Russian Fans Revolt Over Title Translation of Star Trek Into Darkness – Distributor Responds December 19, 2012
by Oleg Ryzhikov , Filed under: Fandom,Marketing/Promotion,Star Trek Into Darkness , trackback
Two weeks ago TrekMovie reported that in Russia the local distributor chose an alternative title for Star Trek Into Darkness. The title (translated as "Star Trek: Vengeance") was one of those tested for the film but lost out to "Into Darkness" everywhere but Russia. Since the announcement some Trek fans in Russia have tried to get the decision changed and yesterday they even got a meeting with the Russian distributor. Get all the details below in a report from TrekMovie’s Moscow correspondent.
Russian Trek Fans Try To Change Title Translation
As everybody know, in Russia we have a lot of strange traditions, and one of them is translating titles of foreign movies with a little, if any, respect for original. Up until now Star Trek movies and TV shows were fortunate enough to avoid this. For example JJ Abrams 2009 movie Star Trek movie was translated to "Звездный Путь,” which was how "Star Trek" had been presented before in Russia and translates literally as “a road to the stars” or “a road in the stars.” However, the new movie Star Trek Into Darkness got another treatment, and it’s official Russian title is «Стартрек: Возмоздие» (first word before colon being meaningless transliteration of words "Star" and "Trek," blended into one, and second word can be rather accurately translated as "Vengeance").
Russian poster for "Star Trek: Vengeance"
(aka Star Trek Into Darkness)
Usually that would be the end of the story, but this time a group of stubborn Russian Trek fans decided to make their concerns heard. Shortly after the Russian title was officially announced, a petition was put online to try and compel the distributor Central Partnership to change the title. The petition site www.startrek2.ru was started by Igor Pylaev (organizer of Russian sci-fi convention “Starcon”), and it expresses the frustration of the Trek fans in Russia quite clearly. The petition states in part (translated to English)…
We want a proper Russian title for STID!
In the past “Star Trek” was always translated as «Звёздный Путь», which is true even for the 11th film. Using meaningless «Стартрек» in title of 12th film is just illogical, not to mention incompetent.
Also, “Into Darkness” is an original and intriguing title, while “Vengeance” is just lame cliché.
Direct translations, like «Звёздный Путь Во тьму» or «Звёздный Путь: Во тьму», are true to original meaning, and sound just fine.
Soon after the petition went online it was picked up by most of the Russian sci-fi web-portals and communities (including the biggest Russian Star Trek site www.trekker.ru). In just a few days over 4,000 fans signed the petition.
Russian Distributor responds to fan concerns
The petition did not go unnoticed by the powers that be. Pylaev tells TrekMovie that after the petition started spreading around the fan community Central Partnership’s PR people reached out and invited him to a press event yesterday (the nine-minute preview was being screened for the local media in Moscow). Speaking to TrekMovie following the event, Pylaev said the people at Central Partnership expressed their sympathies to the fan concerns, but noted that the translation they chose was based on feedback from focus groups of over 5,000 Russians film goers. So with that in mind, they are not inclined to make any changes. However, Central Partnership did say it is possible they could add something like «Основано на саге Звёздный Путь Дж. Родденберри» ("Based on Star Trek by G. Roddenberry") as a subtitle.
While the title treatment for this new film is different than how previous Trek films have been treated, it is understandable that CP may want to make changes to how the new movie is being marketed. The 2009 Star Trek film was actually the first film in the franchise to get a wide release in Russia. Past Star Trek films have been mainly distributed on TV and home video. And while the 2009 Star Trek movie was the #1 film in Russia for its opening weekend, it finished its run with just $4.1 million in total, ranking it 49th for the year. Compare that to a film like Terminator Salvation which made less than Trek in the USA but $14.5M in Russia (ranking it 12th). So the approach with the title is part of Central Partnership’s goal to find a larger audience for Star Trek in 2013.
In another positive development from yesterday’s meeting, Central Partnership did say they would seriously consider using the Russian Trekker community for help and feedback during the dubbing translation process (as they did with the 2009 Star Trek movie). Translation work is planned for March 2013, and involving the Trek community could actually prove to be more important than the title. Most fans feel that studios do not do good translations of sci-fi movies and TV series.
