The men in the French version seem more worried about how they will get rid of the baby even in the first few minutes that they see it. On the other hand, the American men are concerned with just feeding and quieting the baby. Why was there this change? Does it reflect any differences in the themes of the movies?
By Lewis-Faupel, Sean C. on Mon, 11/21/2005 - 02:05#
salut,
Il est vrai que la première réaction des hommes est d'appeler la mère pour qu'elle vienne s'en occuper. Mais face à cette impossibilité, les hommes prennent vite leurs responsabilités, et vont demander conseil à la pharmacienne.
In American version Peter appeared dominant in how he handled the situation. He gave more commands to Michael, who seemed to complain more than anything. This was reflected when Peter ran off to the market without consulting Michael, and just leaving him to take care of the baby. In the French version Michael and Pierre had more equal roles, and both made suggestions concerning how to handle the situation. It was even Michael's idea to go to the pharmacy, instead of Pierre's. I don't know if this represents the broader theme of friendship in French society, but it apppears Michel and Pierre have a more egalitarian friendship with both valuing the opinions and suggestions of the other. This could also be due to the fact that the American version was more simplistic, and making the relationships more unequal shortened the dialogue.
In both films, I thought that it was funny to see just how clueless each set of men was in terms of their first reactions. The American men didn't even acknowledge that the baby was a person, who needed to be taken care of. They were constantly referring to her as "It" (Pick it up...), and the bickered about who was going to be the one to pick her up and bring her into the room. While the French men were equally as confused about what to do, they at least appeared to have the common sense to know what babies eat, or to know enough to go ask immediately.
Discussion
The men in the French version seem more worried about how they will get rid of the baby even in the first few minutes that they see it. On the other hand, the American men are concerned with just feeding and quieting the baby. Why was there this change? Does it reflect any differences in the themes of the movies?
salut,
Il est vrai que la première réaction des hommes est d'appeler la mère pour qu'elle vienne s'en occuper. Mais face à cette impossibilité, les hommes prennent vite leurs responsabilités, et vont demander conseil à la pharmacienne.
In American version Peter appeared dominant in how he handled the situation. He gave more commands to Michael, who seemed to complain more than anything. This was reflected when Peter ran off to the market without consulting Michael, and just leaving him to take care of the baby. In the French version Michael and Pierre had more equal roles, and both made suggestions concerning how to handle the situation. It was even Michael's idea to go to the pharmacy, instead of Pierre's. I don't know if this represents the broader theme of friendship in French society, but it apppears Michel and Pierre have a more egalitarian friendship with both valuing the opinions and suggestions of the other. This could also be due to the fact that the American version was more simplistic, and making the relationships more unequal shortened the dialogue.
In both films, I thought that it was funny to see just how clueless each set of men was in terms of their first reactions. The American men didn't even acknowledge that the baby was a person, who needed to be taken care of. They were constantly referring to her as "It" (Pick it up...), and the bickered about who was going to be the one to pick her up and bring her into the room. While the French men were equally as confused about what to do, they at least appeared to have the common sense to know what babies eat, or to know enough to go ask immediately.