The Americanisation of Film and Television. (2 Viewers)

[The General]

Just a couple of examples.....


A few years back here in Oz they made a film called The Castle.
It was a comedy that proved a big hit here. We thought it was strange though that certain words and phrases in the film were "dubbed" for American audiences. Surely the film would lose some of it's Aussie charm because of this?

....and this one....

Out of the U.K. was one of the funniest sitcoms I've ever seen which was also a huge hit here in Oz called The Office.
I was again amazed to find that Americans felt it necessary to copy the series with U.S. actors in an American setting. It was very, very bad compared to the Pommy one.


Over here we don't feel the need to dub Gone with the Wind with Aussie accents and have them riding Kangaroos for Australian audiences.


I guess my question is why do "the powers that be" feel the need to change things for their U.S. audiences?

Help me out here. You guys are always pretty good with all my American questions.

Cheers
The General

 

[Spitfrnd]

Just a couple of examples.....


A few years back here in Oz they made a film called The Castle.
It was a comedy that proved a big hit here. We thought it was strange though that certain words and phrases in the film were "dubbed" for American audiences. Surely the film would lose some of it's Aussie charm because of this?

....and this one....

Out of the U.K. was one of the funniest sitcoms I've ever seen which was also a huge hit here in Oz called The Office.
I was again amazed to find that Americans felt it necessary to copy the series with U.S. actors in an American setting. It was very, very bad compared to the Pommy one.


Over here we don't feel the need to dub Gone with the Wind with Aussie accents and have them riding Kangaroos for Australian audiences.


I guess my question is why do "the powers that be" feel the need to change things for their U.S. audiences?

Help me out here. You guys are always pretty good with all my American questions.

Cheers
The General

I think it is because you blokes sound so funny. Just kidding mate but I suspect it has something to do with mass American audiences not understanding certain Australian and English accents and the nuances of certain phrases and expressions. TV is still a mass market here and is treated very differently than movies. IMHO many American TV studio production managers make absurd decisions about all kinds of shows, not just off shore productions and derivatives so it is not a plot against our cousins, just poor decision making. So don't take it personally, it is a sad fact we have to live with here.

That said, I beg to differ about the office. I did like the British production of the office but frankly I think the American version is at least as good. Some of the American actors, like Pam, I actually prefer better. Also, the American version office story lines are much more compatible with American experiences. I enjoy both but no need to dish the American version, it is quite funny IMHO.

 

[Deitz]

I am glad that they did not dub Faulty Towers or Monty Phyton. I just wish they more of them.

Although there was an American version of Faulty Towers, which was very bad.

 

[The General]

I think it is because you blokes sound so funny.

I only became aware of just how funny we sounded when I was in the States in 2000. You don't realise until you're in another country that you actually have an accent.

Thankfully the girls really liked it.

 

[1879fanatic]

General,
I think that we in America (The powers that be, that is) strive to capture everyone in their audience. They include filth in kid's films to get the teen and adult audience. They include juvenile junk in adult films to capture that segment. It also has to do with the "melting pot" theory where everything then becomes perfectly mediocre, and everything is now aimed at the lowest common denominator. That basically meas that they think the American public is too stupid to understand anything outside the immediate culture. Therefore we don't get blessed with anything that sounds "different". But we love you guys! Mike

 

[damian]

I personally like to hear original accents and dialects. It allows me to go and research a bit about the place the movie is from. I have learnt a lot from watching American cop shows. I understand what an APB is I know how to arrange a plea bargain. I know that the local sherrif always hates the FBI. So I prefer to watch undubbed things. I saw the Castle in the original Aussie version and enjoyed it.

 

[vandilay]

I think it is because you blokes sound so funny. Just kidding mate but I suspect it has something to do with mass American audiences not understanding certain Australian and English accents and the nuances of certain phrases and expressions. TV is still a mass market here and is treated very differently than movies. IMHO many American TV studio production managers make absurd decisions about all kinds of shows, not just off shore productions and derivatives so it is not a plot against our cousins, just poor decision making. So don't take it personally, it is a sad fact we have to live with here.

