Talking Meme: Dec 16

[bagheera_san]

Dec 16: differences between German and English-speaking fandom for gnineI have an academic paper on this topic in the works, in which I'll talk about some of the historical developments and linguistic phenomena that could explain some of these differences, but this is a great opportunity to talk about some of the more subjective aspects of this issue

Comments

[x_los]

I really like the idea that the Macarena might be forced upon you.

[bagheera_san]

No, it's a terrible fate.

[asthenie_vd]

Harry Potter was almost certainly my intro to English fandom as well. Harry Potter, and Star Trek smut-fic! :)

The amount to which German fandom is not academic and not interested in meta is almost scary. There's too many people who actively refuse to discuss the immediate impact media products have on culture/society because it's just a show and why would anyone care? The critical reception of books & TV in Germany in general is somewhat alarming, though. Just look at all the outrage over the new censored versions of children's classic and the lack of understanding people (even TV hosts) showed towards PoC who felt offended by the language in the those books. English speaking fandom always seemed to me a lot more educated and open-minded because it is more interested in media criticism and literary theories in general. Mention "gender studies" to your average mono-linguistic German fan, and they'll look at you like you've grown a second head (if they don't start throwing a tantrum, because "waah, iz no one thinking of teh poor white

[bagheera_san]

Sometimes the degree to which English-speaking fandom has adopted gender and social justice issues as part of its repertoire can be annoying - not because I don't like critical analysis, but because it's often very superficial and automatic (I guess this is what always happens when teens do politics) - but German fandom shows that NOT having this awareness isn't preferable.

[asthenie_vd]

Absolutely. But at least with the zealous teenagers there's still the hope they will mellow with age and experience.

[firefly1311]

It starts with the german Synchronisation of the english originals: most of the "translations" makes my toes curl. They usually murder any slash undercurrent and drown the rest with the formal form of address "Sie" - even if the heroes share a bed...

[bagheera_san]

du/Sie is the worst. I'm not a professional translator and *I* could do a better job with many shows... Star Trek for example - people in this dub keep saying "Sie" to each other even if they're on a first name basis and have been best friends for seven years: the only way to get a "du" out of the translator seems to be either blood relation or on-screen kissing.