It's Just Better in Russian.

One of the strangest things about Russia are the adaptations of European/American culture. It's really quite disorienting--the Russian pop songs bizarrely translated and sung in English...the names of American celebrities in Russian letters. [Sigh.] Russians often ask me if I listen to "ImEEnim." They mean Eminem, but that's the accepted pronunciation in Russia. Or Adidas. We say it "adEEdas." They say it "adidDAS." Harry Potter is Garry Potter. And his friend Germeeohay Graindzer. Professor Snape is Professor Sneg. I could devote an entire blog to the philology and linguistics of Harry Potter in translation, but I'm tired and don't want to think that much right now.
I have learned to stop questioning the culture. That whole Mary Poppins thing on ice, for example. Talk about a revelation. So, I'm all bemused by "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" in Russian, and I commented on it in Petersburg, and everyone just nodded matter-of-factly. "It's better in Russian," they agreed. "Wonderful film." Turns out that Mary Poppins actually was made into a Russian version during the Soviet Era, and is considered a classic. [shiver.] So was Winnie the Pooh, actually, but the Russian version is grimmer, and more sketchily animated. Whoa, nelly, but I think I just about lost ten years of my life when I realized what I was watching. There are TWO Winnie the Poohs existing in one universe? Like I said. SHIVER.
Everything and anything can be found in Russian. The Tarzan books (all of them.) Robert Louis Stevenson. Jules Verne is especially popular. Shakespeare, too. And supposedly he's better in Russian too (snort.) I saw Otello in Russian. It was passionate. It was beautiful. It was moving. Itwas not Shakespeare. It involved lots of traditional Russian dancing and accordion music. Oh, and also--vocab word for the day, "platok." A platok is the flowery headscarf you always see babushkas wearing. Or, at least, I always see babushkas wearing. After about the fifth round of Otello bellowing, "Gdye moy platok?!" (Where's my handkerchief?!) I had had just about enough. It is just too hard to translate Shakespeare and preserve the original spirit. Especially with accordions in the background.
Well, also another problem was actually a little strange. Um...they kind of cut the whole race issue out of Othello. Like, entirely. It just wasn't there. Isn't that one of the central, driving forces of the play? Hm. I believe in looking at Shakespeare from different angles, but somehow I don't think the platok quite makes up the difference. I dunno. Maybe if you throw in the accordions, too...