That said, I beg to differ about the office. I did like the British production of the office but frankly I think the American version is at least as good. Some of the American actors, like Pam, I actually prefer better. Also, the American version office story lines are much more compatible with American experiences. I enjoy both but no need to dish the American version, it is quite funny IMHO.

The american version of the office is not a bad effort but it just doesnt have the cringe factor of the british version , it was actualy hard to watch Ricky Gervais at times but that is what in my mind sets the british show head and shoulders above the US version.

 

[trooper]

I only became aware of just how funny we sounded when I was in the States in 2000. You don't realise until you're in another country that you actually have an accent.

Thankfully the girls really liked it.

I often find that when I am speaking to someone in this country who has an accent, Welsh, Scottish or Irish, I often slip in to the same accent or rythum of speech myself. Yet when I was in the US I found I was becoming more English. Very peculiar.

 

[Spitfrnd]

I only became aware of just how funny we sounded when I was in the States in 2000. You don't realise until you're in another country that you actually have an accent.
Thankfully the girls really liked it.

Yes, I often wished I had an Aussie accent myself at times. Acutally we have many different accents in this country; again something to do with that melting pot thing. My wife was born in Queens and moved to North Carolina for the first grade. The teachers though she had a speech impediment. I grew up on the lower eastern shore of Maryland, whose natives have a very thick accent that took me quite some time to loose. Then there is Massachuetts, the South, the mid West, Minnesota / Dakota, all different and in their most pure forms, sometimes nearly undeciferable by those from different regions. I suspect the UK and Oz have some of the same.

 

[Spitfrnd]

The american version of the office is not a bad effort but it just doesnt have the cringe factor of the british version , it was actualy hard to watch Ricky Gervais at times but that is what in my mind sets the british show head and shoulders above the US version.

Now that is an interesting observation. I love Ricky Gervais but I would say Steve Carell generates the same (if not more) "cringe" factor for US audiences, myself included. Difference in cultural expectations and perspectives perhaps?

 

[theBaron]

The american version of the office is not a bad effort but it just doesnt have the cringe factor of the british version , it was actualy hard to watch Ricky Gervais at times but that is what in my mind sets the british show head and shoulders above the US version.

I'm with spitfrnd. Michael Scott might not make a Kiwi cringe, but he makes me cringe in almost every episode.

Actually, it's interesting how in some situations, he actually winds up doing the right thing, without even realizing it.

And Pam is a sweetheart, she's embodies the "girl next door".

Disclosure: I enjoy the original British version, too. I saw it on BBC-America, and have the DVD set on my wish list.

Now "Coupling"-there was a show that did not make the jump, and I think it's because the American producers changed the characters too much (I think they added a gay character, for example), and that changed the dynamic of the 6 friends and how they interacted. The original is a riot. But then, if I am not mistaken, Stephen Merchant is one of the creators of that show ("Steve" is an autobiographical character, I think), and he is co-creator, with Ricky Gervais, of "The Office". So I wasn't surprised by the quality of the "The Office" (UK) when I first saw it, having seen "Coupling".

Prost!
Brad

 

[thebritfarmer]

I'm with spitfrnd. Michael Scott might not make a Kiwi cringe, but he makes me cringe in almost every episode.

Actually, it's interesting how in some situations, he actually winds up doing the right thing, without even realizing it.

And Pam is a sweetheart, she's embodies the "girl next door".

Disclosure: I enjoy the original British version, too. I saw it on BBC-America, and have the DVD set on my wish list.

Now "Coupling"-there was a show that did not make the jump, and I think it's because the American producers changed the characters too much (I think they added a gay character, for example), and that changed the dynamic of the 6 friends and how they interacted. The original is a riot. But then, if I am not mistaken, Stephen Merchant is one of the creators of that show ("Steve" is an autobiographical character, I think), and he is co-creator, with Ricky Gervais, of "The Office". So I wasn't surprised by the quality of the "The Office" (UK) when I first saw it, having seen "Coupling".