Russian poster for 2009′s "Star Trek"
- where film underperformed relative to other markets
Oleg Ryzhikov is the editor of Russsian Trek site www.trekker.ru. He is also part of the team that manages Russia’s sole Star Trek convention "RusCon," which celebrated it’s 12th year this summer. Follow Oleg on Twitter: @elfwine.
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Comments
Interesting!
Passion for Trek in Russia! Cool!
I could not understand why the distributor did not do an accurate translation of Star Trek Into Darkness, because that is what the film is called!
In Soviet Russia Stars trek to you!
I’m from Argentina, we are trying to change the release date from AUGUST to may..
Thank God!!!!
Is it me, or the fact that Star Trek fans with a Russian website using the meaningless-in-Russian “startrek.ru” title complaining the meaningless-in-Russian “Стартрек” title for the new film is kind of ironic?
If this were such a big deal, shouldn’t the Russian URL reflect the translation of “a road to the stars”?
Clearly Russian fans know what Star Trek means.
I guess I see the point of the “Into Darkness” issue, otherwise.
Ensign Pavel Andreievich Chekov must be a god over there!
Trek is universal. I was surprised at the Trekdom in France once, decades ago.
Cudos comrades!
Guy: What do you think?
Guy 2: He’s a Ruskie.
Guy: That’s ridiculous, of course he’s a Ruski, but he’s a retard or something…..
@Anthony Pascale: we have a similar fight in Poland regarding the movie title – it’s called “W ciemnosc Star Trek” which would literally translate “Into the darkness of Star Trek”.
The case got attention in the media, a major news portal gazeta.pl wrote about it a couple of days back.
nice.
I hope the fans can get involved- better translation will happen. I hope this will be true for all non-English versions.
Nice to know that ST has fans in Russia that care about a 1960′s TV show and what it spawned as much as we do.
Who cares what the movie’s called? They ought to be happy they get the film at all!
That poster on the bottom looks like a mushroom cloud in San Francisco Bay — I’m sure those Rooskies loved that poster!
Russia isn’t the only one with such issues I’m afraid. But I think it’s awesome they petitioned. What I consider bullcrap is how the distributor responded.
At least in Poland we got “W ciemność Star Trek”, which is a literal translation. It just sounds a bit awkward. They are pretty determined not to call Vulcan Vulcan. No. We have Wolkan instead.
Our SF shows and movies are really not translated well, either, so I feel their pain. I hope they’ll influence they distributor some more and get at least consistent title.
If the Russian communist government still exists today, those Trekkers would be sent to Siberia!
@Trekzilla
I really want to meet these “Rooskies” sometime, should be facinating!
We Greek fans must revolt if it should be called:
ΣΤΑΡ ΤΡΕΚ : ΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΣΚΟΤΟΣ
or
ΣΤΑΡ ΤΡΕΚ : ΕΚΔIΚΗΣΗ
Whatever, Greek Dumbing sucks more than the titles!! :):):)
“If the Russian communist government still exists today, those Trekkers would be sent to Siberia!”
Right. Instead, they send up young female rockers who offend the delicate sensibilities of Vladimir Putin and the Russian Orthodox Church. Personally, if I had to make a choice I’d send the Trekkers (Trekinskis?), who don’t seem to have a better sense of proportion, or humor, than those over here. *Sigh*
@ 17. Captain Hackett – December 19, 2012
“If the Russian communist government still exists today, those Trekkers would be sent to Siberia!”
Well, our comrade, former KGB officer & now the Russian President, Putin did sent members of the “Pussy Riot” band to Siberia.
Hello Oleg
Congratulations on getting attention to something you believe in! Thanks for informing fans from other countries!
A fellow fan from the U.S.
John
Well, I guess distributors in Germany can consider themselves lucky, that the switch from the German title of TOS, “Raumschiff Enterprise” (‘Starship Enterprise’), to “Star Trek: xyz” had already occurred in 1979 when TMP came out.
Oh and if you allow me to touch on a completely different topic:
Have you heard the news about the possible discovery of a planet in the habitable zone of the Tau Ceti system? – Maybe they have finally discovered “real-life Vulcan” (even though it would most likely look nothing like the rocky, barren Vulcan we know)!
