5 Points In Defense Of American Remakes Of Foreign Language Films

Spoken dialogue isn’t the only language at play in movies. There’s an unspoken language to a movie’s rhythm, its structure, its musical cues, and countless other formal and technical aspects that is very often unique and uniquely understand by the culture from which it springs. Regional references to political situations, historical events or societal mores offer an enriching picture of a cultural landscape.

A false assumption that is often made, usually merely implicitly, is that Hollywood movies, and American cinema, are somehow universal. There is certainly a mindset and an aim in popular blockbusters to be as broad as possible, especially since the worldwide market has opened up an increased demand for Hollywood movies with international appeal. And because of its cultural dominance in the medium, it’s easy to forget how specifically made American Hollywood movies usually are.

This specificity and difference is a good thing, so long as we recognize that one is not better or worse than the other. Just as a tune can be adapted for other genres and national styles of music, so too can stories be reinterpreted for difference audiences and aesthetic sensibilities. I don’t see how one detracts from another, and indeed, the differences between, say, American and Japanese versions of Unforgiven can highlight contrasting elements of each culture.

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