You don't want another TV series where the white protagonist is stranded in an Asian culture and learns to love it?
What are you, some kinda commie?
You don't want another TV series where the white protagonist is stranded in an Asian culture and learns to love it?
What are you, some kinda commie?
Things I trust more than American conservatives:
Drinks from Bill Cosby, Flint Michigan tap water, Plane rides from Al Qaeda, Anything on the menu at Chipotle, Medical procedures from Mengele
James Clavell's Shogun was based on the life of William Adams who was an English privateer in Dutch service. He was stranded in Japan and came into the service of Tokugawa Ieyasu.
Frankly that is a preferable story line than a show with an all Asian cast done by Americans, because they would undoubtedly screw it up. At least with a white lead there is an easy connection and a way to expand the world.
What bothers me about Shogun is that they didn't even bother to have any level of historicity. All the characters are made up but based on actual characters. I don't know why James Clavell didn't write the actual life of William Adams instead of making up John Blackthorne, Lord Yabu, Lord Toranaga etc.
Why I'm against a remake is because Game of Thrones exists... and has undoubtedly been influential. All I need to say.
Edit:
Wait, what do you mean another? Aren't Marco Polo and Shogun the only ones?
The day a western studio touches actual Japanese and Chinese history is the day I gladly commit seppuku. Kind of like what is happening with Total War Three Kingdoms.
Besides everyone knows that if there was going to be a writer it would be me.
I should say that I was making fun of the overall trope of "white dude stranded on foreign land" in general, not just Asian culture.
So that's my bad.
I didn't realize it was based on actual history like Marco Polo. But yeah...keep to the actual facts as best as you can. History is usually interesting enough without having to fabricate anything.
Things I trust more than American conservatives:
Drinks from Bill Cosby, Flint Michigan tap water, Plane rides from Al Qaeda, Anything on the menu at Chipotle, Medical procedures from Mengele
Which also really bothered me about Marco Polo. Some of the liberties in Season 1 were tolerable but Season 2 went off the deep end.
Not sure how many times they've done these types of stories. Lemme think... Shogun, Marco Polo, Last Samurai, Dances With Wolves, Outcast (this movie was so bad), 47 Ronin (absolutely terrible).
Though to be fair 47 Ronin and Outcast were mostly Asian productions. Dances With Wolves actually pulls its punches with regards to portraying the Sioux more positively. Last Samurai is really inaccurate... it was okay but I don't really like it.
In Shogun the character of John Blackthorne doesn't do all that much. It is literally just a story about a white guy in Japan. He gets into some trouble, interacts with the culture and has an adventure or two. He doesn't contribute that much to the actual events. His story is very much secondary to the setting. What I did like about the series is that all Japanese characters speak Japanese, except for the one girl.
When it aired a lot of Japanese-Americans complained that it portrayed Japanese culture negatively. But honestly I can't really see why. For instance that they depicted the Japanese as being overly cruel, but the depiction is pretty accurate. In fact in the film the protagonist is led to overcome his shock and merely accept this as the way of things. The main message is that he needs to accept life as being very Zen-like and to embrace death. The reason he doesn't understand is because he is a western Barbarian. The series also played a lot with the relationship of the Protestants and Catholics. Blackthorne's biggest prejudice in the show was actually against Catholics.
Looked bad from the other side of the field never tried it. But probably not as bad as the 300 and its sequel slaughtering classical history.Which also really bothered me about Marco Polo. Some of the liberties in Season 1 were tolerable but Season 2 went off the deep end.
IN PATROCINIVM SVB Dromikaites
'One day when I fly with my hands - up down the sky, like a bird'
But if the cause be not good, the king himself hath a heavy reckoning to make, when all those legs and arms and heads, chopped off in battle, shall join together at the latter day and cry all 'We died at such a place; some swearing, some crying for surgeon, some upon their wives left poor behind them, some upon the debts they owe, some upon their children rawly left.
Hyperides of Athens: We know, replied he, that Antipater is good, but we (the Demos of Athens) have no need of a master at present, even a good one.
I know it was bad but I loved 300 Rise of an Empire...the music alone was amazing.
Plus...ancient ship battles. How often do we get that?
Things I trust more than American conservatives:
Drinks from Bill Cosby, Flint Michigan tap water, Plane rides from Al Qaeda, Anything on the menu at Chipotle, Medical procedures from Mengele
BUMP!
I haven't found my answer in the thread but thought it best to not start another thread on historical fiction...
What are people's favourite Roman historical fiction series? Are there any based upon the early Republic/ Early years of Rome. I'm currently researching the Roman expansion within Italy and I always take more in through historical fictions that are usually accurate enough for my needs! Please fire away!
Well, I've written and just published a historically accurate novel about the Late Roman Republic, but before I share it with you, I wanna ask the moderator if that's okay. It's self-promotion, after all. No two ways about it
Hallo Jesse, welkom op TWC! You can make a post about your book here or any other place where it is relevant to the forum and thread topic and include a link to your site in it. Just make sure the post has some relevant text, not just the link (that would look spammy). You can also add the link in your signature. Good luck with the book. I may check it out myself!
Last edited by Muizer; October 06, 2024 at 08:16 AM.
"Lay these words to heart, Lucilius, that you may scorn the pleasure which comes from the applause of the majority. Many men praise you; but have you any reason for being pleased with yourself, if you are a person whom the many can understand?" - Lucius Annaeus Seneca -
You could try the Franco-Prussian war stories by Guy De Maupassant, since Maupassant was likely the greatest short-story writer globally.
He has a few memorable stories in that group - he was a soldier in the war, originally a marine but the french navy didn't play a role due to installed heavy coastal guns.
Emile Zola is certainly among the best, especially when it comes to the lifes of blue collars.
One of my favourite is The Debacle, a good account of the 1870 french defeat and the insurrection that followed in Paris
While Maupassant's most famous Franco-Prussian war story is Boule de Suif, (and it's the one that first made him famous), it's not at all my favorite of the group.
Maybe try Two Little Soldiers.