Check it out: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20770103
#17, 21 — So true. There is only the illusion of some freedom in Russia today (hey! Kind of like here in the US!!). Ask Pussy Riot.
Putin is basically a dictator. Medvedev was his puppet…
My problem isn’t with the Russian people, but with the thugs who run their government.
Remember that Putin used to be a KGB agent. No wonder.
7. Curious Cadet – December 19, 2012
Is it me, or the fact that Star Trek fans with a Russian website using the meaningless-in-Russian “startrek.ru” title complaining the meaningless-in-Russian “Стартрек” title for the new film is kind of ironic?
____________________________________________
The website is using English startrek.ru which is not meaningless – it’s in English.
However, when you take the words star + trek and simply replace Latin symbols with Cyrillic ones it becomes meaningless because Russian is not “English with different symbols” so you just do that and suddenly “it makes sense in Russian” but a whole different language. “Стартрек” does not mean anything, in any language.
btw – “Звёздный Путь” is A Road Made of Stars
#25 — Once KGB, always KGB.
Anyone notice how the Russian thugs prop up and support every rogue state on the globe? Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, North Korea, China…Syria…all buddies with Vlad.
Trekzilla–
True. But don’t be so quick to let the Russian people off the hook, since the polls showed that the overwhelming majority had no problem at all with Pussy Riot’s imprisonment. I tend to suspect that it wouldn’t be a much different story over here, and that our Trek fans would also be more concerned about film titling than doing anything to trumpet the cause of free speech–that is, helping to bring about the brighter future Gene Roddenberry wanted us to believe in. As someone who drew hope and inspiration from the series and Roddenberry’s college lectures during the ’70s, that’s what strikes me as the real pity in all this.
Geezers, is this actually dwindling into a discussion about the Russian government, peppered with soviet-era clichés and bias?
Guys, get a grip!
Recent actions by the Russian government have undoubtedly been dispicable but this has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with this article.
Could be worse. The Japanese title translates roughly as:
Star Trek: Who the f@ck is Gary Mitchell?!
27. trekzilla
The US has a LONG tradition of supporting rogue states / dictatorships. Saudi Arabia, Chile (post-Allende), Mubarak’s Egypt, and – worst of all – Israel, which practices oppression and state terrorism (secret nuclear program, assassinations, kidnappings and torture). The US can not claim the high road!
Again, it is clear the JJTrek movies are not made to appeal to any ST fans. They polled 5000 general movie-goers, not ST or even general sci-fi fans.
Actions like this make it clear these movies are for consumption by a general public who has little to no understanding of what makes ST unique and special.
I get the feeling it would have been ‘Star Trek Explosions and Laser Fights…’ if they thought they could get away with it.
Russian fans, you guys are awesome! Best of luck to you all! Please ignore the xenophobes on this thread.
@26 Iva,
I see what you’re saying.
I was thinking branding. While Star Trek means something in English, if you are Russian and don’t read English then it’s meaningless to you, but recognizable as a brand name. Kind of like Coca-Cola/Coke, which is more or less meaningless as work in English as well.
But thanks for the clarification, in other words, in Russian “Стартрек” is completely meaningless. It couldn’t even be a proper name? Or as in a brand name like “Coke”? I’m just trying to get a context … So even in Russian there are no brand names that otherwise make no sense or are proper names either?
That said, either way, it seems to me that Paramount is attempting to establish a brand identity for Star Trek in Russia as if it had no pre-existing presence, or at least a significant one. This seems to be an ill-advised poorly thought out plan if so.
So if I understand you correctly, if Paramiunt is trying to establish a brand name, then it would be far more preferable to simply use the English “Star Trek” like they do with some other American products in Russia?
@29 KHAAAN the weasel: Totally agreed.
On a lighter note: Does anyone else think the Russian ST09 poster at the bottom looks totally bad@ss??
#28 — Yep, I agree! :-)
#31 — The reason the US supported those regimes is that the alternative is much worse (as we are seeing now). The devil you know, vs. the devil you don’t. And please, you actually think The Muslim Brotherhood (who promotes sharia law) is better than Mubarak? HAHA!!!
I won’t count the reasons why that’s a crazy idea!
As for Israel — Israel can be trusted to not use nuclear weapons first (unless maybe some day against Muslim lunatics such as Iran some day). Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East. Israel has the nukes — but I’m not worried about that. The ones more likely to use nukes are the ones who are prepared to commit suicide at the drop of a hat.
