The stupidity of Grimm, part n in an ongoing series

[modernwizard]

In the latest ep, La Llorona, the titular character, a Central/South American ghost mourning her kids, whom she drowned, kidnaps children. Nick learns this from a Spanish-speaking man who has lost his son. The man speaks no English, and apparently no one in the Portland Police Department speaks Spanish, so, on this flimsiest of pretexts, the story drags in Juliette [Nick's girlfriend] to translate for the man.

I call bullshit. The father of the kidnapped kid knows no English at all, not even enough to say, "Let's communicate in Spanish"? More to the point, the Portland PD, which should be prepared to deal with many nationalities of people and many languages, has no one at their disposal who understands even basic Spanish?! No one is available who knows the primary language of the country with which we share a 2000-mile-long southern border? BULLLLLLLLLSHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT.

Comments

[plaidedbra.livejournal.com]

I fell in love with "Once Upon a Time", but I've been unsure about "Grimm". Main obstacle is season 1 is only on disc, not instant play with Netflix. I've gotten the impression that "Grimm" is similar to "Supernatural" in that it's a crime drama with the fantasy element. "Once Upon a Time" is dramatic but not crime-centered, and I really love how tightly woven together everyone's back stories are.

[blogofstench.livejournal.com]

I used to watch Once Upon a Time for the same reasons you list, until the sexism and racism made me want to throw the computer across the room.

[plaidedbra.livejournal.com]

I have a feeling I've got tunnel vision with this shiz, being really interested in the story above all else, or I'm jaded by how sexist fairytales were to begin with. (More likely it's because I'm a straight, white, cis-female and don't think to analyze this from another viewpoint.) I know nearly everyone is white, aside from the Magic Mirror, Mulan, and Lancelot (off the top of my head). Bringing in Mulan felt forced, and the adventures of her, Emma, Snow White, and Aurora in the last couple episodes has also felt weird, more because Aurora is foolish.

It would be neat to see tales from non-European sources, but I get the sense that they're damned if they do and damned if they don't. If they do, I have a feeling it will have that same "forced" atmosphere. Spoiler with the latest episode: I like that they brought in Dr. Frankenstein, but it's weird having such a modern, non-children's tale brought into the fold. (Alice in Wonderland was meant for children, though it's younger than Frankenstein.)

On the flip side, this has reminded me that Neil Gaiman's "American Gods" is going to be a tv series, so I've heard. The book had a lot of references of folktales in addition to the more commonly known religious characters.

[blogofstench.livejournal.com]

I'm extremely irritated that characters from Peter Pan and Frankenstein are showing up in Once Upon a Time. That changes the whole scope from "public domain fairy tales with no specific author" to "anything fictional we think is cool." Pick a canon and go with it, OUAT! And STAY AWAY FROM MARY SHELLEY DAMMIT!

Mulan is EXTREMELY shoehorned in. :(

[plaidedbra.livejournal.com]

Technically, I think Peter Pan IS in the public domain now, though I do agree with you. As far as I remember, only the rights for the stage production are owned by anyone - the orphanage to which the author donated them.

[blogofstench.livejournal.com]

Actually, the copyright of all Peter Pan-related works by J.M. Barrie belongs to the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, England. I know this because there were a few authorized sequels recently that needed to get permission from the hospital before publication. [They were crappy sequels.]

[plaidedbra.livejournal.com]

Ah, hospital, not orphanage; couldn't remember that right.

The "Return to Neverland" cartoon was terrible, but I liked "Finding Neverland" with Kate Winslet and Johnny Depp. (Not quite a sequel, but still related.)