Art is imitating life in screen portrayals of Britain's relationship with the United States, says Herald columnist Calum Steele

It is perhaps a reflection of our time that we are able to form as much of a view of how our nation, and its relationship with the United States, is seen from film and television as we once did from the serious current affairs and political debate shows of the past.

I have not long finished watching the latest series of the political thriller The Diplomat on Netflix, where the art of managing national interests on both sides of the pond, against the backdrop of a huge imbalance of power, is playing out. Here, the American Ambassador, played by the superb Keri Russell, is charged with the near-impossible task of maintaining alliances whilst her nation continually presents reasons as to why it is at best an unreliable ally, at worst a malign influence; and which at its heart and soul sees the United Kingdom as little more than a relic of a shared past to be thrown a bone every now and then, provided it remembers its place.

Another example comes from the Richard Curtis now Christmas must-watch for many, and which probably says as much for my viewing habits as it does anything, Love Actually. In this, Hugh Grant is given the unlikely role of Prime Minister and bumbles helplessly when faced with a know-your-place-and-be-happy-with-it American President, whose disdain for his opposite number is on show from their first introductions.

Read more by Calum Steele

Now clearly a Christmas rom-com is hardly going for a deep and meaningful analysis of trans-Atlantic politics any more than a Netflix drama – albeit the latter wants to........

© Herald Scotland