Anyway, this thread is not for this type of discussion…and it’s clear you don’t know what you’re talking about.
Stop with the politics guys
Abrams team is doing very little to appeal to the world audience, both from the perspective of the movie story itself to the way it gets promoted. It’s why it ranks so low outside of USA.
In Spain we have a slightly altered wording of the translation but, in my opinion, it has changed the meaning vastly.
We have it translated as: Star Trek en la oscuridad. Which means: Star Trek IN Darkness. A direct translation of ”Into Darkness” would have been ”hacia la oscuridad”, so I do not know why it was changed.
“Star Trek: Vengeance” sounds better then “Star Trek Into Darkness”….
@30: Dangit, you had me on that for a minute!
34. Curious Cadet – December 19, 2012
Foreign brands tend to be kept in their language of origin and the alphabet that comes with it. If you’re a fan you just learn to pronounce it :D the brand is famous enough you don’t really need to know what it means.
This “replace them with Cyrillic” is usually done with names that have no meaning in their original language either – like Coca Cola because you lose nothing in translation – there’s no translation going on it’s just adapted to a different way of pronouncing words.
Other way brands get established is to translate them in Russian (if they have a meaning), as Star Trek has been (Звёздный Путь) and roll with that.
Given that Звёздный Путь is decades old and established, trying to roll with “Стартрек” now is not only a bad business move, but given that “Стартрек” is literally “let’s just replace it with Cyrillic and hope nobody notices it’s mock-Russian/ we don’t give a F” is also mildly insulting.
It’s a tough choice: They could always compromise and use “Звёздный Путь: Возмездие” to keep consistency within the franchise. “Звёздные Войны” (Star Wars) is quite well known and appreciated in Russia, and would partially stem, among older fans, from Ronald Reagan’s anti ICBM program during the Cold War which was covered ad nauseam in the Soviet press.
In Welsh (one of the languages of Wales, a constituent country of the UK), Star Trek translates as ‘gofod yn y dyfodol yn dangos taith’ (future science space show)
@37: Thanks for putting your foot down, Anthony! No only had this discussion gone totally off topic, but some comments also showed that kind of barely veiled contempt towards Russians, that really pisses me off. And I’m not even Russian!
@35: Good to see someone share my concerns.
Oh and concerning the poster: It sure looks kinda badass, but it also looks awfully un-trekky… more like something you’d expect to see in some bloody Michael Bay movie. But well, that’s how you market a trek movie towards an audience that’s unfamiliar with Star Trek.
when i said stop with the politics it wasn’t a suggestion
People, please, just stop all this political and stereotipes nonsense, it’s really crazy, and article above has absolutely nothing to do with it.
Also, don’t assume something about people you know nothing about – if anyone argues with incorrect translation of movie title, it certainly doesn’t mean, that he has no opinion and doing nothing about political situation in his country.
Again, please don’t. It’s about Star Trek, for crying out loud!
46. KHAAAN the weasel
Yeah the poster doesn’t look “Star Trek” to me either. It’s like – I look at it and no ST related thoughts appear, I think of Terminator to be honest.
@44: Did they also rename Scotty as “Welshie”… sorry, I just had to!
@46 thanks, Tony, just thanks!
Color me impressed, Russian Star Trek fans.
Am I the only one reading it as Craptrek?
@42 Iva,
“Given that Звёздный Путь is decades old and established, trying to roll with “Стартрек” now is not only a bad business move, but given that “Стартрек” is literally “let’s just replace it with Cyrillic and hope nobody notices it’s mock-Russian/ we don’t give a F” is also mildly insulting.”
Iva, thanks for that. Obvious StarTrek.ru suggests the fans have no problem with the English. And I believe previous articles implied that Star Trek didn’t really have a presence in Russia. So I’m with you. Now that I understand it, if I were a fan, I think I would be insulted as well.
I wonder if this is an Abrams decision, or strictly a Paramount one? Either way, from what you are saying it would seem whomever made this decision is completely out of their depth.
@53 Curious Cadet,
As I know it’s a personal decision made by Central Partnerships exec.
