(no subject)

[cellio]

I bought tickets for Les Mis this afternoon. I've never seen the show (though I've heard the soundtrack, once, and enjoyed it). Dani has seen it. It's been a long time since we've been to a show (not counting last winter's semi-failed opera experiment), and I'm looking forward to this. Mind, at 50 bucks per ticket this isn't something we're going to do *often*, but...

The semi-failed opera experiment was that I couldn't read the running translation ("super-titles"?), not a failure in the play per se. It looked like it was a good show; I wish I could have followed it better. (Yes, I did read the synopsis before going; that's what allowed me to follow it at all.) Operas where you can't understand the words are kind of a bummer, which is why I also don't attempt Gilbert & Sullivan any more. Well, I'd consider a top-rated professional production, but no more ameteurs. It's hard material to do with suitable enunciation, especially if your theatre's sound system isn't top-notch.

Speaking of language issues, I find myself wondering about something in last week's Enterprise episode. This episode involved Our Heroes trying to infiltrate another culture, which of course posed a language barrier. They were carrying hand-held translators, which is fine for comprehension, but how would such a device permit them to *speak* in that language? Most of the time when we've seen the universal translator in action it's been over a comm channel, so inserting that step isn't hard, but it doesn't work for face-to-face interaction where you're trying to hide the existence of the gadget.

In general Enterprise seems to be mindful of language issues, so I'm kind of surprised they tripped up on this one.

Comments

[chite.livejournal.com]

My parents never understood my love of opera when I was younger. I attribute it to the fact that the first few I went to were done in English. I find that as long as I've seen it in English first, I can enjoy it in another language without having to read subtitles (or supertitles).

I guess what I'm saying is, if you want to try the opera experiment again, you might want to try renting a version in english and watching it on TV, then forgetting about reading the subtitles and just enjoying the music/dance/acting.

Failing to support your suspension of disbelief

[sethcohen.livejournal.com]

None of the Star Trek series have been good in this area. You can question it, but there is no good answer except "It's television, and doing it the other way is hard to fit into a 6-day shooting schedule."

It'd be nice if that was the case, but they're actually more likely to confuse people with non-lip-synched talking and words that don't match up. It's one of those things that we geeks have to suffer with.