Lost in Translation
 

(Didn't know if this went in science fiction or not; however the series in question is not of that genre.)

~~

I picked up a TV Zone magazine today because it had the New Who on the front, and as I was walking home had a goosey at the editorial - it featured a picture from Life On Mars, a show that has just finished airing it's first season on the BBC. It claimed the series was going over the Atlantic to the states, and at first I thought that was good. Then I read this:

This quite incensed me. It's almost like saying that an American audience could not possibly be interested in any culture other than their own, even though shows like Doctor Who and Red Dwarf have been sent over the pond unedited in any way, and have recieved a good response.

So I just want to ask: what do you guys think? Should original television shows be sent over to other countries as they are, or should they be remade into a style that suits their particular destination?

~~Lostoyannaya :shock:

Certainly not! Except The Apprentice. Donald Trump is much less amusing to watch than Alan Sugar.

Who is Donald Trump anyway? And why does Scott Adams dislike him?

~~Lostoyannaya :wink:

He's some business magnate from the US with a past as mysterious as Murdoch's...

This reminds me of all the dubbed VS. subbed debates of the anime world.

I've always said subbed, because it's better that way, and it gives me an opprotunity to immerse myself in another language, picking up a few words here and there, and learning buckets about a culture other than my own.

To learn from all the "imported" TV fiascos that the general American public is basically too lazy to handle learning about another culture is just... infuriating and sad. Are the majority of Americans too devoid of motivation to simply Wikipedia something they don't understand? Sites like that are easy to get to and certainly provide enough answers to millions of questions.

I definitely think shows should be left as is. It gives everyone an opportunity to learn more about the world around them, not just the world in their own country. I was more than a little angry to hear that two of my favorite British shows, Coupling and The Office, were being brought over to US television... "adapted" for American audiences. Coupling was absolutely murdered and flopped with good reason, and The Office, granted, is quite funny when not compared with the original. But it's the principle of the thing.

Turn on the closed captioning if you can't understand the accents (honestly, I have to do that whenever I watch The Office). Find a forum to ask a question about a cultural reference you don't understand. Is it really so hard to put a little extra effort into watching television? You just sit around and stare at a box, what's it going to take to become curious about things you don't know and stare at another box while you ask a question about it?

Did you ever see the difference between Cardcaptors (American version) and Cardcaptor Sakura (Original Japanese)? The changes were so radical that my friend wrote a whole piece of Sociology coursework on them!

Edit: quoting error :oops:

~~Lostoyannaya :wink:

I have no trouble understanding British shows (usually), but I'm somewhat fluent in Pommy.

(This is the spot where I normally rant and rave about how the Yorkshire dialect is barely English, but after discovering the dialect of the region my grandma hails from - Cumberland - it turns out I owe all of Yorkshire an apology.)

That and Sailor Moon and so many others. It all makes my head hurt. I remember in the earliest episodes of Sailor Moon, DiC removed sweatdrops and other stereotypically-Japanese-anime expressions.

The hell?

I learned very quickly what a sweatdrop meant, based on the expressions on the characters' faces. Are other kids just not observant? There's no reason that they shouldn't be able to figure it out, too.

Blech. Just blech. People shouldn't whine about how "it takes so much work!" to read subtitles. They shouldn't whine about not understanding a cultural reference. All of that simply suggests severe laziness.

They removed the sweatdrops? But when the Amercan's attempt to remake an Anime - noticably the stereotypical "Anime" of Pokemon - they overuse sweatdrops, if anything :shock:

~~Lostoyannaya :mrgreen:

The other thing they changed in Sailor Moon for the dub was the two girls who are cousins in the dub. Well I the Niponese original version they're lesbians. Stupid dub T_T

They tried to remove the key character of Death from Terry Pratchett's Mort for a film franchise, because an American audience would be 'unable to relate' to the character :roll:

LOL, yeah. And yet Pioneer kept the picture of them practically-almost-kissing for one of their BILINGUAL (but uncut) DVD covers. I once saw a caption on that picture reading,

"Oh, Michiru... I'm so glad you're my cousin..."

:roll: Let's advocate incestual activities instead, that's way better than being a lesbian! *gag*

In Cardcaptor Sakura there was a shounen-ai underline that was erased by making the two characters "just friends" and actually removing scenes that involved any romantic language... :roll:

~~Lostoyannaya :mrgreen:

And POOR RIKA! She no longer had that super-cute crush on her teacher, but they made the teacher her father!

Eeeeewwww! So they think giving her an Electra Complex is better?

I suppose it works with some things and not with others. I mean, I have no problem watching American stuff, but sometimes I don't understand a few refences to things because, well, I just don't live there! I suppose it's the same for them, some people might get all the inside bits of a British show, but unless you really really know the whole history of the UK, it's kinda hard. I mean if I shouted out to you, 'Nice to see you! To see you......'
What would you shout back?
Although, on the other hand, I find things tend to lose their favor when changed to much. Anyone remember the American Red Dwarf?

Thankfully not. Canadian stations always aired the original version.

And Losty, i know what you mean about CCS...poor, poor, CCS...

*pets*

I wouldn't blame CLAMP for bursting into tearing after seeing the dub...

OH GOD YES. They have the premire on the Season Five English DVD. HOW COULD THEY DO THAT?? *goes off to rant* ...and that's why I hate peas.

I mean, baseball cards? The library quip was a lot better.

~~Lostoyannaya