Please don’t let anyone Americanise it (1992) • Hacker News Board

Re: Please don’t let anyone Americanise it (1992)

#61

Post by twofornone » Thu, May 12, 2022, 2:18 PM UTC

vrc wrote: post #30

CalRobert wrote: post #5

There's a deeply frustrating infantilisation when something is localized in the same language. My kids and I love Bluey, an Australian show, but apparently the producers had to refuse to have it redone with US and UK accents to stop it happening. Never understood what the problem with having David Attenborough instead of Sigourney Weaver narrate Planet Earth was either.

I think there’s something about British narration of nature docs that makes them more relaxing and engaging for American audiences. Especially those who grew up in an era of Discovery Channel and PBS where the narration was usually British, or South African, or Australian, or in the Commonwealth-tinged flavor of English of that location. Perhaps it’s nostalgia.

I agree and I think part of it is nostalgia for a time when educational channels actually broadcast informative content, not semi-scripted, over edited, over dramatized reality tv. Did anyone else notice the slow boil of channels like History, Discovery, Animal Planet? Just irresponsible to coast on their reputation and start showing nothing but junk TV 24/7 to people who thought they were learning.

I think it started with Pawn Stars and went downhill from there. MBAs saw $$$ and had no qualms about dumbing down their national audience and trashing the reputations of the channels in the process. American TV is unwatchable IMO.

Re: Please don’t let anyone Americanise it (1992)

#62

Post by K2L8M11N2 » Thu, May 12, 2022, 2:18 PM UTC

lucumo wrote: post #47

capitainenemo wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ever seen the 24h analog clock? :) https://m8y.org/images/24.svg

I've been staying at that click for a solid ten minutes, but I can't figure out why minutes and seconds start on top, but hours on the bottom. Any idea why that particular choice was made?

From the sibling comment's link: "Noon is at the top, so that the hour hand mimics the path of the sun."

Re: Please don’t let anyone Americanise it (1992)

#63

Post by throwaway894345 » Thu, May 12, 2022, 2:19 PM UTC

Abekkus wrote: post #43

CalRobert wrote: post #5

There's a deeply frustrating infantilisation when something is localized in the same language. My kids and I love Bluey, an Australian show, but apparently the producers had to refuse to have it redone with US and UK accents to stop it happening. Never understood what the problem with having David Attenborough instead of Sigourney Weaver narrate Planet Earth was either.

The first planet earth wasn't just given different voiceover for American audiences, it was recut. The brass called the Attenborough cut "excruciatingly slow-paced", so once they decided to re-edit, it was probably easier to recast the narration than to try and edit down Attenborough's own speech. The Attenborough cut is my personal preference too.

Honestly I’m an avid fan of all of the “Planet” series precisely because of Attenborough.

Re: Please don’t let anyone Americanise it (1992)

#64

Post by throwaway894345 » Thu, May 12, 2022, 2:25 PM UTC

twofornone wrote: post #61

vrc wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think there’s something about British narration of nature docs that makes them more relaxing and engaging for American audiences. Especially those who grew up in an era of Discovery Channel and PBS where the narration was usually British, or South African, or Australian, or in the Commonwealth-tinged flavor of English of that location. Perhaps it’s nostalgia.

I agree and I think part of it is nostalgia for a time when educational channels actually broadcast informative content, not semi-scripted, over edited, over dramatized reality tv. Did anyone else notice the slow boil of channels like History, Discovery, Animal Planet? Just irresponsible to coast on their reputation and start showing nothing but junk TV 24/7 to people who thought they were learning. I think it starte…

I didn’t have cable growing up, but by the time I was in college History channel had already given up on history and was just running “Ancient Aliens” and its ilk along with reality TV. As far as I know, there is nowhere to find good documentary content on a regular basis (whether by streaming or legacy media). PBS gets close, but even their Nova and Nature programs have degraded in quality.

Re: Please don’t let anyone Americanise it (1992)

#65

Post by throwaway894345 » Thu, May 12, 2022, 2:26 PM UTC

Joeboy wrote: post #41

CalRobert wrote: post #5

There's a deeply frustrating infantilisation when something is localized in the same language. My kids and I love Bluey, an Australian show, but apparently the producers had to refuse to have it redone with US and UK accents to stop it happening. Never understood what the problem with having David Attenborough instead of Sigourney Weaver narrate Planet Earth was either.

