The Big Picture: Americana
- Thread starter MovieBob
- Start date
Americana, or Americanisation is something of a sore point for me. It's an interesting episode with some well made points about the blending of genres but the Americanisation problem that I see is aiming at an established target (movie, music, art) and missing by a wide mile. Given Turkish Superman and kin, it would be fair to say America isn't the only one guilty of this sin, but the others have the blessing of being poor enough that these movies don't really circulate outside of the country it was intended for.
American studios, however, spend the money and AIM at non-American audiences. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo has a decent cast and comes from a decent book but it already has an award winning, brilliantly acted, uncompromising trilogy of movies and will almost certainly lose a lot in the Americanisation. I hope I'm wrong with this, but I might end up hating the remake simply because I saw the original. And that's my main point. They'd do better to redub the original movies into english for the notoriously subtitle shy American audiences than to water good material down the way they do. Heck, the BBC even commissioned a comedy based on how POORLY America treats British comedy when it tries to remake it.
Now the occasional foray into international waters is natural for all countries, even recommended given Attack The Block recently, but when the US got into Japanese horror in a big way it just churned out remake after remake after remake of poorly produced, formulaic bilge. *sigh* Not that anything will change, but for me it cheapens the original material when it is so blatantly prostituted for cash by an American studio. Then again, Indian Superman probably should have had a red light hanging in the window...
American studios, however, spend the money and AIM at non-American audiences. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo has a decent cast and comes from a decent book but it already has an award winning, brilliantly acted, uncompromising trilogy of movies and will almost certainly lose a lot in the Americanisation. I hope I'm wrong with this, but I might end up hating the remake simply because I saw the original. And that's my main point. They'd do better to redub the original movies into english for the notoriously subtitle shy American audiences than to water good material down the way they do. Heck, the BBC even commissioned a comedy based on how POORLY America treats British comedy when it tries to remake it.
Now the occasional foray into international waters is natural for all countries, even recommended given Attack The Block recently, but when the US got into Japanese horror in a big way it just churned out remake after remake after remake of poorly produced, formulaic bilge. *sigh* Not that anything will change, but for me it cheapens the original material when it is so blatantly prostituted for cash by an American studio. Then again, Indian Superman probably should have had a red light hanging in the window...
In regards to The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, I feel embarrassed to say I've never read the books - bought them intending to but haven't; I don't like reading in Swedish - I never saw the Swedish versions, but I'm actually an extra in the American one during the 60s parade scene.
I thought I'd just be one in a crowd and thus I could hide behind someone and yet experience the "Hollywood magic", but nope, front and centre people. I sincerely hope that I don't end up on screen D=
Interesting episode as usual Bob =)
I thought I'd just be one in a crowd and thus I could hide behind someone and yet experience the "Hollywood magic", but nope, front and centre people. I sincerely hope that I don't end up on screen D=
Interesting episode as usual Bob =)
So is that Turkish series where Conan O'Brien has been getting those clips he plays instead of the actual Captain America movie? He's been doing that for a while now., like this one here:
http://teamcoco.com/video/new-captain-america-footage-revealed-032311
http://teamcoco.com/video/new-captain-america-footage-revealed-032311
On the subject of American remakes most will probably be aware of "The Assassin [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107843/]" being a remake of Luc Bessons excellent "La Femme Nikita [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100263/]" but what many may not know is that Hong Kong beat them to it with "Hei Mao [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101463/]" (known as Black Cat when I watched it on video rental back in the day).
I add this as it's probably one of the few films to get both an Americanised and HK version that are both actually worth watching - it's been maybe a decade since I watched Hei Mao and probably longer for The Assassin but what I can recall I do with fondness.
So if you can dig it up, it's worth the watch.
I add this as it's probably one of the few films to get both an Americanised and HK version that are both actually worth watching - it's been maybe a decade since I watched Hei Mao and probably longer for The Assassin but what I can recall I do with fondness.
So if you can dig it up, it's worth the watch.
Good point well made. Rec's remake was horrible and Let The Right One In was ruined for me by the remake. I could list more painful examples, other than the ones mentioned here but my therapist says I'm doing much better now and shouldn't dwell on past traumas.voorhees123 said:
(*shudder* The Ladykillers just flashed into my brain! I'm going for a quiet lie down now...)
When the cultural-diffusion-happens argument falls on obstinately ignorant ears, I would usually point out that the person complaining about the spread (exporting) of American culture is always the same person that complains about the American perverting (importing) of other cultures. In short, people who hate the cultural diffusion of America, really just hate American culture.
I was simply unaware of foreign remakes of American franchises on this level. I will use this video to support my original argument.
I was simply unaware of foreign remakes of American franchises on this level. I will use this video to support my original argument.
Guinea pigs are for people to eat, not the other way around.CD-R said:
Transformers might count. I mean the show started out as a collaboration between Japanese and Americans, but after the show ended over here, the Japanese continued it in Japan, and they came up with some things that Americans would never be able to take seriously, like the decepticons were actually just fighting for their offscreen women and children.
And when Beast Wars came out here, the Japanese switched things up in translation so that Airazor was a dude in Japan. They also made an anime sequel. And after Beast Machines ended, the Japanese came out with another anime that was imported over here as "Transformers: Robots in Disguise." After that they came out with Armada, Energon, and Cybertron, and then the movie came out.
Also, I'm not surprised that Moviebob skipped over the Powerpuff Girls, since he hates the 90s so much, but other things that had weird Japanese adaptations include: Alice in Wonderland, Star Wars, the Hulk, Alice in Wonderland, and the Count of Monte Christo.
I know of one really awesome American property that was taken by another country and did good things with it, the Indian movie Endhiran. It basically took a lot from the whole Terminator series, and even a little from Bruno Matei's Lady Terminator, and made a movie with the funniest and most outrageous action scenes in history. Seriously, just watch this, it's batshit crazy. (The real insanity starts at about 2:40)
I am in the apparent minority of people who likes American adaptations of foreign movies.
An example would be the American remake of Let The Right One In, a movie I saw and adored before the US remake was announced. Once it came out that it was getting remade the imdb forum for the movie was pretty much wall to wall bitching and moaning, whereas my reaction was more along the lines of "this could be interesting".
American adaptations, where you're adapting a book or an anime or something into a live action movie but changing the setting to the US, is a bit more troublesome. I've always thought it's better to see at least one film of the source material that stays true to the original firest. If they want to make an American remake after that go for it, but for the only film version to be Americanized always feels a little unfair to me.
An example would be the American remake of Let The Right One In, a movie I saw and adored before the US remake was announced. Once it came out that it was getting remade the imdb forum for the movie was pretty much wall to wall bitching and moaning, whereas my reaction was more along the lines of "this could be interesting".
American adaptations, where you're adapting a book or an anime or something into a live action movie but changing the setting to the US, is a bit more troublesome. I've always thought it's better to see at least one film of the source material that stays true to the original firest. If they want to make an American remake after that go for it, but for the only film version to be Americanized always feels a little unfair to me.