Lost in Translation

[Ginga]

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?