• PDI Press

    PDI Press

    BETTY WHITE VS THE STUPID WORLD: The Movie

    PDI Press
    January 17, 2022 1

    Betty White Vs the Stupid World (Chapter Seven)

    PDI Press
    January 16, 2022

    Betty White Vs the Stupid World (Chapter Six)

    PDI Press
    January 15, 2022 3

    Featured

    BETTY WHITE VS THE STUPID WORLD: The Movie

    John E. Meredith
    PDI Press
    January 17, 2022 1
    • PDI Press Catalog
    • PDI Press Writers
      • Fiction
  • Columns A-D
    • A Fistful of Dollar Comics
    • ABCs of Horror
    • All Binge… No Purge
    • Anything Joes
    • Beautiful Creatures
    • Big Eyes Smart Mouth
    • Big Sleeps and Long Goodbyes
    • Cahiers du Horror
    • Dispatches From the Field
    • Drive-In Saturday
    • Dungeons & D-Listers
  • Columns F-P
    • The Final Girl
    • First Looks… Second Thoughts
    • The Flesh is Weak
    • Innocence and Experience
    • Lost in Translation
    • Marvel at the Movies
    • Muppets 101
    • Page to Screen
    • Popcorn Cinema
    • The Psycho Drive-In Podcast
    • Psycho Essentials: The ’80s!
  • Columns S-Z
    • Schlock & Awe
    • Shakespeare on Film
    • Shot for Shot
    • Sick Flix
    • Unnatural Selections
    • Versus
    • Video Word Made Flesh
    • We Got Lists
    • Women in Horror
    • The Xeno File
    • Zombies 101
  • Reviews

    Reviews

    Thunderbolts* (2025)

    Reviews
    May 3, 2025 42

    Regular Show: The Complete Series DVD Review

    Reviews
    February 9, 2025 70

    Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)

    Movies
    May 31, 2024 13

    Featured

    Thunderbolts* (2025)

    John E. Meredith
    Reviews
    May 3, 2025 42
    • Books
    • Comics
    • DVD/Blu-ray
    • Movies
    • TV
    • Series
  • Interviews

    Interviews

    Interview with Indie Horror Master, Chris Bickel

    Interviews
    July 13, 2018 397

    David Black: Carnies, Carnage, and the Creative Chaos of Darkness Visible

    Interviews
    March 7, 2017 223

    Jaiden Kaine joins the Marvel Universe as new Luke Cage baddie, Zip

    Interviews
    September 29, 2016 8

    SDCC 2016 Interviews: The Cast and Creators of Batman: The Killing Joke

    Interviews
    July 28, 2016 61

    SDCC 2016 Interviews: The Cast and Creators of Syfy’s Van Helsing

    Interviews
    July 27, 2016 3

    Wondercon Interview: The Cast of Damien

    Interviews
    April 16, 2016 3

    Featured

    Interview with Indie Horror Master, Chris Bickel

    The Final Girl
    Interviews
    July 13, 2018 397
  • News

    News

    Regular Show: The Complete Series DVD is here!

    News
    February 9, 2025 17

    “PATER NOSTER AND THE MISSION OF LIGHT” UNLEASHES TERRIFYING UNDERGROUND HORROR – A PSYCHEDELIC CULT MOVIE EXPERIENCE COMING SOON!

    News
    November 15, 2023 74

    Breaking Down The Upcoming DC Studios Slate

    Shot for Shot
    February 1, 2023

    Featured

    Regular Show: The Complete Series DVD is here!

    Paul Brian McCoy
    News
    February 9, 2025 17
    • Trailers
  • Psychos
  • Shop
Breaking
  • Thunderbolts* (2025)
  • Regular Show: The Complete Series DVD Review
  • Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)
  • The First Omen (2024)
  • RSS
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Who We Be
  • Contact
    Home
    Columns
    Lost in Translation

    Lost in Translation 202: Localizations

    Scott Delahunt
    Lost in Translation
    March 17, 2017

    Last week’s look at Mercury Theater’s War of the Worlds saw HG Wells’ science fiction story about the invasion of Britain by Martian war tripods moved wholesale to New Jersey. The radio drama is a classic presentation; yet, localization is becoming problematic today, with concerns about live action version of both Ghost in the Shell and Akira around. Today’s post will look at the issues around localizations.

