"When it's three o'clock in New York, it's still 1938 in London"

Bette Midler’s observation, “When it’s three o’clock in New York, it’s still 1938 in London,” elegantly captures the perceived temporal and cultural lag between the bustling, progressive atmosphere of New York City and the more traditional, perhaps conservative, spirit she attributes to London. On first glance, it employs playful wit, poking fun at the time zone difference between the two cities. On a deeper level, though, it hints at something far more profound: the way certain places, despite existing in the same globalized world, seem anchored to different eras in terms of social norms, cultural dynamism, and attitudes toward change.

New York, representing relentless modernity, symbolized for Midler an ever-advancing metropolis; three o’clock is a random moment, but it is always the present, busy, present-minded, and forward-thinking. In contrast, by using 1938 to represent London, she evokes a period known just before World War II, a time often associated with rigidity, class structure, and the endurance of old-world habits and traditions. London, for centuries a heartbeat of empire and tradition, is portrayed here as holding onto its past rather than rushing ahead to greet the future.

The humor in the quote emerges from exaggeration, but within it lies a critique of cultural inertia and the complexities of modernization. It suggests London is slow to change or resistant to abandoning its traditions, even as the rest of the world, exemplified by dynamic New York, races ahead. There’s an affection mixed with frustration, a loving jab at London’s penchant for nostalgia and its sometimes slow embrace of the new.

Ultimately, Midler’s remark isn’t just about differences in time zones or eras, but a sly meditation on the diverse rhythms at which societies adapt, innovate, or hold on. It asks us to consider how the past endures in places, even as the rest of the world marches impatiently forward.