It is not the Abrams team who are at fault here. It is Paramount and the distributors. The name of the movie should either be correctly translated into Russian or kept in the original English, as in Star Trek Into Darkness. The same should apply to other non-English speaking countries. What’s more – ‘darkness’ is not (necessarily) synonymous with ‘vengeance’
55. Rose (as in Keachick)
What’s more – ‘darkness’ is not (necessarily) synonymous with ‘vengeance’
______________________________________
In my country the movie name “Alien” was translated as
“The 8th Passenger”.
It took me years to figure out wtf the people were talking about when they talked about it online.
Well, if translations are meaningless why not call it Avatar?
I think Avatar people could sue?
In denmark, we just the originals titles, at least now:-)
You are all non going to believe what the translation of the title is in Esperanto:
English: “Star Trek Into Darkness”
Esperanto: “Star Trek Sequel Has Khan in it Just Like MJ Predicted”
Wow!
Worldwide texting translation for the title just released from Paramount:
st i/o dness
First, greetings Oleg and thank you for your article. My comment is that it could be possible that the word “vengeance” could be very descriptive to the plot and hence it would be accurate. It could be Khan’s vengeance for being driven from earth.
For over 40 years Star Trek was translated into Brazilian Portuguese “Jornada Nas Estrelas” (a literal translation), but for the last film (and this one too), they are using the ENGLISH title (Star Trek). Mostly fans know the original title. To top it off, this last movie is titled “Star Tek BEYOND Darkness”(!!!)
@60. Bet you paid through the nose for that endorsement….
Forget the politics and bashing. Let’s just suggest alternate titles that our friends in Russia could use. My suggestion to get Russians to come out to see the movie -
Gorkon: Ruler of the Universe
He was sort of a Russian stand-in, yes?
During my time with the US Army, we had an exchange program where Russian tank crews could train and compare notes with US tank crews.
I soon learned that these Russians could drink you under the table and still be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed a good hour before reveille.
Those Russians- Tough. Smart. Consistent.
@60 MJ-
That made me seriously LOL!
I love being a Trek fan right now:
http://www.ign.com/videos/2012/12/19/star-trek-into-darkness-first-trailer-rewind-theater
@ 52. Al – December 19, 2012
I agree. That transliteration looks like Crap Trek to me as well.
Some of the “get off my lawn”-type TOS fans would probably agree that is a more accurate title.
I don’t get that “meaningless in Russian” stuff. Of course it’s meaningless in Russian, because it’s ENGLISH! And that’s what it’s supposed to be…a worldwide brandname…
I’m German and the days every movie title gets a German translation are long gone…and I wouldn’t be interested in those anyway.
They used to call TOS and TNG “Raumschiff Enterprise” back in the old days (translates “Spaceship Enterprise”), but that title comes off rather silly these days and it’s mainly used by those who want to degrade the old shows to a childrens’ TV show. It’s been renamed “Star Trek” in the 90s and that’s definitely the way it should be…Obviously some other peoples don’t see it that way…
So is the Trek brand considered unpopular in Russia? Did the distributor want it to not be associated with previous Trek?
60. Ha! Yep, there’s a reason Esperanto didn’t take off (aside from that Shatner movie) ;).
At least it wasn’t Star Trek: The Search for Nucleaar Wessels… ;-P
Speaking of Russia, I’m still hoping against hope that new Chekov’s accent is slightly less ridiculous in the new movie. I realize that Russian-born/US-raised Anton Yelchin could’ve done a more realistic accent, but that he was paying homage to Walter Koenig’s version; I just wish that he hadn’t, that’s all. I would’ve loved to have heard a Chekov who doesn’t sound like a bad 1960′s cartoon.
I’ve never met a single Russian who’s ever talked like Yelchin or Koenig (and I’ve met plenty of Russians, and have heard some very thick Po-Russki).
#73. Jack~
Amen to that!
“Incubus” was (unintentionally) hilarious… ;-D
I guess in Russia they can call him Khan-rad. :P
74. Sebastian S
Well that’s the manufactured stereotype Slavic accent. People demand it on the set, you have to fulfill their fantasy or else “you don’t sound like a real x”.
Stupid, but, whatever. They go with stereotypes for all non American characters, I guess they don’t realize yet that’s not going to appeal to non – Americans.