    A localization is an adaptation remade for a new audience, taking into account what the culture that the audience lives in. A localization made for an American audience is better known as an Americanization. Several popular television series came about because of Americanization, including All in the Family, after the UK series Till Death Do Us Part; Three’s Company, after the UK series Man About the House, and The Office, after the UK series of the same name. Not every attempt to Americanize a foreign work succeeds, though. The nigh-infamous clip of Saban’s Sailor Moon missed the core of what the original was about in an attempt to bring the anime across the ocean.

    saban_sailor_moon

    The difference between Mercury Theater’s adaptation of The War of the Worlds and Saban’s failed Sailor Moon adaptation lies in the intent. Mercury Theater’s goal was to scare New York City; bringing over the Martian invasion from the British countryside to New Jersey, across the river from the Big Apple. The biggest changes to the story were location and time, with a focus that changed from a first-person narrative to eyewitness news reports on the radio. To the end Mercury Theater wanted, the action had to be close to the listeners. An invasion of Britain would not have had the immediate impact that destroying Grover’s Mill, New Jersey, had.

    With Saban’s Sailor Moon, the intent was to bring in a popular anime series without necessarily bringing the anime. The new series was part live action, part animated, with a superficial resemblance to the original. However, the core of the original Sailor Moon was, ultimately, the concept of a shoujo heroine in Japanese fiction. Usagi is the least likely person to ever save the world multiple times. She’s not the smartest, not the strongest, and not the bravest, but she has heart. Her heart is how she defeats villain after villain. Sailor Moon wins not because she’s the most powerful, but because she believes in her friends and is willing to extend a hand in friendship. Usagi is the hero, not Sailor Moon, and that’s a concept that can get easily lost in translation.

    all-in-the-family

    Note that both adaptations have a target audience. Even Saban’s attempt at localizing /Sailor Moon/ was based on the company’s knowledge of American children’s television. Likewise, the three TV series mentioned at the beginning were well aware of the audience that would be watching. Norman Lear, the creator of All in the Family, had seen episodes of Till Death Do Us Part and was struck by how much the relationship portrayed there resembled the one he had with his father. All in the Family was built upon that resemblance, allowing a near-universal experience to be the core. The American version of The Office reflected the American work experience, which, because of differences in labour laws between the US and the UK, results in a different dynamic.

    Television has the luxury of being able to target a specific audience. The bulk of the television work out of Hollywood is meant for American consumption, with foreign markets a bonus. Movies, though, don’t have that option. With budgets rising and frequently break the $200 million mark, studios can’t rely on the domestic take to break even. Films on the big screen need to have a broader appeal today. A work that is known internationally is a draw studios want, but too many try to Americanize to appease the domestic market. Some of these works, though, don’t translate well. Ganriki.org has gone into details about the problems surrounding the live-action Akira movie, from the screenplay to the purpose of the movie. Essentially, the US was never the target of the only two atomic weapons used in war, and never had to rebuild after a defeat, something that is inseparable from Akira.

    akira

    Moving away from anime, Harry Potter was spared from localization thanks to JK Rowling being able to set terms, and that was from the sheer popularity of the books. Like Akira, Harry Potter is very much set in the country of its origin. Britain has a long history, with castles that are older than current North American nations. Boarding schools are common enough that the average person in the UK will have a good idea of what being at one is like. The wizarding world in the books is as old as the country. Moving Hogwarts to the US loses the sense of foreboding history that the school has in the books. The characters reflect British society throughout time, from the upper-class Malfoys to the common Weasleys. Harry Potter also demonstrates the power of the draw. Audiences wanted the Harry they read about, not one that was transplanted to another country. With works that have the widespread appeal like Harry Potter, alienating the audience is not a good idea.

    Similar to the problems facing Akira and a hypothetical American Harry Potter, the 1998 Godzilla lost some important elements on moving the action to New York City. While Tokyo and NYC are major cities along a coast, filled with tall buildings, a lot of people, and neon, the similarities end there. The first American Godzilla movie forgot that the eponymous monster was a result of the nuclear age, going back to the two atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, followed by the nuclear weapon tests in the Pacific. It is possible to have a story featuring giant monsters stomping through an American city, but Godzilla has cultural ties that don’t make the journey to the West easily. The 2014 Godzilla acknowledges the nature of the monster’s origin, starting him near Japan before sending him westward.

    godzilla

    What can help with localization is changing the nature of the story. War of the Worlds updated the story; the American military, with its mechanization, its improved communications, its aerial capabilities, all not available in 1897, still lost to the Martian invaders. The Seven Samurai, a story based in Japanese samurai, was successfully translated to the American West with The Magnificent Seven and then moved into science fiction with Battle Beyond the Stars. The goal in these adaptations wasn’t so much to localize but to retell the story within the new trappings. Ronin became guns-for-hire, who then became starfaring mercenaries; all three are similar but are very much dependent on their culture and their settings. Similarly, Phantom of the Paradise took the core ideas from both Faust and The Phantom of the Opera and combined the stories and bringing them into the Seventies, with a villainous record producer in the role of Faust and a hapless songwriter as the Phantom.

