Hmmm. . . Idiots Around the World. . .

[catscradle]

Whilst looking at Queer as Folk stuff a friend pointed me to this:

from Jane St. Clair: So I finally managed to download and watch the first episode of the American Queer as Folk. And you knew, since it was me, with my Brit/Can spelling, that I wasn't going to love it. And I know the reasons for the remake instead of a straight(?) rebroadcast. Fifteen-year-old Nathan wouldn't have made it past the US censors. American audiences don't like British accents. Culture shock and that.


Now, I don't care that this person doesn't like QaF US version - to each their own. What I love here is that first we get the "with my Brit/Can spelling". Now this person is Canadian. I've got no problems with Canadians. One of my cyber spouses is Canadian. So I get that Canadians use Brit/French spellings. But please tell me what this this comment has to do with anything? Are we talking about the show or are we bashing Americans for the hell of it?

This is about the tenth time I've come across non-American English speakers bashing the way we spell. Can we make a stupider comment on American culture? I get that there are things that are annoying about Americans. I get our government sucks the big one. But if you're going to resort to snide remarks on the way we spell. . . well, you're just scraping the bottom of the barrel, aren't you?

As I told a friend of mine that was insisting that British spellings were correct because they're older: If you want to keep the spellings of your French conquerors, go ahead. But don't insist that your version is more correct because the Brits couldn't keep the Normans out.

I also like the comment that Americans don't like Brit accents because it was just too much culture shock. Grow up. If you want to bash us, learn a little bit about the culture first rather than jumping on the band wagon because it's currently vogue.

Comments

[thebratqueen.livejournal.com]

What cracks me up most of all is that the creator of the show approved of and wanted the translation. He didn't want QAFUK redux. He really wanted QAFUS - a canonical AU where the Brit stereotypes like Nathan, etc. were translated into American versions and the plots proceeded naturally from there.

And plus - how does spelling factor into TV? It's not books. Do I have to point that out? Or does this person really have a thing for the closed captioning?

[catscradle.livejournal.com]

Oh, I know! I love it when the clueless speak.

As for the spelling - they film it in Toronto and many of the actors are Canadian. I'm sure they speak using Brit spellings. . . Christ. We really need to start enforcing that 1.15 dipshit fee.

Oh now wait a minute here ....

[babaca.livejournal.com]

I love how the person assumes that Americans don't like shows where everyone has a British accent ...

Umm excuse me? What about all the folks who watch nothing on their Public Broadcast Stations BUT the British comedies and dramas (Masterpiece Theatre)? I've been an anglophile even before I saw my first episode of Monty Python! That was a stupid generalization if ever I heard one... I guess no one with digital cable/satellite looks at BBC in America either. ^____^

As for spelling, I don't care. Sometimes I spell things the "British" way and sometimes I don't. It's just an extra letter (usually). What does it matter?

Re: Oh now wait a minute here ....

[catscradle.livejournal.com]

Yeah - I love how this Canadian thinks they're so savy they "get" the accent and we don't. If they knew Americans at all, they might have discovered that this culture is rather taken with British actors, the monarchy and Masterpeice Theatre - But even if we weren't, does it deserve the snide comment? Gee, I don't normally think of Nepali culture and accents, I must not "get" it. It must be too much of a culture shock. And what about the Sri Lankians. . .

Anyway, the spelling get me because it's just a random comment thrown in to piss off Americans.