I thought the Chinese worked pretty well in Firefly, but that if we'd seen some people speaking just Chinese, maybe with a few English curses or expressions thrown in, even just in the background, it would have worked better.

I just got back from dinner. Bread is nice. Also, I have discovered for the millionth time that I am really really horrible at communicating "I'm interested in being more than just friends" to a guy. Mostly because I chicken out and wait for him to make the first move.

See, I noticed the absence of Asian culture more strongly in Firefly than I would have otherwise, because every time the characters started using Chinese slang, I would realize anew that there were no Asian characters or architecture or anything other than the random slang.

Again, Jess is me. Honestly, any other language would have been just as jarring.

Except maybe an African tribal click language, because that would just sound cool.

I would realize anew that there were no Asian characters or architecture or anything other than the random slang. It was just...stuck in there.

I think that, the times that we saw the core planets, there was more Asian stuff there. Not as much as I would have thought natural, but more. Not so much on the outer planets, and those were what we saw most of the time.

There were, IIRC, Asian ideograms and Asian influence to the clothing as well.

But it makes me wonder how the Chinese struck the average middle-of-the-country viewer.

That's a good point after Hec's comment. Personally, I got so used to seeing so many Vietnamese/Philipino owned businesses when I was in San Diego, that it just seems kind of second nature to expect it. Even Madison has more than it's fair share of Asian restaurants and businesses of all flavors. It's also got a fairly good sized Hmong community that makes its presence felt. However, in smaller towns with less cultural context to draw from, it could be offputting.

Grape Nuts:

I thought the Chinese worked pretty well in Firefly, but that if we'd seen some people speaking just Chinese, maybe with a few English curses or expressions thrown in, even just in the background, it would have worked better.

This. Not that it didn't work for me, it did. But it could have worked better.

Personally, I hate expositon about language in Sci Fi. It's always jarring to hear a character saying something like "Oh, isin't it great that someone invented holography so we can do all this we've been doing all our lives?"

So having the chinese in there felt, to me, like it's just something they do, and no one brings it up because it's just part of the language.

The last time someone around you sneezed, did someone say "Gesundheit"? Did someone expound on it's origins? Did they then walk into the nearest schnitzel cafe? Wait. Cafe. That's French. I should go find some french people to discuss their role in our culture.

"Tish! You spoke French!"

I guess all I'm saying is that I felt it did weave into the story enough. Especially after watching the proper pilot, and seeing all the asian influence on Persephone.

That stream of unconsiousness brought to you by someone who should be asleep, but isn't because he's not quite right in the head.

Personally, I hate expositon about language in Sci Fi.

And I hate sloppy worldbuilding, so I guess we're both disappointed.

The last time someone around you sneezed, did someone say "Gesundheit"?

Actually, no. And Cincinnati is a city with very strong German roots.

But that isn't my point. In establishing the setting in a work of fiction, incongruous elements are bound to make some readers/viewers confused. It's easier, in a way, in science fiction like Farscape or Star Trek where entirely new races/species/languages are created out of whole cloth. They don't have a pre-existing context in the viewer's mind, so they're less likely to trip them up.

t edit Or what Jess said about sloppy worldbuilding. I'm just going to start posting a picture of me pointing at her posts.

I just can't help wondering how many people tuned in to Firefly and wondered "What's with all the Chinese?" It kept making me think I just wasn't understanding the dialogue, that they were mumbling like Seth Cohen, because in a sci-fi show with strong American West overtones, I wasn't expecting any other language. I'd have to rewind and put the closed-captioning on to figure out that I wasn't supposed to understand it.