My (short) rant on Brits

[eauclaireliberal]

Actually this isn't a rant to attack the English people, just the MSM. Something that has been on my mind for a little while.

Example: my Mrs. likes watching documentaries on the Discovery channel, Science channel, etc...this is also true of PBS and other shows: the narrator is always English. What the hell does that mean? That the material has higher intellectual content simply because the narrator is British? Great Britian is like every other nation-fair share of intellectuals and dumbasses.

Example 2: Movies and TV shows on ancient Rome. I had no idea that the Romans spoke Latin with an English accent.

Example 3: Bad guys. I like Alan Rickman, Jeremy Irons, Christopher Lee, and Peter Cushing for they are very talented actors, but I cannot recall ONE FILM where they weren't some diabolical villian. So what does this say about OUR media? That Brits are evil because they have a long history of conquest and empire building? Hey at this rate, the world will be saying the same thing about the United States fifty or more years down the road. Practically every civilization has blood on their hands, so why pick on only the Brits?

Rant over.

[idgiehkt]

1. veggie tales is worse

the bad guys in those stupid fundie cartoons have a french accent.

I've noticed the thing about any historical (non-English speaking) figures being portrayed as having a British accent. It's supposed ot represent 'furinner' to Americans, I guess.

[Taverner]

27. Veggie Tales are not fundie, actually

They may not like the French - but the producers are a mix of evangelical, mainline, catholic and ecumenical Christians who just wanted to make bible stories accessible without whomping them over the head with proselytizing.

As a result, they treat the bible for what I personally feel it should be presented as - a collection of folk tales much like 100 Arabian Nights or Mother Goose.

[idgiehkt]

63. the fundies that show it to their kids treat it as gospel

and the french thing really grates on me. An adult watching it make look at it as a collection of fairy tales, but the kids being indoctrinated don't. And I know, because my relatives all show that series to their kids, and they do it as a way of indirectly teaching them bible tales, which they are taught to accept as fact.

[philosophie_en_rose]

65. I'm an atheist and even I think Veggie Tales are cute.

It clearly has a Bible-y spin, but anything can be used as a tool by fundies.

[T_i_B]

2. In response

1) Chances are you've been hearing the well beloved tones of David Attenborough narrating wildlife documentaries

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Attenborough

2) The TV series Rome was made in association with the BBC so what do you expect, actors speaking in latin?

3) Actually this point does annoy the living daylights out of us Brits. Why do we always have to be the bad guys in American films? :shrug:

[idgiehkt]

5. I have watched just about all of the ones with David Attenborough

he's a cool dude. The thing that drives me nuts about PBS is you have to stay up til 2 or 3 in the morning to see the good stuff because they only have crap on during the daylight hours. I used to work til 2 or 3 in the morning and then come home and watch him and Globetrekker. I don't think PBS even has Globetrekker anymore, I think the Travel Channel has exclusive rights to it now...and I don't have that much cable. Ian on Globetrekker is my absolute favorite host, though.

[MissHoneychurch]

3. About Example 3

Alan Rickman played in movies where he wasn't the bad guy. For example "About Love" and "Sense and Sensibility"

Also, in a lot of movies, Germans or people with German accent play the bad guy. Alan Rickmans name in "Die Hard" was Hans Gruber, not a very British name.

Just saying ...

[Patiod]

32. and was a pretty good guy in "Truly Madly Deeply"

But he was a kick-ass Sheriff of Nottingham, the rest of the cast notwithstanding.

[sarge43]

41. Dear Alan was a hero in Galaxy Quest. n/t

[hfojvt]

42. also in Dogma he was the metetron

'the voice of God'

and Snape is not really a villain, at least not in the first four books, and I refuse to read any more or watch any more of the movies.

[Bassic]

46. Or "le gang des Mercedes"

In the first "Taxi" (the French one, not the American adaptation)

It's true that Germans are usually villains, from the movies I've seen anyway.

[Left Is Write]

4. I have read that advertisements use voice-over people with British

or Australian (or other) accents because the difference from the target audience's is an attention getter. Maybe the same principle is applied to the shows your describe.

As for your third example - aren't there plenty of American actors who are often cast as baddies? Maybe the men you mentioned play villains because they are so darn good at it!

[billyskank]

6. Well, it's all true

we're all superintelligent evil masterminds living in castles.