    Sometimes, though, the effort to localize doesn’t pay off. The film version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo kept the story in Sweden. The plot could have easily been moved to an American setting, yet the makers kept the work in Sweden, with most of the cast being Swedish. Part of the decision comes from the original work; the novel is set in Sweden, using various towns in the country. Moving the work would mean finding a similar location; it was easier to keep the Swedish locations.

    girl-with-dragon-tattoo

    Localization isn’t necessarily a negative. Presenting a story that the intended audience can understand culturally can get the point of the story across. The problems begin when the original’s culture isn’t accounted for when translating the work. Care needs to be taken, and there are some works that don’t translate well, even if the two countries involved share a common language.


    This article was originally published at Seventh Sanctum.

    7S-Logo

    Thanks to our friends at Seventh Sanctum for letting us share this content.

    Seventh Sanctum is a partner in Crossroads Alpha along with Psycho Drive-In.

    (Visited 104 times, 1 visits today)

    Related

    AkiraAll in the FamilyBattle Beyond the StarsGodzilla 2014Lost in TranslationPhantom of the ParadiseSailor MoonScott DelahuntThe Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

    FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
    Previous The Vampire Dairies 8.16 “I Was Feeling Epic”
    Next NPFO 01: SWING HEIL! Punching Nazis, Just Like In the Movies
    monsterid
    Scott Delahunt
    Lost in Translation
    By day, Scott Delahunt is an IT analyst, fixing problems and explaining operating systems for end users. By night, he takes his degree in Computer Science, his love of movies, his vast knowledge of tabletop gaming, his curiosity into how things work and becomes a geek!  Although he has nothing published professionally, Scott has written fanfiction, scripted an anime music video, play tested role-playing games, and applied his love of bad movies to Lost In Translation.  He has also helped put on an anime convention and organize bus trips to Anime North. In his spare time, he raises two cats to become Internet icons and maintains a personal blog, The Chaos Beast.

    Related Posts

    Lost in Translation 481: Hypothetical Firefly Remake

    Scott Delahunt
    Lost in Translation
    May 2, 2025 5

    Lost in Translation 480: The Naked Gun (2025)

    Scott Delahunt
    Lost in Translation
    April 25, 2025 8

    Daily Top Ten

    • ray and julieFeminist Guide to Survival: I Know What You Did Last Summer by The Final Girl
    • scary-stories-06Scary Stories: A Documentary (2019) by Paul Brian McCoy
    • anything-joes-NY-toy-fair-2025Anything Joes: S02E25 – New York Toy Fair 2025 by Greg Engle
    • walking-dead-611-03The Walking Dead 6.10 “The Next World”… by Paul Brian McCoy
    • i-spit-on-your-grave-09The Final Girl: I Spit on Your Grave (2010) by The Final Girl
    • No CableThe Walking Dead 3.03 “Walk with Me” by Paul Brian McCoy
    • luciferascastielSupernatural 11.10 & 11.11 by Laura Akers
    • lucifer-102-02Lucifer 1.02 “Lucifer, Stay. Good Devil.” by Jeffrey Roth
    • legends star city 2046Legends of Tomorrow 1.06 “Star City 2046” by Dan Johnson
    • anna-and-the-apocalypse-headerChristmas Picks: Anna and the Apocalypse (2017) by John E. Meredith
    400x400 GI Joe Funko Banner

