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In Shin Godzilla
Actress Satomi Ishihara plays Kayoco
A third-generation Japanese-American
The daughter of US Senator John Robinette Patterson
"That's right"
"It's the DOE's codename, Godzilla"
Look, her English is by no means bad
But her accent is nowhere close to being a 3rd gen immigrant
Let alone someone with a father called "John Patterson"
"As for this government, we strongly hope that"
"Japan and the US can perfectly control Godzilla together"
It takes you out of the movie, right?
Now, imagine that
But ten times worse
(Complete gibberish)
If you don't speak Chinese
Here's what he allegedly said:
"炸酱面 (Zhajiang noodles)"
"两个葱油饼" (Two scallion pancakes)
"青葱烧龙虾" (Spring onion lobster)
"千万不要给我味精!" (No MSG!)
The reality is, in Hollywood
Chinese languages, as well as a lot of non-English languages
Are often spoken on screen by actors who don't speak them
"头发好靓" (Hair is beautiful)
"You speak Mandarin!"
And every time I hear one
I cringe
"That was Cantonese"
No, it's not Mandarin nor Cantonese
It's f#cking bullsh#t
Now, obviously
It is unfair to expect an actor to learn a whole new language
Just to perform a few lines
"去我妈" (Screw me?)
But the problem with crappy Chinese dialogues
Extends way beyond intelligibility
As we'll see today
"你在干嘛“ (What are you doing?)
It can even perpetuate racial stereotypes
So, let's get ready to cringe
Because we are going to take a look at some examples
Of Chinese dialogues in Hollywood movies
"你系度做咩啊？(What are you doing?)
"成日倾计唔做工！正衰仔!" (All chat no work. Such a rascal!)
"你系衰仔" (You are a rascal)
[When Hollywood Speaks Chinese, I Cringe]
[Chapter One]
In Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2
We see the two nerdy friends bonding through fake Chinese proverbs
"恶棍给的食物肯定有毒" (Food from a bully is always poisonous)"
"恶霸变成朋友永远是朋友" (A bully turned friend will be friend forever)"
When I was watching this scene
All I could think of was
"What did they just say"
What was supposed to be an emotional moment
Of two characters reconciling their differences
Turned into a cringe-worthy scene for Chinese speakers
And I suspect, even to a non-Chinese speaker
It's pretty easy to recognize their robotic delivery
"恶棍给的食物肯定有毒" (Food from a bully is always poisonous)
Bad Chinese dialogues take you out of a movie
The worst example of this, for me
Came from the 2016 sci-fi classic, Arrival
In this film's climax
Amy Adam's character is trying to convince a Chinese general
Into aborting a military attack
So, she quotes the lasts word from the general's late wife
“战争不成就英雄" (Wars don't make heroes)
“只会留下孤儿寡母" (Only orphans and widows)”
A quick look online shows a lot of Chinese forum threads
Asking about what she said
We couldn't enjoy the scene
Because the use of Chinese dialogues confused the heck out of us
To be fair
Asking Amy Adams to act in a language she doesn't speak
While giving an emotional performance
Is like asking you to drive on a highway
While giving a job interview on the phone
It's doomed from the beginning
This scene makes about as much sense to a Chinese speaker
As THIS to an English speaker
"WhAt ArE yOu PrEpArE tO dO?"
"I think you should stick to Chinese"
Exactly!
Why isn't this scene in English to begin with?
Why can't she just paraphrase?
It would give a much better performance!
In fact, why do both of these movies contain Chinese at all?
To me, there lies the problem
Hollywood filmmakers have been so used to
Throwing in non-English dialogues for style points
No one even realizes how they hinder actor performances
And affect audience enjoyment
There isn't much care for non-English languages
They are treated like verbal costumes for the actors to put on
"可以吗" (Is is okay?)
"可以" (It is.)
This lack of care and respect for other languages
Leads to some much less tasteful examples
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[Chapter Two]
Have you noticed that languages have their own movie stereotypes?
(No idea what he said)
For Chinese, it's often used to show off someone's intelligence
Chinese languages are often depicted as complicated
A language too difficult for regular people to learn
(No idea what he said either, but that's the joke)
So whoever speaks it, especially if they are white
Is automatically smart
Or quirky
"恭喜你快当祖母了" (Congrats, you are becoming a grandmother)
Chinese languages are also perceived as "alien"
It is "their language"
Like a secret code spoken by people that are "not us"
"What did she say?"
(I really tried but I couldn't understand, sorry everyone)
Wait, that was Mandarin!?
