Globalisation has lead to the mass exchange of media content across the world, especially television programmes. This mass exchange can be identified through the popularity of televisions programmes from a certain country amongst an international audience, leading to adaptions or remakes in other countries. However it is highly possible that certain local television programmes do not translate well in different global markets, especially in the genres of comedy. Sometimes, television programmes are altered to fit the social and cultural values of audiences or they can be simply exported from one nation to another, with little changes made to the original.
One of Australia’s most successful comedic television series is Kath & Kim, which was first broadcasted in May 2002 on the ABC. While it was widely popular in Australia, its exported American version did not garner the same reaction in which the New York Post described it as a “dish-water copy” of the original. They also believed that: “the Australian version is broader, bolder and more callous, gleefully unabashed about sending up lower-class accents and suburban vulgarity,” while “the NBC adaptation tiptoes a little too squeamishly through snobbery and bad taste” (News.com.au, 2008).
Through close comparison, the first episode of both the Australian and American versions were identical in terms of plot and structure. So what was the problem? According to Turnbull (2008, p.110), the failure of cultural translation is contributed through the absence of the role and place of irony, which is how the character imagines himself/herself to be and how they are perceived by the audience. In the case of Kath and Kim, the American portrayal of the spoilt and indolent Kim by Selma Blair failed to measure up to the original. Blair’s performance as Kim portrayed a significantly younger, attractive and size 8 Kim,who was based on trashy tabloid queens such as Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan. This was much unlike the original Kim, portrayed by Gina Riley, who was a self-deluded, size 16 and foolish 40-plus year old ‘horn-bag’.
Despite the failure of Kath and Kim to resonate with American audiences with their “slightly off-beat suburban spirit” (Idato, 2014), there have been cases where adaptations have been achieved cultural translation, receiving international success. An example would be the American version of the UK original series, The Office. Rather than simply exporting, the American version was re-invented through the imaging, naming of characters and contextualisation to appeal to an American audience. In particular, the whole office staff had become more culturally diverse (except for Dwight), better looking and more upbeat in comparison to the UK version. There have been mixed reviews on whether the British original or the American remake is better, but it is inevitable that there will be comparisons between an original television programme and its revised version (Turnbull, 2008, p.173).
In conclusion, the cultural translation of television programmes can be either a success or failure. However, it is important to remember that comedy is a cultural and social practice, shaped by the construction of national identity, with jokes implying sharing and belonging.
References
- Idato, M 2014, “Kath & Kim on Hulu in the US after remake failed”, Sydney Morning Herald: Entertainment, 12 September, viewed 19 September, <http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/kath–kim-on-hulu-in-the-us-after-remake-failed-20140912-10fuhm.html>
- com.au, 2008, ‘US Kath and Kim ‘worse than Vegemite’, News.com.au, 11 October, viewed 19 September, <http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/us-kath-and-kim-worse-than-vegemite/story-e6frfmyi-1111117718888>
- Turnbull, S 2008, ‘It’s like they threw a panther in the air and caught it in embroidery: Television comedy in translation’, Metro Magazine, No.159, p. 110-115
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