Okay.
To you Astronauta...
1) Yes. I don't want to read subtitles. I'm not going to shamed into it. If it's part of a film, a few scenes, sure. But a whole movie? No. I'll pass. I prefer dubbed, but correctly dubbed. None of this Godzilla kind of translation where the spoken words don't remotely match their lips. The best dub I've ever seen was for the Japanese film, Azumi - instead of doing a direct translation word for word, they took the spirit of the script. Replacing words with others which mean the same thing; having it match the beat of the person's mouth. This did not take away from the story. I remember watching it the first time and being confused, I'm on the dubbed track, but she's speaking English. I appreciate all the effort to make the dialog fluid. I believe I would've enjoyed Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon much more if that kind of adaptation was employed. Their mismatched spoken words pulled me out of the experience.
2) Yes and no. The cultural difference can be very drastic, like viewing an alien world. Some may be enthralled by it - others repelled. The same thing can be said about things which are 'Cute'. I'm going to use the same nation again, Japan. Yes, I know the original film was Korean. I listened to the original audio for Azumi, holy crap, it hurts. Why do the women there need to be so high pitched? The same could be said for when I watched the original anime, RoboTech. The authentic Lisa Hayes made me cringe, make her stop! Back to the main topic. People who watch movies, the base line folks, want to enjoy the production, not have to do homework on why a person is behaving in such a manner. Not mention national lifestyles. To expect this from the majority of American audiences will be a let down. This kind of entertainment is niche. Which is why it's called a foreign film, not a world film.
3) Yes and no. This is not releated to the above. Subtlety is an art, people use it in various degrees, there is NO standard. What is read by one will be missed by another. It's the age old battle of the sexes. You shouldn't be upset about this point. Consider yourself one of the lucky ones, blessed with a better grasp of the human condition. Okay. Films are make for money, profit; movie makers are trying to give their project(s) the widest appeal as possible to maximize their return. It's always been like this. Through happy coincidence and synchronicity both road met and we get a films that is both a success and well crafted. Or now in the age of home video those movies who failed the first time are being discovered years after the fact and now appreciated for their worth. Look at it this way... without crap we can't see, seperate the genuine gems out there.
4) Once again, yes and no. People go to movies as an escape; to dream awake. King Kong was such a hit during the depression because Americans needed to take their mind off their personal sorrows - zone out and be taken away to a mysterious island guarded by a living deity. My thoughts on the topic is economics. Those who have more disposable income (which for the most part equals = more education; not an absolute, but far more true than false) are more likely to consider the deeper meanings of things, not accepting at face value. A great pop group in the 1980s was Martini Ranch, fronted by actor Bill Paxton (they only had one album, "Holy Cow" 1988). A song from the album pretty much sums up your question. "How Can the Labouring Man Find Time for Self-Culture?"
5) *sigh* Yes and no. Things can be deeper than presented. If you listen to fanboys discuss Star Wars or Star Trek you will hear very passionate if not... extrapolated arguments over sex, identity, themes and who's the best with a batleth (Kalis if you need to ask). Concepts need to be recognized at some base level before they are explored. I say "I went to the beach and looked at some shells". You would need to know the idea behind 'a shore' and 'sea shells' to understand that sentence. Anyhow, this would be more in line to number 3.
6) Red and Blue answer. I'm all for patriotism, but not at the expense of the self, a fanatical view of their particular nation. For this I'm going to leave it alone. Far too many variables (mostly religious ones).
7) Sir/Miss that's kinda lame. WE as a race gravitate towards the beautiful. It doesn't matter where you're from - you want to be near them. And perhaps some their mojo will wear off on you. I'm guilty of it. And I'm sure, so are you. It's that look or action (confidence) that makes your heart beat faster; that's so cool - that's so sexy. I want to be him/her. There is for Hollywood a formula to capture that so illusive essence. As much as we complain about it, these stereotypes work. The guys in the white hats prevail over the mustached twirling villian. C'mon, most of our literature is based on that notion. But to cover the question; I can see normal or common people everyday. If I'm going to pay my money, I want to see something bigger than life - beautiful - for my escape. Which guy wouldn't want to be Charlie and passionately kiss Jordan?
8) This I say, YES! We as nation don't really export much. We are consumers, the good and bad kind. But what we lack in actual physical goods we make up in stories. One of the best lines out there is from the film Grand Canyon where Steve Martin's character says, "all of life's riddles are answered in the movies". Yeah, pretty much. We are story tellers. We have played out nearly all available variants. Things are become a bit redundant and the need for more leads to places outside. These remakes of foreign movies are mixed. The idea is sound, but too much emphasis is focused on profit than actual artistic quilibrium or real improvements. Anyhow, the world looks to us, then imitates. Look at porn as an example. The adult products outside of America is... interesting. Guys and gals who get paid to have sex on camera, that shouldn't. While this isn't an absolute, there is something very different with American XXX. The ladies here resemble super models. The quest for beauty and that primal drive. We were the ones who elevated our gals from mere whores to celebrity. Just look at the videos from the early 1980s and now. The world took notice and replicated. Going back to Japan once more. I saw the original, The Ring with subtitles, not a dub. I found it boring and very hokey. The remake is far superior in my opinion. But like I wrote, remakes of foreign movies are mixed.
As for this? I enjoyed My Sassy Gal (2008), watched it a few hours ago. I'm glad it's a part of my DVD collection.
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BulmaPunkRocker
9 years ago
It's nice for once to read honest answers, thanks (I'm not OP, though).
BTW, Robotech (which I grow up with) it's NOT the "original" anime. The original one, from which northamerican Robotech was adapted, it's japanese anime Macross.
PS: IMHO, original japanese "Ringu" makes more sense than USA remake, "The Ring". Of course may be kind of confusing and somewhat slow peaced and boring for standard north american audiences. I think it's a cultural thing. The character of Sadako (I can't recall her "northamerican" name) it's part of japanese culture, a Yürei. I don't know if northamericans can relate so easily with the concept of Yürei and Onryou (despite all the Ringu, Ju-On, etc remakes).
Please excuse my terrible redaction, english is not my native language.
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