“Also, “Into Darkness” is an original and intriguing title, while “Vengeance” is just lame cliché.”
I suppose there are different levels of cliche.
I can understand revolting over decades of poverty under the czar, but for crying out loud it’s it’s it’s it’s just a TV show, dammit.
@ 68
PEB
Thanks for IGN’s breakdown of the trailer. Will try to find the high res picture of the cryo tubes and the mysterious two characters in the background.
74.
I hope so too – Anton Yelchin looks like he’s going to blow a gasket, straining as he does, to utter his lines with such ridiculousness ( see 9 minute prologue for latest example ).
Speaking of marketing, I wonder if they’re bringing the Burger Klingons back. And I would love if the crew (plus the new guys) visit SNL next year. They should also bring JJ with them wearing a red shirt. Hahaha! That would be cool.
The Russians are a fantastic people. What’s in the past, is in the past. Russians/Americans/Brazilians/British- you name it: we all did wrong things. What’s important is that we are all trying to make things better. It’s the Star Trek core ethics, to begin with.
@83. God, I hope not….for that matter, an Into Darkness Happy Meal sounds like a bad idea, too. Maybe they could do a tie in with anti-depressents…..
I played in a punk/new wave band back in the 80′s. We did a song called ‘Run Ivan Run!’ The refrain (Trek paraphrased) -
‘Run Chekov run! Hold that dvd to your chest!
(KGB hates Star Trek! Trek is of the west!)
Run Chekov run! But if you don’t get through
Let your friends see that movie so they
Can be free too!
Turn your friends on to Star Trek so they
Can be free too!’
Thank YOU! Thank YOU!!!
CD’s and t-shirts are being sold at that table by the bar!!!
;-P
# 77 Iva~
True… however, that was the 1960s; the height of the Cold War.
We now live in a time of far greater cultural and global awareness than we did in the pre-internet 1960s. I think they could’ve easily had new Chekov speak with a more real, less “Boris Badenov Russian accent than he spoke with in 1967.
Just saying…
I know a few words of Russian (and Ukrainainan), but not nearly enough to appreciate this beautiful language. I love the sound of Russian, it is one of the most eloquent languages that I’ve ever had the pleasure to listen to.
Er……Ukrainian……sheesh….
NO WONDER they have SO many
problems over there! Am I to actually
believe that the Russian language
is SO limited that it cannot translate
the words STAR, TREK, INTO, and
DARKNESS… Maybe it’s time to create
some new words, folks!
Great article. I’m curious as to how ST TOS was perceived in the former Soviet Union. I was under the impression that it was a hit for Russia in the early eighties. I would imagine Kirk, Spock, and McCoy are icons worldwide. That being said, I would like to see these characters recast, (if necessary) and portrayed on television, highlighting the re imagined JJverse, and how familiar episodes, and characters unfold.
I really wish there was a thread regarding Trek’s eventual return to television. There is actually some interesting tidbits regarding a campaign backed by many producers, and writers petitioning for the shows return- beginning with an animated series, and eventually a live action series. Does anyone else have any feelings about this?
All this effort and then they kill Chekov?
That must suck!
Once again the minority (but vocal) Star Trek fans. Show themselvs as nit picking backwards looking Fanboys with childish attitudes and cartoon like opinions of other cultures and societys based on the outstanding ignorence that seems to be a hallmark of American fandom. What disgusts me the most is you take an Idea that is Star Trek and its message of hope its ideas of tollerence, Its acceptance of the new and different as a adventure in growth and understanding and take a collective dump on it And all I can get from your comments is Russians are stupid. Imbecilic comments on Islam and for some unknown reason Israel and atomic weapons have been draged into it to. The people who have made negative and disparaging comments of other cultures and there methods in this forum have just gone to show that Star Trek and the possibilitys it can represent for ourselvs and out future will never arrive while these people continue to claim to be fans but spit in the eye of Star Trek with ignorence, religious intollerence and a hope for a nuclear war. I can only assume that you are fueled by a fear of the unknown and an inability to accept Ideas and interpritations of the world and life that are not your own. The future and the hope it holds for the tollerent and the people who are open to the new and different are always welcome. but the bigoted stupidity displayed in this forum will never be welcome in a future that does not need you and your dead ideas. Return to your basement and watch wrath of Khan for the 500time its the only place on Earth you will ever be happy. Everyone else is workig and living for a better future for all of us.
