A few weeks ago I wrote about taking the opportunity to learn foreign languages and diving in when enjoying another country's entertainment content. I highlighted the Norwegian broadcaster NRK's strong decision to not provide subtitles of Skam for its unexpected international viewers. I had so much pride for NRK standing their ground against the translation and re-adaption heavy media culture we're in. Or at least I was, until today.
After watching the most recent masterpiece-of-an-episode of Skam (translates to Shame), I saw a Facebook post from P3, the television channel that airs the show. It said: "OMG! Det kommer en amerikansk versjon av "Skam"!" Hopefully you were able to understand the cognate laden sentence, but if not, Facebook translates it to "OMG! There will be an American version of "Skam"!".
I was shocked. The Americans. Us? We were going to try our hand at the next best thing since sliced bread? How could we?
NRK sold the rights to Simon Fuller, known for Idol and The Spice Girls. If you search the Skam tag on Tumblr, you can find many disgruntled Americans contesting this unnecessary version, many citing the failure of the American version of the British show Skins. On Instagram, Norwegians and Americans alike are trying to make sense of this news.
The television director of NRK P3, Håkon Moslet, said that intention is for the American version to have some of the qualities of the original version. The post below takes a jab at the impossibility of trying to keep any remarkable semblance to show, due to US culture and politics. It translates to: "Skam US, Season 3, Episode 5. Isak's electroshock therapy begins to work. Jonas receives 30 years in prison for smoking a joint. Sana will be deported again." This is in reference to some of the characters sexuality, use of drugs, and ethnic and religious background.
I don't know how I feel. NRK might have thought this was in the best interest of the global fan base. Simon Fuller told NRK that he was proud to be taking the 'innovation and creativity' Norway and Scandinavia are leading, and bringing it to a larger audience. I get it. English is a popular global language. It's mostly like much easier for people to translate from English to their native language then from Norwegian to English, and then their native language. There's also American programming in almost every country (but rarely any foreign programming in ours), so it definitely could be a bigger hit. Maybe this was a big financial deal for NRK and could put the network in the market for selling concepts.
I'm not saying an American version wouldn't be successful. The American show Eyewitness is an adaption of the current Norwegian one, and I hear nothing but good things from American viewers.
But what I am saying, is that yet again, we Americans have lost the opportunity to get to connect to other countries on their terms. The tens, if not hundred of thousands, of English speakers who were getting invested in Scandinavia and Norwegian language have now been handed an out.
Your opportunity to share your culture in your own authentic way has been lost, Norway. Den er skamfull.
As a student of Norwegian, who has had the opportunity to learn and experience the culture both in its diaspora homeland of the mid-West and during my study abroad in Oslo, I am saddened to see such a fantastic cultural exchange succumb to the American need to have everything our way.
Regardless, I will continue to laugh with the memes about us and our soon to be Shame. I will also continue to consume Norwegian media in Norwegian, as it was intended. I will do my best to support the country in its accidental quest to conquer the entertainment industry with it's brilliant writing, incorporation of music, cinematic imaginings, and revolutionary use of technology in storytelling.
