Mia Freedman

Yes.

Look at the fact that in American culture there's so many movies and comedic tropes centred around the idea of coming back to see your original nuclear family, whether it be for Thanksgiving or Christmas or some other milestone.

That's depicted in American culture as a really jarring event.

Oh, I have to go and see my parents because it's Thanksgiving and then there'll be all these terrible things that happen along the way because you don't see them very often.

You see them once a year.

It's not...

The idea in the US is that once you leave the parental unit and go out in the world, you're kind of done with that.

Now you have to make yourself.

It's up to you now.

And some stats say that up to 25% of Americans are estranged from at least one family member.

I doubt those stats would be the same in the UK, right, Holly?

Yeah, and you're right that these are generalizations, but just to cherry pick like two different sort of key cultural figures and what they say about each of the cultures.

Think about Bridget Jones and Carrie Bradshaw.

These are two fictional inventions that came about at the same time in the 1990s, late 1990s.

obviously then became huge hits for their respective creators.

But Carrie Bradshaw, we know nothing about her nuclear family, absolutely nothing.

She is this self-made woman who, as far as we're concerned, she arrived in New York and then just that's when her life began.

Bridget Jones, the very first Bridget Jones movie, starts with her coming home for Christmas and it's not a – there is tension but it's not a dramatic tension.

It's a comedic tension, like it's an ugly sweater party, everyone's having a good time.

It's more like, oh, mum.