I guess David Attenborough probably isn't so well-known in the US? It's apparently much harder to get people to show up for something without a big name attached. Edit: > Actress and conservationist Sigourney Weaver was brought in to replace David Attenborough as narrator, as it was thought her familiarity to American audiences would attract more viewers.[0] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planet_Earth_(2006_TV_ser…

If Americans don’t know his name, they know his voice. And we would know it better if we could get more BBC nature content licensed for display in the US.

Re: Please don’t let anyone Americanise it (1992)

#66

Post by jimmaswell » Thu, May 12, 2022, 2:26 PM UTC

causi wrote: post #6

‘Disused lavatory’ has been changed to ‘unused lavatory’ and I’m not sure why. As an American it baffles me that an American editor would change the word disused but not the word lavatory. One other thing. I’d rather have characters say ‘What do you mean?’ than ‘Whadd’ya mean?’ Again baffling. Whadd'ya mean is an accent, not a word choice. Changing it in text is as ridiculous as writing 50 as "fifdy" when it's an Ame…

They have to make some minimum amount of changes to justify their job/importance. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9137736

Re: Please don’t let anyone Americanise it (1992)

#67

Post by goblinux » Thu, May 12, 2022, 2:27 PM UTC

lucumo wrote: post #47

capitainenemo wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ever seen the 24h analog clock? :) https://m8y.org/images/24.svg

I've been staying at that click for a solid ten minutes, but I can't figure out why minutes and seconds start on top, but hours on the bottom. Any idea why that particular choice was made?

the 24 hour clocks I've seen usually are set up like this so daytime is the top half and night time the bottom - as though the tip of the hour hand was the sun

Re: Please don’t let anyone Americanise it (1992)

#68

Post by blarg1 » Thu, May 12, 2022, 2:29 PM UTC

egypturnash wrote: post #48

jawns wrote: post #7

His argument about digital watches did not age well. My kids have known how to understand a digital clock since they were toddlers, but even now, in elementary school, they require entire lesson units in school on telling time from a clock face. Beyond that, he argues that pie charts tell us more about the relationship between things than tables of numbers, and a clock face is "the world's most perfect pie chart." Bu…

seriously, I am a GenXer who grew up with mostly digital clocks and I still have to stop and think to get a time out of a clock dial. But then again as Adams said elsewhere, Time is an illusion; lunchtime doubly so. That one still rings true, especially if you're a freelancer like me who never needs to get up and go to an office at 9AM.

same, every single morning I have to and think for a second to figure out the time :(

Re: Please don’t let anyone Americanise it (1992)

#69

Post by js2 » Thu, May 12, 2022, 2:32 PM UTC

pikminguy wrote: post #25

eadmund wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> His argument about digital watches did not age well. Didn't it? I think it remains true. Time is a continuum, not discrete; analogue watches demonstrate that, while digital ones do not. And yes, schools have to teach one how to use a clock, but at the end of the process one actually has enhanced one's understanding of time. Much like using a slide rule teaches one far more about numbers and maths than using a calcu…

Even if you're right that analog watches are better tools that's not what Adams was saying. "We all know, really, that [analog clock face] is a lot more instantly meaningful to us than 15:39" which is just wrong. Plenty of people, myself included, get more instant meaning from a digital readout.

Funny you should use 15:39 as your example.

I find the translation I have to do from 15:39 to 3:39 pm to have much more friction than reading a digital or analog clock in the first place, both of which I can do with equal ease.

The problem of course is that I'm not used to 24-hour times, so I don't equate 15 with any particular time of day. Similar to how I have to translate C to F to make sense of C temperatures.

Now, a 24-hour analog clock with an embedded digital temperature read-out in C, that would really hurt.

Apparently 24-hour analog clocks are thing:

https://www.amazon.com/Navaris-Hour-Wall-Clock-Non-Ticking/d...

Ouch.

Re: Please don’t let anyone Americanise it (1992)

#70

Post by Finnucane » Thu, May 12, 2022, 2:33 PM UTC

The irony of this is that by 1992 large numbers of Americans had already listened to the radio series, read the novels, watched the BBC show, etc., with all of their UK references and language in place. Why would anyone have thought the US audience wouldn't accept it? THey already had.