[idgiehkt]

7. and I thought you all were just like the folks on Eastenders...

:rofl:

[billyskank]

8. Shut it, you slag

:P

[idgiehkt]

10. mmm....

I dunno what's a slag?

[billyskank]

11. Well...

when applied to a lady, it means that she is somewhat less than chaste, and applied to a man it just makes an excellent all-purpose insult.

[idgiehkt]

13. I'm not a slag

I just want to be like one on tv



She's my hero!

:loveya: Janine

[BarenakedLady]

14. I am! I am!

:bounce: :bounce:

[idgiehkt]

15. I just realized something...

edited

good to see you BNL :hug:

[BarenakedLady]

17. Hmmmm you are right

How ironic...

Good to see you too :hug:

[CBHagman]

49. Oi! What are you looking at?

I'm just a British TV addict. That includes watching EastEnders, for as long as it runs on my PBS local station.

[LSK]

9. I thought so!!!!

:dunce:

[Phillycat]

24. I knew it!

Can I come stay in your castle? *begs*

[cwydro]

12. I always wondered why

the Geico gecko has a cockney accent...?

[Tyler Durden]

20. The gecko is an Aussie.

I think.

[mockmonkey]

29. The voice they used for the Gecko

has changed since they first started using it. I liked the original voice which might have been Australian, but I'm not sure. It does sound Cockney now.

[Nye Bevan]

16. I know that your powers of retention are as wet as a warthog's backside....

but thick as you are, PAY ATTENTION! My words are a matter of pride!

Wasn't Jeremy Irons a deliciously evil Uncle Scar?

[bbernardini]

18. Perhaps because the British seem to broadcast more documentaries than we do?

For example, the BBC is currently running a great four-part series called "How Music Works" that a big network here would never broadcast.

[muriel_volestrangler]

21. That's actually made by Channel 4

which is not the BBC - though BBC America may be showing it in the USA (I don't know). Channel 4 is a not-for-profit corporation - if it makes a profit, it has to go back into programming, films, or generous bonuses for the executives. It's funded by advertising.

[bbernardini]

23. Oh, my mistake. Still, British, and a documentary.

I downloaded it. :)

[mockmonkey]

30. I agree that most of the

documentaries are of British origin. Meerkat Manor was originally a British program. I'm not sure if they just dubbed over the original narration, which was a British female at first, and then added new shows with the American narrator or if the whole show was redubbed for Animal Planet.

[Sequoia]

59. Rats, all we get is "How machine guns work".

[mduffy31]

19. I can think of 3 movies off the top of my head where Alan Rickman isn't the badguy

Dogma
Love Actually
Something the Lord Made

[angel823]

35. and

Sense and Sensibility (chick flick, I know).

[Love Bug]

51. Rickman is HAWT in this video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7A_bJFZNXE

:loveya:

[muriel_volestrangler]

22. Peter Cushing played lots of good guys

sometimes opposite Christopher Lee's bad guy - eg he was Van Helsing to Lee's Dracula. He was also Winston Smith, Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Who, 3 classic heroes.

And think yourself lucky with the 'Rome' accents - according to IMDB:

The actors' regional British accents were used with effect to enhance the portrayal of the social distinctions of ancient Roman society; however after initial previews, some of the stronger accents were re-dubbed and toned down for American audiences.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0384766/trivia

[Oeditpus Rex]

25. The Brits are the great historians

When they produce a documentary on WWII, I pay attention.

[LoZoccolo]

26. The Beatles tried to hide thier English accents at first.

Liam Gallagher was unashamed from the beginning.

Score one for Oasis.

[ghostsofgiants]

37. Yesssss!

[billyskank]

39. Every post by him makes me hate Oasis even more

Odd.

[ghostsofgiants]

40. Every post of his makes me like them more.

Not the music, not really my cup o' tea. In principle, though, fucking awesome.

[idgiehkt]

62. same here

I enjoy them immensely, and I'm not even really sure who Oasis is or what songs they sang.

[tigereye]

28. Brits just sound sexier

and they have that wonderful, erudite/ bizarre sense of humor. And there you have it.

[CBHagman]

31. You need to rent more movies!

Suggested titles:

Jeremy Irons -- The Mission

Alan Rickman - Truly Madly Deeply, Sense and Sensibility

Otherwise, I leave you to the mercy of Netflix and IMDB.

