American audiences please boycott this

i think that's an overblown BS stereotype, plenty of Americans watch BBC series. i'm hard of hearing and usually have no problems with accents without subtitles. foreign language programs on the other hand lol

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There's always subtitles...

Not all of us are. I'm American and it saddens and angers me to know that many Americans (not all, but many) are so self-absorbed now (more so than they ever were in past years), and so lazy that they will not work at anything anymore. It's English, people. It may not be American English, but it is still English. Extend your ears and your brains, and at least TRY to understand an ENGLISH show!!!

I suppose much of it has to do with the dreadful state of American education, and our much too liberal government, which is gleefully getting more and more people convinced that it's the government's responsibility to "take care of" the American population, and that people should just stop thinking for themselves, and should let the government feed them, and clothe them.

It's disgusting. As such, no one wants to do anything for themselves anymore, or look beyond their own small world and see that there is so much more out there. So I guess I shouldn't be surprised that much of the American people will therefore complain that they don't understand ENGLISH anymore.

Yeah, yeah, I know. Go ahead my fellow Americans. Jump and attack this post and my other posts. It's what you do best, and seems to be all you know anymore.

<<Shocked at that, i know Americans are insular but the accents in Broadchurch weren't that strong i'm shocked American audiences couldn't understand them.>>

Some were quite strong to my American ears, enough to prove disruptive to my viewing experience. And I watch tons of Brit TV, have been to Britain a number of times for extended periods, and have never had trouble understanding real live British people, Scots included.

I also like David Tennant a lot and I've heard him interviewed or otherwise speaking in his own Scottish accent a number of times and had no trouble understanding him (for instance his episode of Who Do You Think You Are on YouTube). But for some reason I struggled with his accent in Broadchurch. A lot. I was surprised and I think part of the reason was his delivery; he mostly spoke in a low tone that gave a slightly back-of-the-throat impression. His voice just sounded thick for some reason.

For what it's worth, I've read so many differing opinions online about this person's accent and that person's accent by people who'd watched exactly the same movie or TV episode, I've kind of decided there's enough disparity these days among the various makes of television, quality of cable or satellite dish, sound bars, and home theaters that even when we all watch the same thing we don't necessarily all receive the same quality of audio. I've reset the audio settings for our TV and those of various of my relatives in the last year to have less bass and more treble, and both we and they experience less trouble understanding certain actors, especially men with sort of baritone or bass voices. One of the best test cases is Jonny Lee Miller on Elementary. If you can get his voice set so that everyone in a household can understand him chances are they'll hear most performers just fine. At least that's how it's working in our family.


Final note: As an American who seldom has trouble understanding accents in general, I want to stick up for my countrymen and women to this extent; most of us get two weeks of vacation a year for most of our working lives, three usually being tops. Those who do get more seldom take all they're allowed every year. Most of us spend vacations visiting relatives or traveling our own country, which is huge. I've met plenty of Europeans who come here, rent a car, and are stunned at how long it takes to get anywhere. People in Europe can get from country to country in a short time and hear lots of different languages and dialects and have an immersion experience. Most Americans will never even see all 50 states.

Opportunities to actually set foot in foreign countries without sacrificing every vacation dime for the next 5 yrs. are pretty much limited to Canada and Mexico. We get almost no foreign programming on television unless you can afford quite a bit of cable and get some Spanish language channels, which have pretty crap shows. If you live in a northern state you might get some Canadian shows but they'll all be in English and Canadian accents aren't tricky.

Europeans are deluged with American television shows and movies from cradle to grave. Folks Over There have almost daily opportunities to hear American accents, even to some extent American dialects. I've watched American, German, and French shows in one evening while staying in Switzerland. It's a significant advantage, yet even with that advantage I've pointed and laughed at how badly some British actors sound when they take a role that requires them to portray an American. It really does go both ways. And ultimately, some people just don't process aural input as well as others.

So by all means Britain, keep sending us your good stuff. I love it. But as George Bernard Shaw correctly put it, England and America are two countries separated by a common language. I'll toss in Wales, Scotland, and both Irelands too. We don't want you to sound like us. Sometimes we just need a bit of help.

I had no problems with English accents - I can't take watching Tennant without his accent!! Now he sounds American ughhhh

I have spent LOTS of time with Brits and in the UK. But I had to rewind scenes because I could not understand The Doctor on some of his fast rambles and thick accent. He does a good US voice though. At first I thought it was a wanna be Doctor look a like. But as I kept watching, I was Sure it was Tennant. He is going to have a hard time shedding the Doctor image....

I'm American and I had no problem understanding anybody in Broadchurch, but the thing you have to understand is that there are a lot of Americans who refuse to acknowledge any accents other than the ones they hear on premium cable OR what they've heard w/in a 50 mile radius from their home. Unfortunately, these are the ones who watch the most television.

I'm only partway through the pilot and although it's not as good as Broadchurch it's still good and I'm pretty sure I'll stay with it.

Or, another way to look at it is that in the US you won't be judged and arbitrarily assigned to a social class based on your accent!

Also, in a country where roughly 33% of the population was born abroad (and for whom English is therefore a second language), perhaps it's more important that we understand our fellow Americans rather than David Tennant's Scottish accent on Broadchurch, esp since his accent on Gracepoint suits us just fine!

Of course many Americans could catch the show dubbed in Spanish, French, German and what not, bc get real: that's sadly how it's done in quite a few countries. I - for one - would rather pass!

But maybe you have more about America's "insularity" that you'd like to share? Or perhaps an entirely NEW cliché based on a true rumor...

I'm going to give Gracepoint a shot. I didn't stick with Broadchurch because I didn't like the acting. The actress who played the boy's mother was lousy and the actress playing David Tennant's partner was even worse. Talk about nails on a chalk board.