3 ms·

There’s nothing wrong with not being the target audience of a show, but I find the bit about subtitles in 14 languages a bit odd. How could that possibly be an

There’s nothing wrong with not being the target audience of a show, but I find the bit about subtitles in 14 languages a bit odd. How could that possibly be an indicator that you’re not the target audience?

Veuxdo 4y ago
Nobody is the target audience when you're aiming for everybody...
- mrits 4y ago
  I don't know what Amazon pays for subtitles but I could probably get it done for around $50/language. Hardly a relevant metric
  - dclowd9901 4y ago
    I seriously doubt that.
    - xxs 4y ago
      for 50$, I mean they could use "google translate". Seriously though localizations and translations are a serious business and important. Not everyone speaks (or understand movie/tv show) English.
- IshKebab 4y ago
  But... they're aiming for every language not every person surely. Do you think that only English speakers want to watch good fantasy TV?
  - Veuxdo 4y ago
    I wouldn't be so sure. There's a reason why Big Dumb Action movies get cranked out while comedies have largely died: they do well in the foreign market. This is basic least-common-denominator thinking that leads to bland schlock.
    - arlcode 4y ago
      Based solely on my anecdotal data it seems like many comedies where I live are local (aka not from the US). Some of them do well others don't but they are certainly there. Is there a similar set of movies in the US (aimed at the national/state level market) or is all the money sucked up by productions for the international market.
mazdayasna 4y ago
I believe the implication is that the priority is for a general international audience ala Disney
- tobr 4y ago
  So is OP under the impression that the Jackson trilogy is not available in 14+ languages? Or that the Tolkien books aren’t, for that matter?
  - red_trumpet 4y ago
    Well, one could argue that Tolkien didn't plan on his books to be translated in that many languages. I'm not sure why this matters at all, though.
    - tshaddox 4y ago
      He was a philologist who oversaw translations during his lifetime and even wrote a guide for translators to use when translating fictional names. It sounds like he was picky and critical of translations, but not because he didn’t want them to exist.
      - red_trumpet 4y ago
        I didn't mean to imply that Tolkien opposed translations. Maybe I'm being a bit naive, but intuitively I would think that most writers do not write a book with the explicit intention of the book being translated. The first intended audience is typically readers in the original language. This is opposed by producing a series for Amazon, where it is mostly clear that the intended audience is world wide, talking many languages (in particular if it is about such a famous topic). And I wouldn't be surprised if this fact does impact the production of a work.
        tshaddox 4y ago
        > intuitively I would think that most writers do not write a book with the explicit intention of the book being translated. The first intended audience is typically readers in the original language. I don’t think so. I think most writers are only fluent in a very small number of languages and they choose one of those languages to write in.
Shorel 4y ago
A complete disregard for languages, and talking about a Tolkien adaptation! Preposterous! Tolkien was so into languages he edited the Oxford dictionary. And besides, this feels like English chauvinism.

Veuxdo 4y ago

Nobody is the target audience when you're aiming for everybody...

mrits 4y ago
I don't know what Amazon pays for subtitles but I could probably get it done for around $50/language. Hardly a relevant metric
- dclowd9901 4y ago
  I seriously doubt that.
  - xxs 4y ago
    for 50$, I mean they could use "google translate". Seriously though localizations and translations are a serious business and important. Not everyone speaks (or understand movie/tv show) English.
IshKebab 4y ago
But... they're aiming for every language not every person surely. Do you think that only English speakers want to watch good fantasy TV?
- Veuxdo 4y ago
  I wouldn't be so sure. There's a reason why Big Dumb Action movies get cranked out while comedies have largely died: they do well in the foreign market. This is basic least-common-denominator thinking that leads to bland schlock.
  - arlcode 4y ago
    Based solely on my anecdotal data it seems like many comedies where I live are local (aka not from the US). Some of them do well others don't but they are certainly there. Is there a similar set of movies in the US (aimed at the national/state level market) or is all the money sucked up by productions for the international market.

mazdayasna 4y ago

I believe the implication is that the priority is for a general international audience ala Disney

tobr 4y ago
So is OP under the impression that the Jackson trilogy is not available in 14+ languages? Or that the Tolkien books aren’t, for that matter?
- red_trumpet 4y ago
  Well, one could argue that Tolkien didn't plan on his books to be translated in that many languages. I'm not sure why this matters at all, though.
  - tshaddox 4y ago
    He was a philologist who oversaw translations during his lifetime and even wrote a guide for translators to use when translating fictional names. It sounds like he was picky and critical of translations, but not because he didn’t want them to exist.
    - red_trumpet 4y ago
      I didn't mean to imply that Tolkien opposed translations. Maybe I'm being a bit naive, but intuitively I would think that most writers do not write a book with the explicit intention of the book being translated. The first intended audience is typically readers in the original language. This is opposed by producing a series for Amazon, where it is mostly clear that the intended audience is world wide, talking many languages (in particular if it is about such a famous topic). And I wouldn't be surprised if this fact does impact the production of a work.
      - tshaddox 4y ago
        > intuitively I would think that most writers do not write a book with the explicit intention of the book being translated. The first intended audience is typically readers in the original language. I don’t think so. I think most writers are only fluent in a very small number of languages and they choose one of those languages to write in.

Shorel 4y ago

A complete disregard for languages, and talking about a Tolkien adaptation! Preposterous! Tolkien was so into languages he edited the Oxford dictionary. And besides, this feels like English chauvinism.