Should the Irish be decanonized?
- Thread starter Trekker4747
- Start date
CommanderRaytas said:
Actually, I find those rather insulting. And not just the implication, but also the accents. Why oh why would Germans talk amongst themselves in terrible English instead of their native language? And if it's "supposed" to be German but it's English so the public will understand...well, you might as well drop the bogus, ridiculous, embarrassing attempt of emulating someone's way of pronouncing foreign sounds.
Doesn't anyone on Trek know about the great art of phonetics and phonology? It makes me angry, like portrayals of Brazilians, which are never, ever accurate. Except on that CSI: Miami episode.
So, yes, cliches should be dropped altogether. Research would be nice, Wikipedia has a few insights...
I know. I find it annoying watching german characters say "Herr","Frau or the number one offense "fuhrer". I personally wished they just made german character either speak in English or in German properly with subtitles. My german isn't good but I'd rather listen to it then bear with the fake crap.
You're right about all of that, as far as you've gone. I suspect, however -- from the glib manner in which Trekker made the leap from some unflattering Irish stereotypes to a supposed offense against "all Celts" -- that he is aware of very little concerning the Celts.
I hadn't considered it either, probably because Colm Meaney's character is so well rounded, he could be any nationality and only the accent would jar.
EDIT; Reminds me of being told by a girl in the middle of a group conversation that Colm Meaney was someone who "played that man in Star Trek", as if I hadn't seen "The Van" or any of the other big films he starred in
You know how blind us Trek fans are to the rest of the world 
Fair enough...but I still think the accent is annoying. That's what non-regional received pronunciation is for.
Stormrage : you're so right. Besides, I think the Space Nazi thing is getting kind of old. Dealing with history is one thing, but using it as a plot device to up the ratings is not okay. Maybe I'm just oversensitive.
I dunno what you're all whinging about. I had to put up with a Sikh with a Mexican accent!
Doesn't get more farfetched than that.
Although I have been known to use the phrase 'a superior woman' from time to time.
Doesn't get more farfetched than that.
Although I have been known to use the phrase 'a superior woman' from time to time.
yes. football's been around for a few centuries now, i doubt it's going anywhere soon. popularity may dip, but it'll keep going. it's not likely to go the baseball route depicted in Trek because it's too popular in too many places.
how'd you explain that in DS9's 2nd season they had a scene in which a pro 'sah-ker' player was discussed then? he was injured and never played as well again.
and worf played it as a kid. besides the 2151 World Cup.
captcalhoun said:
how'd you explain that in DS9's 2nd season they had a scene in which a pro 'sah-ker' player was discussed then? he was injured and never played as well again.
and worf played it as a kid. besides the 2151 World Cup.
"Ah, yes, Captain. 'Humor.' It is a difficult concept."
One thing that always got me about racial representation in Trek was the lack of non-Earth humans. By the TNG era, humans are spread all over the Federation, yet almost all of them that we see are from Earth. Where are all the Denevans? The Martians? The Planet Qians? And what about humans born on other worlds, like Vulcan and Andoria?
Something to think about: it's possible that, by the 24th century, cultures like Irish, English, German, Chinese (and their sub-cultures) etc may have become somewhat diluted as mankind has united and spread out across the stars. There would still be a sense of identity, of course, but would everyone from Germany speak German anymore in a pro-US future where it seems English took the lead as the language of humanity?
Something to think about: it's possible that, by the 24th century, cultures like Irish, English, German, Chinese (and their sub-cultures) etc may have become somewhat diluted as mankind has united and spread out across the stars. There would still be a sense of identity, of course, but would everyone from Germany speak German anymore in a pro-US future where it seems English took the lead as the language of humanity?
Actually, that's generally the impression one gets from the show. Not that there are new cultures... just that human cultural differences don't matter so much.
On DS9, there's an African-American as Captain, with a Sudanese-Brit as the CMO, and an Irishman married to a Japanese woman. None of these identites give them any problems or animosities. Guys like Worf are the ones grappling with the dividing line between their culture and their duty as Starfleet officers, or feeling along among a bunch of humans and aliens.
Or TOS. You've got your Japanese helmsman, Russian navigator, Swahili-speaking communications officer, Scottish chief engineer... but who's the guy who feels isolated because of his culture and gets picked on - even racial epithets flung at?
Spock, the half-Vulcan.
The series made some half-hearted stabs at depicting colonials - there was a girl wistfully recalling Luna in "Valiant" - but yes, humans were mainly Earth-bound and from recognizable cultures. Why? Well, with all thsoe weird aliens, we needed somebody to identify with. New cultured humans occupy a grey area, they're not alien enough to be one kind of character and not human enough to be another.