87:
Sebastian S.:
You’re right. As a Russian speaker, I could not understand why Chekhov, as a native Russian, could not say the word “Victor” when activating his intercraft station. Victor, pronounced with a ‘V’ is a common Russian name.
I know he faked the accent as an homage to Walter Koenig (who also grew up speaking Russian), but they could mellow it out a little bit.
91:
Son of Jello:
You self-contradict: You look for Gene Roddenberry’s all-inclusive world of the future, yet you simultaneously condemn those whose opinions differ from yours.
Star Trek is about inclusion. It’s not just about skin color or nationality, but about the ability to be empathetic and diplomatic in the face of opinions that do not jibe with yours, and to be able to work together with those who hold them to move forward. STVI is all about this. Kirk was the intolerant one, and Spock had moved on to reach out to the Klingons.
History is rife with conflicts which generally result in the greater good winning out over older ideas. It is a slow process, and, as many Trekkies are not spring chickens, or are from various backgrounds, you may find differing views being expressed in one thread.
The US is going through a horrible exercise in de-polarization now which, unfortunately, required a horrid catalyst to activate it. Just keep the greater world and its diversity in mind before you box yourself into a corner as being on what you consider the only side of the conversation.
Dear Oleg and freinds,
thank you for your article, its very interesting to know !!!
Thank you for doing your best, and sharing this with us,
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all
From all the Star Trek Fans from New Zealand!!
#94 – I join you in wishing everyone downunder and upover a very enjoyable Christmas and a great new year.
Tomorrow is 21 December… if you don’t hear from us, you know the Mayans were right!
Dear Rose,,
http://truththeory.com/2012/01/04/mayan-calendar/
Naa,, Im sure it will be ok,,
:oD
Only thing they’re messing around with over here is where to put Star Trek,in small lettering. Either above the big lettering of INTO DARKNESS,or below it. ROFL!
Of course,over here they also renamed Fast 5 to Fast and Furious 5,scared that the morons in this country wouldn’t know that Fast 5 is actually another Fast and Furious movie,lol,and it ain’t the first time they’ve done THAT! LOL!
J-R!
#91 Son of Jello Spot on. Well said. I agree with every word you wrote. This website disgusts me to the point where I won’t be visiting anymore.
In Israel, Star Trek was traditionally called “מסע בין כוכבים”, which translates literally as “Journey Between The Stars.” The last movie was called “סטארטרק” which basically sounds out as the meaningless, in Hebrew, “Startrek”. In other words, the same situation as Russia, one movie earlier. Maybe it was because “Star Trek” was the name of the movie or maybe because the English words have become so well-known around the world (which might explain the Russian name as well).
The new movie is called “סטארטרק: אל תוך החשיכה”, which again is the transliterated “Startrek” and means “Startrek: Into the Darkness”. (I think the extra “the” is required by Hebrew grammar.) It doesn’t fit together as neatly as the English does, but it makes sense.
I haven’t heard that anyone was particularly upset over this.
I wonder if when there is Klingon dialog, do they translate it into the other language? Do they speak Klingon and use subtitles in the local language?
jorDe’
I watched six Star Trek movies and some had russian translation of Klingon dialogue, some didn’t., but no one used subtitles. Depends on the dub, I think. If there is Klingon dialogue in new Star Trek movie, I hope, they will translate it using subs, ’cause I wanna hear Klingon language.
Fictional languages always use subs here where I am, dubbing them would ruin it?
Like – what’s the point of going out of your way to invent a language if you never get to hear it? Elvish in LotR was always subbed. TV ST used subs, GoT uses subs for Dothraki.
Unless you’re not supposed to understand it for the plot’s sake.
#5 hey! Im from Venezuela and we are trying to do the same thing here, moving the movie from august to may!!!
@89
I heard this stories about TOS popularity in USSR, but as far as I know, tehay are tall-tales.
I have never meet anyone, who watched Star Trek in USSR in 80s or 70s. Noone of my elder relatives even heard words Star Trek or Звёздный Путь before I introduced it to them.
