Question: The cultural centers of the western world seemed to move with the rise and fall of various cultures. The 19th century was the Age of Victoria, and thus London grew to be the cultural middle of the west. It held onto that title, even after the British Empire had started to fall apart. However, with the huge expansion of the US presence in world affairs following WWII, as emphasized by the locating of the UN Headquarters in NYC, New York found its role in the financial and cultural currents of the world equally expanded. Thus, you find major literary artists from Allen Ginsberg to Phillip Roth to John Updike located there; modern art seemed to move naturally into the environment; and the music scene, from classical (Bernstein) to cutting edge jazz (Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane) became the soundtrack of the era. Explain.