Lo-Fi, language and Merlin
I've been thinking lately about Americanisms/American spelling in Merlin fics. Modern!AUs set in Britain clearly need to avoid them, but for Merlin itself? Should we all really be pulling out armour and colour?
I'm curious because I've never written any show that registered as deeply and peculiarly British to me, refraining by active and willful choice. Even when I was madly in love with The Professionals I felt I couldn't write it because for me the show's time and place--Britain, the 80's, the slang and horrible perms--were essential characteristics. The Britishness wasn't just window-dressing, something you could catch by switching the setting of your spellchecker.
And I never will write any show I truly believe requires Britishness: there's just no way anything I write is going to pass; even if I had it Brit-proofed for spelling and usage, anyone with half an ear for the rhythm of language would spot me a mile off. But Merlin's whole universe is so, um, incoherent and cheerfully implausible? I can see the case for avoiding identifiable Americanism--technically out of place in anything with a medieval setting--but it feels so bizarre to apply the fine points of modern British usage to a show that can't even figure out which century it's set in, is shot with a 15th-century castle decorated with fleurs-de-lis, with the peasants throwing rotten tomatoes and everyone speaking BBC British English for a Potentially International Audience.
To put it another way: underwear is clearly wrong, but given the nature of medieval undergarments should they really be wearing pants either?
What exactly are we trying to be faithful to?
I'm curious because I've never written any show that registered as deeply and peculiarly British to me, refraining by active and willful choice. Even when I was madly in love with The Professionals I felt I couldn't write it because for me the show's time and place--Britain, the 80's, the slang and horrible perms--were essential characteristics. The Britishness wasn't just window-dressing, something you could catch by switching the setting of your spellchecker.
And I never will write any show I truly believe requires Britishness: there's just no way anything I write is going to pass; even if I had it Brit-proofed for spelling and usage, anyone with half an ear for the rhythm of language would spot me a mile off. But Merlin's whole universe is so, um, incoherent and cheerfully implausible? I can see the case for avoiding identifiable Americanism--technically out of place in anything with a medieval setting--but it feels so bizarre to apply the fine points of modern British usage to a show that can't even figure out which century it's set in, is shot with a 15th-century castle decorated with fleurs-de-lis, with the peasants throwing rotten tomatoes and everyone speaking BBC British English for a Potentially International Audience.
To put it another way: underwear is clearly wrong, but given the nature of medieval undergarments should they really be wearing pants either?
What exactly are we trying to be faithful to?