Inside U.K. Brit Pollsters Rate Best, Worst in Millennial Surveys By STEVE HILL	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
ミレニアム何でもランキング 年末・年始にかけて英国のテレビや雑誌では、「この1000年で最もセクシーな人物」「最も怖い映画」など、ミレニアムにちなんださまざまなランキングが発表されました。しかし、その順位には「？」と思わず首をかしげたくなるのも…

Adding the dawn of a new decade, customary New Year's celebrations of century and millennium has sent Britons into poll overdrive.

In recent weeks it's been almost impossible to pick up a newspaper, flick through a magazine, listen to the radio or watch the television news without hearing or reading something about the results of the latest survey.

The days and weeks before and after New Year's are regularly spent assessing who or what was biggest, best or most popular. We all seem to love lists and the arguments that go with them, about who should be higher, lower or even worthy of a mention at all.

Usually we're debating such mundane topics as pop songs, books or films. But the advent of the year 2000 has led to a long period of reflection on a far wider range of topics as we take stock of the past 1,000 years and start to look forward to the next.

Let's start with a glance at one of my particular favorite polls, organized by a monthly British magazine that asked people to vote on the most erotic people of the millennium.

Marilyn Monroe, predictably enough, finished in the No. 1 position, with silent screen star Louise Brooks second and Lord Byron third before fourth place was filled by ... former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher — who edged ahead of Greta Garbo! If the results of that particular survey left many people, including myself, scratching their heads in bemusement and wonder, there were any number of other polls also worthy of considerable debate.

How about the 100 greatest television moments? The moon walking exploits of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in July 1969 topped this list, with live pictures of Nelson Mandela leaving prison after 27 years behind bars a worthy second.

More contentious, possibly, was the result of a poll by a British satellite TV company taken to dis cover the film of the millennium. Many critics were horrified to see George Lucas' "Star Wars" finish in pole position with "Titanic" second, modern entertainments considered to be superior to movies such as "Gone With the Wind" (third) and "Casablanca" (fourth), with a classic such as "Lawrence of Arabia" relegated to 33rd place.

The most horrifying movie ever made? Yet another survey handed this accolade to the 1973 chiller "The Exorcist" with John Carpenter's "Halloween" and Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining" second and third, respectively.

Staying with contemporary culture, a BBC poll revealed that the nation's favorite song lyrics were the words to former Beatle John Lennon's anti-war song "Imagine," edging out "Angels," sung by Robbie Williams, and "Bohemian Rhapsody," by Queen.

The best song of the 20th century? Another survey within the massive BBC organization ended with the vote going to the Beatles' 1965 ballad "Yesterday" while the Fab Four's albums "Revolver" and "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" have been either top or very close in countless polls run by radio stations, magazines and music newspapers.

Let's get serious for a moment and consider who was the best British prime minister of the last century. Here, at least, there can be little argument. Revered wartime leader Winston Churchill took the honors, with Maggie Thatcher fifth and poor old John Major all the way down the list at No. 17.

Ever wondered what British people thought were their top 50 modern buildings? This survey revealed that Coventry Cathedral, built as a symbol of renewal following the wartime bombing that flattened this Midlands city, tops the list with, Liverpool Cathedral second and the De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill, in third position.

Wherever you look there's another poll — here's one about the controversial Millennium Dome in London, which opened to mixed reviews. Apparently, six out of 10 Britons do not regard it as "an appropriate symbol" for the country, although I suspect another survey may be held in a few months' time when a different story may emerge as the project becomes more popular with a population that may have seen it for themselves.

We had better have a word or two about sports. The choice on both sides of the Atlantic for sportsman of the century was unanimous, with viewers of the BBC and readers of Sports Illustrated voting for the heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali.

But if you disagree there's sure to be a poll somewhere with a result you would prefer. People such as Elvis Presley, Karl Marx, Albert Einstein, Charles De Gaulle and William Shakespeare all finished top of yet more surveys. There was even a place for Lassie the dog. Yes, the canine star of several popular films has been awarded the "most influential pet of the millennium" prize in a poll run by makers of pet products in the United States.

As for me, one of my New Year's resolutions is to totally ignore and disregard the findings of any poll in the year 2000.

Shukan ST: Jan. 21, 2000

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