    Weekly Top Ten

    • i-spit-on-your-grave-09The Final Girl: I Spit on Your Grave (2010) by The Final Girl
    • thunderbolts-headerThunderbolts* (2025) by John E. Meredith
    • AT606-visionAdventure Time 6.06 “Breezy” by Dave Hearn
    • babylon-5-blu-ray-04Babylon 5 Complete Series Blu-ray Review by Paul Brian McCoy
    • MacbethShakespeare’s Macbeth (2010) by Paul Brian McCoy
    • DS-headerDungeons & D-Listers: Deathstalker (1983) by Alex Wolfe
    • heavy-metal-2000-headerDrive-In Saturday: Heavy Metal 2000 (2000) by Alex Wolfe
    • salo-headerSick Flix: Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975) by Corin Totin
    • patty-mullen-headerWomen in Horror: Patty Mullen by Fred L. Taulbee Jr.
    • hills-have-eyes-02The Hills Have Eyes (1977) vs The Hills Have Eyes (2006) by Corin Totin

    psychodrivein

    We came here to chew bubblegum and write intelligent reviews and commentary on cult TV and movies! And we're all out of bubblegum!

    Today at https://psychodrivein.com Anything Joes: Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Anything Joes: S02E28 - File Card Focus: Recoil

Greg and Jaren take a deep dive into the world of Recoil?
—
Watch the @AnythingJoesPod guys at the link in our profile!

#AnythingJoes #GIJoes #FileCardFocus #Recoil
    Today at https://psychodrivein.com Thunderbolts* Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Thunderbolts* (2025)

But damn, the Thunderbolts* really got to me.
—
Read more of John’s review at the link in our profile!

#Thunderbolts #MarvelStudios #Marvel #FlorencePugh #SebastianStan #DavidHarbour #HannahJohnKamen #JuliaLouisDreyfus #LewisPullman #OlgaKurylenko #WyattRussell
    Today at https://psychodrivein.com Lost in Transl Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Lost in Translation 481: Hypothetical Firefly Remake

Firefly is definitely a cult classic, with word of mouth spreading awareness of the series.
—
Read more of Scott’s article at the link in our profile!

#LostInTranslation #Serenity #Firefly
    Today at https://psychodrivein.com Lost in Transl Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Lost in Translation 480: The Naked Gun (2025) 

Right now, this is all speculation. The true test will come when The Naked Gun is released.
—
Read more of Scott’s article at the link in our profile!

#LostInTranslation #TheNakedGun #LiamNeeson
    Today at https://psychodrivein.com Anything Joes: Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Anything Joes: S02E27 - Battle Armor Cobra Commander 

Greg & Jaren take a look at the newest Classified reveals, and Jaren reveals his weird ways to make new friends. 
—
Watch the @AnythingJoesPod guys at the link in our profile!

#AnythingJoes #GIJoe #GIJoeClassified #CobraCommander #BattleArmorCobraCommander
    Today at https://psychodrivein.com EZMM 2025 Day Today at https://psychodrivein.com

EZMM 2025 Day 9: Evil Dead Rise (2023) 

Evil Dead Rise is filled with practical effects and whatever is supported with digital enhancement is so smooth I was never taken out of a scene.
—
Read more of Paul’s review at the link in our profile!

#EZMM #EZMM2025 #EasterZombieMovieMarathon #EasterZombieMovieMarathon2025 #EvilDeadRise #BruceCampbell #SamRaimi #Zombies101 #zombies #LeeCronin #LilySullivan #AlyssaSutherland #MorganDavies #NellFisher #GabrielleEchols #RobTapert
    Today at https://psychodrivein.com EZMM 2025 Day Today at https://psychodrivein.com

EZMM 2025 Day 8: Ash vs Evil Dead (2018) S03E06-E10

And while Episodes Six through Eight were an improvement, it really wasn’t until the two-part finale that Ash vs Evil Dead firmly regained its footing.
—
Read more of Paul’s article at the link in our profile!

#EZMM #EZMM2025 #EasterZombieMovieMarathon #EasterZombieMovieMarathon2025 #AshVsEvilDead #BruceCampbell #DanaDeLorenzo #RaySantiago #LucyLawless #SamRaimi #Zombies101 #zombies #ArielleCarverONeill #KatrinaHobbs #LindsayFarris
    Today at https://psychodrivein.com EZMM 2025 Day Today at https://psychodrivein.com

EZMM 2025 Day 7: Ash vs Evil Dead (2018) S03E01-E05

Season Three of Ash vs Evil Dead is off to a rough start.
—
Read more of Paul’s article at the link in our profile!

