When Hollywood Speaks Chinese, I Cringe | Video Essay

When Hollywood Speaks Chinese, I Cringe | Video Essay

05.01.2022
Accented Cinema - Episode 77 Here is a problem rarely discussed, but should be relatable to anyone who speaks a language beyond English: Hollywood just doesn't seem to understand how non-English languages work.


@XiranJayZhao
Man you went OFFFF in this video LOL. It always bothered me when Hollywood makes a white character speak Chinese to show off how SUPER SMART they are, meanwhile actual Chinese-speaking viewers are pointing and laughing


@AccentedCinema
I was so tempted to ask you for a cameo. I wanted to send you a few clips to get your reactions. After watching so many clips myself, I decided no one should endure such torture.
@leecha3444
"Non-English language are treated like costumes to put on" hits hard
@madensmith7014
An epiphany hit me. Chinese language instructors aren't actors. They can help with pronunciations and vocabulary, but not with delivery. Voice acting is a craft of its own and being a native speaker doesn't automatically mean you're good at it. This is probably why Tucker from Rush Hour speaks Chinese well, cause he's right next to Jackie Chan, who knows how to act in Chinese.
@Ambitchious_daria
I am Russian, so I want to point out that there is always a specific stereotipical character when someone is trying to speak Russian. He/She will do this 100% to show off how badass they are (like Gloria from the Modern family when she talks to mafia to scare them OR Murray from Stranger things when he talks to soldiers in s3 and s4 to trick them). HOWEVER, Gloria speaks awfully (I am a native speaker and hardly undersrood 2 or 3 words), Murray on the other hand speaks better, but in reality no russian-speaking person would believe he's a native (as he has very distinct accent) and so he won't be able to fool anyone
@Dastankbeets9486
“It’s not Mandarin, nor Cantonese- it bullsh*t”
@MynameisBrianZX
3:58 honestly a great move by Chow to intentionally use awkward English to take us out of the moment then immerse us back in with even more appreciation for the character that acknowledges the awkwardness. I don't think this is even limited to comedy, imagine any of the movies shown but the Chinese speaker plainly says "I'm sorry I can't make out what you're saying". A great opportunity for embarrassment, frustration, humility, or any other character trait the writer wanted to communicate.
@raibyo
My respect goes out to Jim Carrey because he actually learned basic Korean for the movie Yes Man. That's why while his Korean wasn't perfect, it fitted the scene and the character he's portraying.
@hunterkiller1440
I thought Bradley Cooper's movie was mocking Mandarin by making him speak complete garbage. Turns out, he was attempting to speak the language with marbles in his mouth.
@literaturmurks
It's the same with other languages: for example German. When they've got dialogue in German in an English language film (let's be honest, it's mostly in scenes with Nazis lol), it always confuses the heck out of me and I sometimes have to turn on the subtitles to understand what they're supposed to say. Like, they do have vocal coaches and people speaking those languages and dialects, don't they?
@deanchur
The most frustrating thing is that Mandarin pronunciation isn't even as hard as people make it out to be; if actors spent a few hours practising their lines with a coach their speech wouldn't be anywhere near as jarring. Of course learning the difference between zai/cai, chuan/chuang, re/ri and so on takes longer but if all you need is a few lines then it's not important. Edit: Good point on the last bit about language and national identity. Hollywood loves to tell everyone how they've moved on from the stereotyping that they're still engaging in, but when they do it nowadays it's not racism, it's a "cultural homage".
@alvinanil6996
The Shang Chi name case is funny, as it is because of stereotypes that they changed the Mandarin and had to keep the main characters name intact.
@michelleclydeart
In K-dramas it always makes me laugh when they have a Chinese character that speaks Chinese but it's just another Korean actor stumbling through the random Chinese dialogue they're supposed to say
@adrianfridge
I come from a Russian background, so anytime "Russian" is spoken on screen my brain automatically goes into "it's gibberish time." I feel like language needs to be treated like training for a fight scene. You can't just practice for a week and expect to get the flow right. I think a lot of American culture involves assimilation, so whenever you keep your ethnic roots, you're viewed as an outsider. Considering the amount of literal exclusion Chinese people had to deal with in American history, it's no wonder that Chinese, and really all East Asian, culture and language is exoticized to this day.