Prost!
Brad

I have seen Coupling many times, and when I saw the US version I was looking forward to it. However the script they used was almost the same but it just didn't work with the actors they chose.

 

[damian]

Yes, I often wished I had an Aussie accent myself at times. Acutally we have many different accents in this country; again something to do with that melting pot thing. My wife was born in Queens and moved to North Carolina for the first grade. The teachers though she had a speech impediment. I grew up on the lower eastern shore of Maryland, whose natives have a very thick accent that took me quite some time to loose. Then there is Massachuetts, the South, the mid West, Minnesota / Dakota, all different and in their most pure forms, sometimes nearly undeciferable by those from different regions. I suspect the UK and Oz have some of the same.

Sefricans don't hev a spich impediment. We jest telk flet like this all the time.

 

[Rutledge]

Just a couple of examples.....


A few years back here in Oz they made a film called The Castle.
It was a comedy that proved a big hit here. We thought it was strange though that certain words and phrases in the film were "dubbed" for American audiences. Surely the film would lose some of it's Aussie charm because of this?

....and this one....

Out of the U.K. was one of the funniest sitcoms I've ever seen which was also a huge hit here in Oz called The Office.
I was again amazed to find that Americans felt it necessary to copy the series with U.S. actors in an American setting. It was very, very bad compared to the Pommy one.


Over here we don't feel the need to dub Gone with the Wind with Aussie accents and have them riding Kangaroos for Australian audiences.


I guess my question is why do "the powers that be" feel the need to change things for their U.S. audiences?

Help me out here. You guys are always pretty good with all my American questions.

Cheers
The General

Agree with most of the comments. Dont forget: The most sincere form of flattery: Imatation! Thus, when others copy you, consider it actually a very big compliment. But, sometimes things do have more relevance, and broad appeal, when placed in a strictly "american" context for american audiences.

 

[UKReb]

Yes, I often wished I had an Aussie accent myself at times. Acutally we have many different accents in this country; again something to do with that melting pot thing. My wife was born in Queens and moved to North Carolina for the first grade. The teachers though she had a speech impediment. I grew up on the lower eastern shore of Maryland, whose natives have a very thick accent that took me quite some time to loose. Then there is Massachuetts, the South, the mid West, Minnesota / Dakota, all different and in their most pure forms, sometimes nearly undeciferable by those from different regions. I suspect the UK and Oz have some of the same.

I as do a lot of my English pals have great difficulty in understanding your American "hip-hop" street language that now inundates your cop films and TV shows. It's normally delivered in a sing-song lilt by the black bad guys-unfortunately it appears to be a trait that black guys are either drug dealers or pimps when portrayed in American cop movies but even when playing a cop or detective we still get this strange Rap type street language that is utterly indecipherable to us Brits-including yours truly who is known amongst my bunch as Bob the Yankeephile!

A good example is the HBO Baltimore based cop/gangster series The Wire. It was never shown here on any of the terrestial channels, although winning plaudits across the world as the "best TV show ever" but after watching a couple of episodes on DVD of a series that American audiences considered even better than Sopranos I can understand why it has been ignored by all the major US TV award juries- I was completely lost in trying to comprehend the storyline and would need sub-titles to even begin to grasp what the hell was going on. Subsequently, I gave up on it by the third episode and returned the box-set to Amazon.

So my question-do all you WASP's understand it or was the series made purely for a black audience? If so why has it been applauded across the world as the TV event ever-or is it the usual hype? And Brad please dont tell me that when it's translated into German you understand it perfectly

A bemused Reb who usually enjoys American cop shows

 

[Spitfrnd]

I as do a lot of my English pals have great difficulty in understanding your American "hip-hop" street language that now inundates your cop films and TV shows. It's normally delivered in a sing-song lilt by the black bad guys-assuming that most US black guys are drug dealers and pimps as portrayed in American cop movies but even when playing a cop or detective we still get this strange street language that is utterly indecipherable to us Brits-including yours truly who is known amongst my bunch as Bob the Yankeephile!

