To start off, I love plenty of things British. I watch Doctor Who and Sherlock, listen to Muse, love Simon Pegg, and drink Earl Grey tea. I have seen The King’s Speech at least eight times, I prefer the U.K. version of The Office to the U.S. version, The World’s End is one of my favorite comedies ever made and I have a huge crush on Tom Hiddleston and firmly believe that Benedict Cumberbatch has been without a doubt the most influential actor of 2013.

That being said, I have heard at least three students say, “I only really watch BBC.” To be honest that makes me sad because they’re missing out on so much good media. There’s no need to avoid watching Breaking Bad because it’s on AMC and Bryan Cranston doesn’t have a sophisticated British accent. There are plenty of fantastic things from across the pond, but that does not make it the best by default.

People need to get past their strong opposition to American media. You don’t hear about many Brits opposing something like Star Wars or Friends because it’s made in America, but because of what’s popular in today’s society, if they gave Luke Skywalker from Star Wars a British accent, people would give it more acclaim and praise. On the flipside, if Harry Potter took place in America, plenty of people would push it aside because it sounds “dumb.”

It’s easy to imagine the typical American media a certain way and the typical British media in a certain way. No, not all Americans in comedies are fat and stupid, but funny. No, not all of the British in dramas drink fancy tea and have terrible dental hygiene, but sophisticated.

People shouldn’t judge content because it is from the U.K. or from the U.S. Just because it was made in the U.K. doesn’t make it excellent, and just because it was made in the U.S. does not make it terrible.

It isn’t American media that should be avoided. It’s poor media that should be avoided.