#EZMM #EZMM2025 #EasterZombieMovieMarathon #EasterZombieMovieMarathon2025 #AshVsEvilDead #BruceCampbell #DanaDeLorenzo #RaySantiago #LeeMajors #LucyLawless #SamRaimi #Zombies101 #zombies #ArielleCarverONeill #KatrinaHobbs #LindsayFarris
    Today at https://psychodrivein.com EZMM 2025 Day Today at https://psychodrivein.com

EZMM 2025 Day 6: Ash vs Evil Dead (2016) S02E06-E10

Overall, Season Two of Ash vs Evil Dead really did the job, upping the ante in just about every way from Season One.
—
Read more of Paul’s article at the link in our profile!

#EZMM #EZMM2025 #EasterZombieMovieMarathon #EasterZombieMovieMarathon2025 #AshVsEvilDead #BruceCampbell #DanaDeLorenzo #RaySantiago #LeeMajors #LucyLawless #SamRaimi #Zombies101 #zombies
    Follow on Instagram

    Look Who's Talking

    Shawn EH
    Shawn EH - 5/4/2025
    Thunderbolts* (2025)
    Yep, very well done; avoiding the big flashy battle that these heroes (can any of you fly?)...
    Ideonova
    Ideonova - 12/26/2024
    Page to Screen: F. Paul Wilson’s The Keep
    Not living up to the source material? What source material? The book is a predictable, at times...
    Fred L. Taulbee Jr.
    Fred L. Taulbee Jr. - 8/17/2024
    Cahiers du Horror 03: Frank Henenlotter and The Brain that Wouldn’t Die
    I need to see that again. Maybe make it a double feature with All of Me. Steve Martin is someone you...
    RSSTwitterFacebookinstagramtumblr

    Archives

    Large_rectangle_336X280
    • PDI Press
      • PDI Press Catalog
      • PDI Press Writers
        • Fiction
    • Columns A-D
      • A Fistful of Dollar Comics
      • ABCs of Horror
      • All Binge… No Purge
      • Anything Joes
      • Beautiful Creatures
      • Big Eyes Smart Mouth
      • Big Sleeps and Long Goodbyes
      • Cahiers du Horror
      • Dispatches From the Field
      • Drive-In Saturday
      • Dungeons & D-Listers
    • Columns F-P
      • The Final Girl
      • First Looks… Second Thoughts
      • The Flesh is Weak
      • Innocence and Experience
      • Lost in Translation
      • Marvel at the Movies
      • Muppets 101
      • Page to Screen
      • Popcorn Cinema
      • The Psycho Drive-In Podcast
      • Psycho Essentials: The ’80s!
    • Columns S-Z
      • Schlock & Awe
      • Shakespeare on Film
      • Shot for Shot
      • Sick Flix
      • Unnatural Selections
      • Versus
      • Video Word Made Flesh
      • We Got Lists
      • Women in Horror
      • The Xeno File
      • Zombies 101
    • Reviews
      • Books
      • Comics
      • DVD/Blu-ray
      • Movies
      • TV
      • Series
    • Interviews
    • News
      • Trailers
    • Psychos
    • Shop
    • PDI Press
      • PDI Press Catalog
      • PDI Press Writers
        • Fiction
    • Columns A-D
      • A Fistful of Dollar Comics
      • ABCs of Horror
      • All Binge… No Purge
      • Anything Joes
      • Beautiful Creatures
      • Big Eyes Smart Mouth
      • Big Sleeps and Long Goodbyes
      • Cahiers du Horror
      • Dispatches From the Field
      • Drive-In Saturday
      • Dungeons & D-Listers
    • Columns F-P
      • The Final Girl
      • First Looks… Second Thoughts
      • The Flesh is Weak
      • Innocence and Experience
      • Lost in Translation
      • Marvel at the Movies
      • Muppets 101
      • Page to Screen
      • Popcorn Cinema
      • The Psycho Drive-In Podcast
      • Psycho Essentials: The ’80s!
    • Columns S-Z
      • Schlock & Awe
      • Shakespeare on Film
      • Shot for Shot
      • Sick Flix
      • Unnatural Selections
      • Versus
      • Video Word Made Flesh
      • We Got Lists
      • Women in Horror
      • The Xeno File
      • Zombies 101
    • Reviews
      • Books
      • Comics
      • DVD/Blu-ray
      • Movies
      • TV
      • Series
    • Interviews
    • News
      • Trailers
    • Psychos
    • Shop
    Type to search or hit ESC to close
    See all results
    Username
    Password
    Remember Me
    Lost password?
    Create an account
    Username
    Email
    Cancel
    Enter username or email
    Cancel