Zoe Williams, a Guardian columnist, has come to a startling realisation: she has finally, decisively, turned into her mother. The epiphany arrived with prom night, a tradition she now questions much like her mother once questioned Halloween.
Halloween and Americanisation
When Williams was young, Halloween was just becoming popular in Britain. While other mothers embraced the fun, blindfolding children and sticking their hands in bowls of peeled grapes called 'witches' eyeballs', her mother declared: 'This is a disgusting Americanisation of what was previously a very low-key event.' Williams used to daydream about having a fun mum who didn't hate America, imagining Pop-tarts and trips to Disneyland.
Prom Night Arrives
Forty years later, prom has become a British fixture, and Williams finds herself asking the same dumb questions her mother once did: 'Why are we doing this? Is it just because we learned it off the telly?' The outfits are a major source of stress. Teenagers dress as if heading to Mr and Ms Universe finals, yet complain that the dress is a 'nerd colour', the straps are wrong, and the suit is too square. Williams notes the beauty and shy hopefulness of the teenagers, which inspires protectiveness and awe.
Lack of Drama
The event itself lacks memorable moments. Williams observes that no one even snogs anyone they didn't arrive with. There is no drama or home truths, as one promster informed her: 'It's prom, it's not Coachella.' The real reason, she believes, is the absence of alcohol – another Americanism that forbids drinking under 21, despite British teenagers vomiting in front gardens since Year 10.
A Mother's Legacy
Williams wishes her mother had lived to see her turn into her. Yet, the same week would have shattered her mother's rock-solid belief: 'There will never be a summer hotter than 1976.' Swings and roundabouts, she concludes.
