Kill Bill Vol 1/Family Guy, in Espanol!
So last night we finally got around to watching Kill Bill Vol 1, which a number of you are on record as urging me to watch.
I almost fell asleep.
Now, admittedly, I get fatigued pretty easily these days, but that wasn't really why.
I've never been a major fan of Quentin Tarantino, who in film after film has had violence for the sake of violence, intermixed with the occasional clever quip, but for no other purpose. Kill Bill Vol 1 takes this to extremes, as beautifully filmed fight scene leads to beautifully filmed fight scene leads to beautifully filmed fight scene, with perhaps two moments leading us to feel any sympathy for any character whatsoever, let alone an interest in her fate. (I did hope that the little girl in the early scenes did not suffer for the rest of her life from an uncontrollable fear of cereal.) And what sympathy we might feel -- for the Bride, after the rape attempt, for instance -- pretty much disappates after we watch their reactions. I suppose I'm supposed to see something in the climatic battle here, between two women horrifically mistreated by men which leads them to become professional assassins intent on killing each other, but, well. Meh. Pretty snow, though.
I don't necessarily need to care about what happens to the characters in a movie to enjoy it -- but if I don't, this rapidly increases the chances that I'm going to get very, very bored. Add in complete inplausibility (everything that happens after the Bride enters that Japanese restaurant) and you may just put me to sleep.
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We've also been watching reruns of Family Guy, with Spanish subtitles to help us brush up on our Spanish.
Here's the fascinating part: the Spanish subtitles for Family Guy consistently change the jokes, and frequently the cultural references. Clearly, some of this is to increase accessibility to the Spanish speaking audience, but I'm intrigued by some of the more obscure references that are left in - the Camille Paglia references, for instance, which I wouldn't have thought would go over at all. If you want a sense for the different ways writers can construct cultural jokes, and you're bilingual, take a look.
I almost fell asleep.
Now, admittedly, I get fatigued pretty easily these days, but that wasn't really why.
I've never been a major fan of Quentin Tarantino, who in film after film has had violence for the sake of violence, intermixed with the occasional clever quip, but for no other purpose. Kill Bill Vol 1 takes this to extremes, as beautifully filmed fight scene leads to beautifully filmed fight scene leads to beautifully filmed fight scene, with perhaps two moments leading us to feel any sympathy for any character whatsoever, let alone an interest in her fate. (I did hope that the little girl in the early scenes did not suffer for the rest of her life from an uncontrollable fear of cereal.) And what sympathy we might feel -- for the Bride, after the rape attempt, for instance -- pretty much disappates after we watch their reactions. I suppose I'm supposed to see something in the climatic battle here, between two women horrifically mistreated by men which leads them to become professional assassins intent on killing each other, but, well. Meh. Pretty snow, though.
I don't necessarily need to care about what happens to the characters in a movie to enjoy it -- but if I don't, this rapidly increases the chances that I'm going to get very, very bored. Add in complete inplausibility (everything that happens after the Bride enters that Japanese restaurant) and you may just put me to sleep.
***************
We've also been watching reruns of Family Guy, with Spanish subtitles to help us brush up on our Spanish.
Here's the fascinating part: the Spanish subtitles for Family Guy consistently change the jokes, and frequently the cultural references. Clearly, some of this is to increase accessibility to the Spanish speaking audience, but I'm intrigued by some of the more obscure references that are left in - the Camille Paglia references, for instance, which I wouldn't have thought would go over at all. If you want a sense for the different ways writers can construct cultural jokes, and you're bilingual, take a look.