My Problem with Britannia

[torque2100.livejournal.com]

I have been a fan of this show since it first started airing.  However, something always bothered me about the Britannians.  They never felt sufficiently British to me.  I mean, no pubs, no pints, no bangers and mash or shepherd's  pie. Not once do you hear the characters say "bloody," "bugger," "Blighty," or "zed." I am an American but I do enjoy BBC comedies and Doctor Who.  I don't claim to be an expert on British culture but a lot of things in Code Geass just felt a bit off.   For starters, why were the stalls at the Ashford festival selling hamburgers and soda pop and not hot cider and scotch eggs or lamb kebabs?  I know the target audience probably has no idea what those things are, but would it hurt the writers or art directors to do a little research?  While we're on the subject of Ashford academy, the teachers were WAYYY too nice.  Teachers at British boarding schools are notorious for being snarky, jaded and cruel.

Furthermore, the Britannian empire is all wrong.  I can accept that they fought off the Romans and have an Emperor instead of a King, but why isn't India part of the Britannian empire?  India was always the Jewel in the British empire's crown.  India was the one conquest that Great Britain was most proud of and seeing a parallel universe British empire without India is kind of jarring.  Furthermore, some humorous references to ridiculously inefficient bureaucracy would have upped the Britishness factor a lot.

Adding to my distress is the english dub.  Not only is it  one the most atrocious pieces of voice work I have ever heard, there is not a single accent to be heard. It even makes sense for the western release.  To American ears, anything said with a British accent automatically sounds intelligent and sophisticated.  I mean, imagine how much cooler the line "destroy shujinko ghetto, leave no one alive." would have sounded said in a classy uppercrust accent.

I suppose you can argue that the target audience for this show wouldn't know any of this, but that's no reason not to include it.  It would have helped to give Britannia a unique feel.   As it  is they seem too much like a generic Zeon clone.

Rant over.

Comments

[almaviva90.livejournal.com]

Sufficiently British? Britain is a multicultural society - each person with their own distinctive backgrounds and heritage, with the population ranging from English, Irish, Scottish, Indian, Chinese, etc, and I bet that most of them who *do* deem themselves as British will take offence at the crude generalisation of the population.

I'm sure the majority of Britons nowadays don't say "bloody", "blighty", "tally-ho", "pip-pip", etc. in each and every sentence they care to utter (they would probably be deemed as other-worldly creatures if they did actually do so), nor do they resolutely stick to stereotypical British fare of bangers and mash, scones, ale, fish and chips, tea, etc. as if it was the only source of cuisine they have. I'm sure that the effects of globalisation would have certainly been well-advanced by now.

British boarding schools do strike a visual image of harsh school masters with military-like moustaches, long, austere black robes and a cane to boot but such days are seriously long gone...if you want to go on the subject of Oxbridge professors (I've actually had an interview with one for my university application) and then assume that they're of the same sort, think again. They're immensely friendly and of the genuinely helpful, sincere sort...and I've yet to meet a British teacher which conjures up images of harsh Victorian discipline.

Ah, the subject of accents...Britain has been made up of counties and regions for the longest of times, for centuries, even millennia. If you go up into the north, you might hear a great Yorkshire or Northeastern brogue , go to the south, you'll hear softer, gentler accents - while in London, Cockney accents are still around (remember My Fair Lady and the great Michael Caine?). Not everyone has an uppercrust, sophisticated British accent that simply drips with poshness although perhaps some people might wish it were so, but that's just not the case as with every other country in the world.