And it is this sort of stereotype that brings us our next example
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Keanu Reeves plays an alien who comes to Earth
To save humanity from an impending disaster
"我注意到了" (I noticed)
"我以为能和他们讲道理" (I thought I could reason with them)
In this scene, Keanu is gathering information
From another alien agent
And they are speaking Mandarin for some reason
Look, I know Mandarin seems like an alien language, but...
Having it be a literal alien language may be a step too far
It ticks all the boxes, though, right?
The aliens are highly intelligent
They are talking about secret information
It is the Chinese language stereotype
But there is one more thing about this
What I really want to ask is why is James Hong speaking Mandarin
“我想他们不是爱好和平的 (I don't think they are peace lovers)"
Even if you want him to speak Chinese
"I come from Sacramento"
Dude has CANTONESE ancestry
"边有时间啊" (I got no time)
Just speak Cantonese!
"咁样都有嘅 (What the heck)"
Hollywood filmmakers never grasped the complexity
Of Chinese languages
That's right, languages
Or dialects
Depending on your definition
In other words
"早上好，我能不能借用你的电视机" (Good morning, may I borrow you TV?)
People in Hong Kong are not going to understand your subpar Mandarin
Because they speak Cantonese!
Warrior, the TV show
Which features a majority Asian cast
Struggles with Chinese, too
Somehow the main Character, Ah Sahm
Has a Cantonese name
But his sister, Xiaojing
Has a Mandarin name
Similarly, Shang-Chi's father, Wen Wu
And sister, Xialing
Have their names spelled in the newer pinyin system
While Shang-Chi uses the older Wade-Giles system
Despite his dad being thousands of years older than the new system
While Shang-Chi is decades younger
Inconsistencies like these erase much of the complexity
In a system of languages
Reducing it down to a mere stereotype
It's the verbal equivalent of wearing a Halloween costume
In a movie featuring Native Americans
Or the language version of
"All Chinese people look the same"
[Chapter Three]
I think we can all agree that accents and pronunciations
Are important parts of acting
"I said put the bunny back in the box"
If it's important for English
It should be important in other languages, too
Right?
Luckily, it can be done well
One solution is to cast actors who speak the language
"我不想惹麻烦" (I don't want trouble)
If your actors don't speak the language
Make sure it is in their characters to speak with a non-native accent
And put in the effort to ensure
Their dialogues are intelligible
"如果你的普通话真的好" (If your Mandarin was good)
"我会跟你讲" (I would tell you)
Big shout-out to Don Cheadle in Rush Hour 2
For speaking amazing Cantonese
"点解你会同7-11一齐嘅？" (Why are you hanging out with 7-11?)
Timothée Chalamet's one-line-wonder in Dune is also amazing
"你什么意思 (What is the meaning of this)"
These two performances didn't just focus on the clarity of their words
But also the underlying emotions
See Chalamet's confusion and dread
"你什么意思？" (What is the meaning of this)
It's much more than just showing off
Good stuff!
Yes, it's difficult to work with all the complexity
But that complexity can also add so much more to your character
Beyond "smart and quirky"
"在美国，我们没有很多家人" (We don't have many relatives in America)"
In The Farewell
Awkwafina's character has a somewhat thick accent
Because she grew up in America
It serves as a verbal signifier to the distance she feels
Between her and the rest of the family
It also means that her family didn't bother to teach her Mandarin
Because her family loves America a lot more than China
"If you think China is that good, why don't you move here?"
Languages are an important part of people's cultural identity
And should be treated with respect
Chinese is wise
Japanese is honorable
Russian is dangerous
These stereotypes are very much outdated by now
Just as we stopped using Halloween costumes in movies
Maybe, we should also start examining how languages are treated
In Hollywood
[In Conclusion]
Did you know there are 3 million people in the US
Who speak some form of Chinese?
We previously talked about the perpetual foreigner trope on this channel
And much of the Chinese language stereotypes
Stem from this trope
Chinese languages are perceived as "foreign" and "exotic"
It makes people, including filmmakers
Less likely to want to understand it
But just as Chinatown is an iconic part of many US cities
The collection of Chinese languages
Is also a significant part of US culture
If you pay attention to James Hung's Cantonese
"咁样都有嘅" (What the heck)
His Cantonese sounds sightly different from my Guangzhou accent
That's because Chinese-Americans developed their own accents
With their own American identities
Treating non-English dialogue with respect
Isn't just good filmmaking
It also better reflects the diversity of the American people and culture
So, here is my plead to all Hollywood filmmakers
The United States is a very colorful place
Its complexity is precisely why it is beautiful
It's difficult to work with different languages
But the beauty within
Is well worth the effort