A good example is the HBO Baltimore based cop/gangster series The Wire. It was never shown here on any of the terrestial channels, although winning plaudits across the world as the "best TV show ever" but after watching a couple of episodes on DVD of a series that American audiences considered even better than Sopranos I can understand why it has been ignored by all the major US TV award juries- I was completely lost in trying to comprehend the storyline and would need sub-titles to even begin to grasp what the hell was going on. Subsequently, I gave up on it by the third episode and returned the box-set to Amazon.

So my question-do all you WASP's understand it or was the series made purely for a black audience? If so why has it been applauded across the world as the TV event ever-or is it the usual hype?

A bemused Reb who usually enjoys American cop shows

LOL Reb, well I am hardly main stream but I frankly can't comprehend most hip-hop any better than the average Brit, not that I would care to really. I also usually have no idea what the average American TV audience is watching since I usually eschew network programing with very, very few exceptions. I tend to watch movies and classic series on DVD after I take an interest in them. Before you mentioned it, I had never even heard of The Wire but from your description I doubt I will bother to sample it; I would likely not to be able to decipher it any better than you could. Frankly it sounds like the usual mass audience hype to me; but then I never could see the point of Survivor For a cop series fix I will stick to some old classics like "Hill Street Blues" and the quirky but lovable "Picket Fences", both of which need to have more seasons released on dvd.

 

[nasirkasmani]

what about the Sketch show?

Kelsey Grammer got the rights and brought it to America, and though brought most of the original cast it became less funny.

I felt the jokes became more slapstick and less witty.

 

[binder001]

As mentioned you are seeing the real dearth of originality in the Hollywood and media empires. The Almighty Dollar is their god just as checkbook liberalism is their creed. Why take a chance on doing something new and original when you can take somebody elses' succesful idea and drive it into the ground? If a show seems popular somewhere else, lets "Americanize" it and generally suck the originality out of it then put it on a major network, make some easy money and move on to the next rip-off. I couldn't imagine an "American" copy of Fawlty Towers - I'm glad I never saw it. Doctor Who just wouldn't work in the US, it's GOT to be set in England. One of the many fine features of The Red Green Show was the Canadian view of the world as well as rural life.

When some of us complain about the decline of American values we point to the big broadcast networks as our prime examples.

Gary

 

[thebritfarmer]

As mentioned you are seeing the real dearth of originality in the Hollywood and media empires. The Almighty Dollar is their god just as checkbook liberalism is their creed. Why take a chance on doing something new and original when you can take somebody elses' succesful idea and drive it into the ground? If a show seems popular somewhere else, lets "Americanize" it and generally suck the originality out of it then put it on a major network, make some easy money and move on to the next rip-off. I couldn't imagine an "American" copy of Fawlty Towers - I'm glad I never saw it. Doctor Who just wouldn't work in the US, it's GOT to be set in England. One of the many fine features of The Red Green Show was the Canadian view of the world as well as rural life.

When some of us complain about the decline of American values we point to the big broadcast networks as our prime examples.

Gary

There have been some great copies of British shows though in years past. Three's Company, All in the Family and Sanford & Son are three that spring to mind

 

[Wraith]

I couldn't imagine an "American" copy of Fawlty Towers - I'm glad I never saw it. Doctor Who just wouldn't work in the US, it's GOT to be set in England.

It works both ways around as well. I just can't see 'Dudley Vice' being the hit over here that 'Miami Vice' was. They'd be driving around in a Vauxhall Astra, rather than a Ferrari, intercepting major narcotics hauls along the Birmingham Canal in a rubber dinghy and one of them would have a pet ferret instead of an alligator. Just couldn't see it working.