma and imperial decline; US optimism to evangelical/Protestant traditions of agency, evangelism, and “try again” narratives.

Counterexamples and Nuance

• Many push back on a hard divide:
  • UK heroes with classic agency: Frodo, Aragorn, Sam, Harry Potter, Bond, Sherlock, Discworld protagonists.
  • US “lovable losers”: Charlie Brown, Homer Simpson, Donald Duck, Goofy, George Costanza, various adult‑animation and sitcom characters.
• There’s extensive debate over whether Americans actually empathize with such losers (Peanuts in particular), or secretly view them with contempt.
• Others argue the Adams quote captures tendencies in Hollywood more than whole national cultures, which are internally diverse and changing over time (e.g., darker modern US comedies).