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Lost in Translation? — “The Slap”

February 28, 2015 / Claire / 0 Comments

You’d really have to be disconnected from the universe to not know that the 3rd season of House of Cards was released on Netflix yesterday. While I look forward to tucking into a delicious binge-watch fest, I have to finish my current fixation. That is the Australian version of The Slap—also on Netflix. It may sound familiar because the American version, a 9-part mini-series, recently began on NBC. I watched the U.S. pilot because the premise and cast intrigued me. At a family birthday party one of the adults slaps a friend’s misbehaving child. That inappropriate act causes all kinds of terrible repercussions. It stars Peter Sarsgaard, Thandie Newton, Uma Thurman and notable others. I instantly loathed all the stereotypical characters: one guy’s going through a mid-life crisis and is canoodling with the babysitter, another’s a rich, aggressive asshole (aren’t they all?), the strident, overindulgent helicopter parents, and more. I was ready to chuck it in.

Then I heard about the original Aussie version and how it was supposed to be better. Whoa, what a difference a continent makes! While the story is the same, everything about the series—from the characters to the theme—is more nuanced and complex. It also has swearing and lots more sex. Just like real life! I was instantly hooked and abandoned the NBC version.

I felt the exact same way about the Danish-Swedish version of The Bridge. I began watching the version on FX, was instantly turned off by Diana Kruger’s (who I normally like) bizarre acting choices and jumped ship to the original. My normally productive life screeched to a halt as I became absorbed in the overall richer characters, relationships, Scandinavian culture and delightfully intricate crime plotting.

I continue to marvel at how American versions of foreign shows get so lost in translation. Having been in meetings with entertainment executives, I’ve learned the sad truth why this is. There’s a general lack of faith and distrust that we, the viewers, are going to get it. We need to be bludgeoned with simple ideas and recognizable tropes, and here’s my bête noire, “likeable” characters. Bah! Consequently, complex stories become diluted … and unwatchable.

So huzzah to Netflix and Amazon and cable channels, like AMC and HBO, for taking risks. Risky TV can be captivating TV.

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Rules of the Flyer

February 6, 2015 / Claire

Old school marketing for music shows and events is alive and well in the Mission District. Many flyers and posters are typically glossy and slick, but the hand-drawn ones have a low-fi, punk charm. Come upon a vertical surface— telephone poles, construction barriers, boarded-up storefronts—it’ll likely be covered with notices. During my political activist Berkeley days, groups of us would go “sniping.” We’d affix campaign posters and rally flyers everywhere with a staple gun. We had an efficient system: one would hold up the flyer the other would staple it with the gun. We’d arrange them in grids for maximum visual effect.

There was this unwritten rule that you’d never tear down other people’s stuff—that’d be uncool (unless they were Republican campaign posters—we rationalized they were doing it to us Dems). So we’d only cover up the ones that were out-of-date. Now that practice seems so quaint and idealistic given that these days competition for consumers’ attention is so fierce. But that’s not what’s happening as evidenced by the layers upon layers of flyers in these photos. It’s nice to know that the “rules of the flyer” still apply.

Penny rounded up a crew of skateboard rats and bike messengers and enlisted them to plaster every telephone pole and construction site barrier with Hayden Korr Band posters.

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Sketching in Potrero Hill

January 29, 2015 / Claire / 0 Comments

Oh, how the café experience has changed. Before café-goers turned them into their personal workspaces, they used to do all sorts of activities rather than staring into their laptops or phones: like striking up random conversations with strangers, reading a book or just plain old daydreaming. At Farley’s coffeehouse in Potrero Hill, there were sketchbooks. All were welcome to write or draw whatever they liked in them. During a recent visit my friend Ken pointed out dozens of these books still on the shelf above the boardgames. (Patrons used to play those, too.) Many dated back about twenty years. The drawings inside were personal, funny, crude and artistic. It’s pretty apparent social media has become the destination for all these emotions and creativity. If you’re ever in Farley’s be sure to check them out. They’re filled with all sorts of eclectic treasures.