And do not get me started on accents. Ancient Romans didn't speak English with an American accent, either, and people living in Britain at the time of Richard the Lion-hearted didn't speak 20th century British English, so worry about the acting chops and the delivery, not the accents. I ask you: Would Spartacus be as wonderful without Tony Curtis delivering his lines like someone fresh off the Grand Concourse in the Bronx? I think not.

[Drum]

33. Lol...Tony Curtis.

"Singah of Sawngs"

Gotta love it!

:hi:

[Shakespeare]

34. "The Death Star was filled with British actors..."

Quick, name that reference...

[NashVegas]

36. Maybe You Should Get Out More?

And watch less MSM.

Alan Rickman and J. Irons have resumés as long as my arm and the large majority of their characters are most definitely not villains. Stop watching so much Die Hard type-fare.

[eauclaireliberal]

38. Maybe you should try something other than snide remarks

Unless of course, that is the best you can do.

[NashVegas]

43. Sorry

But you pretty much asked for it.

In the case of the actors you listed, people were able to find and appreciate movies where their characters were definitely not villains, even before the internet existed. Now that it does, it's not that difficult to look up their work on IMDB, read the reviews, and go to the rental store.

For Irons, I suggest you check out "Dead Ringers," or "Damage," to see an example of how he does in a tragedy.
For Rickman, try "An Awfully Big Adventure," or "Michael Collins," for some great scenery-chewing.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

57. Or the role that MADE Jeremy Irons' career:

Charles Ryder in the miniseries Brideshead Revisited.

[Bassic]

44. Christopher Lee even plays a bad guy in a French movie

Probably more than one, but one that I saw.

He plays a German, and manages to make his accent in French sound a bit German, he was pretty good.

[billyskank]

45. Christopher Lee plays bad guys in British films too

He is one of the old Hammer Horror stars, that is to say he starred in films by Hammer studios, famous for their cheap horror movies. Christopher Lee is particularly famous for playing Count Dracula.

[Bassic]

47. Indeed he is.

I think he manages playing a bad guy extremely well.

[T_i_B]

54. Has Christopher Lee EVER played a goodie?

Not to my knowledge. :shrug:

[sarge43]

60. He's played Sherlock Holmes several times n/t

[Bassic]

61. Indeed. nt

[Bassic]

48. A Brit played a good guy on Star Trek (TNG)

Although his character is supposed to be French, but that didn't fool anyone. :D

[kwassa]

50. Yeah, and why is James Bond always British?

Whats up with that?

[billyskank]

52. Pierce Brosnan isn't British

He was born in County Louth, Ireland, and also has American citizenship.

[kwassa]

55. I stand corrected.

[CBHagman]

58. Yeah, and George Lazenby was born in Australia.

He's the Forgotten Bond.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0493872/

[sarge43]

53. This, of course, begs the question - whose accent would be more

appropriate? The 'Roman' accent was as varied as the 'English'. Both were/are affected by class, region, ethnicity, education, etc. A generalized Roman accent would to our ears sound like a cross between Sean Connery's and Elmer Fudd's. For example, r's were rolled and v's were pronounced as w's (veni, vidi, vici = WAYnee, WEEdee, WEEkee), c's and ch's were given a hard k sound as with a Scot's accent. So, Sir Sean might be the best choice for a Roman patrician, if 'authentic' accent is the only casting concern. Or actors from around the Florence region. Linguists believe their dialect and phonetic system may come the closest to at least colloquial Latin of the early Empire era.

[Sequoia]

56. Peter Cushing played the vampire killer in a movie with

heartthrob Christopher Lee. Alan Rickman, that voice alone can make your knees turn to jelly. People with English accents are thought to be smarter than us ole Yankees and hicks. Would you trust the show content on Nova if the voice over was Cletus the Slack-Jawed Yokel? Besides, think of all the wonderful rock bands and writers who are/were from England.

[Anarcho-Socialist]

64. Re: Example 2

I'm guessing it comes from British actors and Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. Traditionally classically trained actors tended to affect British accents for Shakespeare's plays regardless of what side of the Atlantic the actor was from. Regarding any melodrama about Ancient Rome, Julius Caesar seems to be the point in reference.