@ 91. Son of Jello
I understand your frustration, having just read through this entire conversational thread. The morons and trolls don’t speak for all of us. I’d bet they don’t even speak for most of us. I’m an American, and the ignorance and bigotry we’ve seen here does not speak for me.
One of the things I always loved best about Trek was its fundamental message of tolerance and inclusion. It was a glimpse of a better world, one I suspect most of us would rather be living in than the one we actually do. It makes me happier than you can know, to hear there’s an equally devoted fan base in Russia. Despite the idiots on this thread (and thank you to the people who’ve tried to course-correct the conversation and inject courtesy and common sense back into it), this whole notion just made my day. And it’s made me equally happy to see people writing in from Poland, Germany, Argentina, Venezuela, New Zealand. That’s amazing. That, for me, is Star Trek in a nutshell.
Happy holiday of your choice, everyone.
Ah yes…those “morons” who look at history and facts.
Didn’t Anthony say stop talking politics?
Who’s the troll now?
Chekov, his accent unconvincing.
@91. Yeah, some people talk out of the side of their head. Ignore them.
On the other hand, social and cultural ignorance isn’t unique to North America. You might be protesting just a bit too much there.
#108 — Shut the hell up!!!
First of all, I want to make it clear with you that I got nothing against Russian people except Putin and his government. I have had a great memory of my Russian friend for exchanging his bottle of vodka for a new pair of Nike sneakers that I bought 22 years ago. He warned me not to drink 1/3 of the bottle for the first time in one night, or I would blacked out easily. LOL
My father even conducted business with the Soviet government by selling herring stocks to them and as a child, it was amazing for me to watch them send their huge factory ships to arrive and pick up these fishes at the harbour many years ago.
By the way, I sure hope the Central Body follow our Russian Star Trek friends’ recommendation to change the title of movie. Also I hope the movie will do something special about Yuri Gagarin.
We’ve got a similar problem in Poland but the distributor doesn’t want to talk with us and goes as far as to insult internet users by saying our knowledge of English language is insufficient to evaluate their choice of title. Then they say the choice was made by the film producers which obviously is daft.
Needless to say the title sounds stupid in Polish. The subtitle precedes the franchise name.
Unfortunately we’re a much smaller fandom than Russians. We’ve also set up a page on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ZmiencieTytulStarTreka
@109.
Which do you find offensive, that people in general can be stupid at times, or that Russians can be just as offensive as Americans?
Lighten up, okay?
I lived and worked in post-Soviet Russia for 13 years (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Volgograd), and traveled the length and breadth of the country, from Kaliningrad to Khabarovsk, Pevek, Wrangel Island, Baikal, all of Siberia and the Urals, the South, Altai. You name it. I studied the language 8 years beforehand, and started going to the USSR as a tourist in 1982.
It is one of the most amazing countries in the world, with a diverse, intelligent and generally warm population (some are icy until you get to know them, but that’s the key). People live normal lives there, and do not stress out over the government. They assume generally that the government = mafia equation is in play, but it has been that way forever, so it doesn’t become an obsession over the kitchen table.
They’ve seen their quality of life rise since the dire years after 1991, and most Russians would say they are “нормально” or as close to what we Americans call “happy.”
The appearance of Star Trek there is a good sign, and a developing fanbase is great. They do not have the tradition on TV as we do, but CBS should look at it as a market for all the past episodes on disc.
@111
Yeah, it does suck and yes it sounds awkward, but at least it’s grammatically correct, and the shows were always Star Trek here. If they’d just do… I dunno. Star Trek: w Mrok or something like that, it’d be better. This is unimaginative and generally crap. But I do understand that they don’t want to use the colon, since the original title does not and W Ciemność Star Trek is a perfectly viable title. It just sounds awkward.
Of course I’d love to see it changed, but alternatives aren’t really that much better.
I’m more concerned we still have Wolkan.
AJ, I’m jealous, sounds like a fascinating experience.
Trekzilla, your nearly flawless ignorance lacks only the improving quality of illiteracy.
#115 — You would know. You turd.
@27 Trekzilla
I despise my actual goverment, but don’t call me ROUGE, punk.
@114
I don’t think a colon is a bad thing. If they don’t want to or aren’t capable of translating the title literary then maybe they should stick to the old convention i.e. TNG film titles.
It’s a funny thing with “Wolkan”. I personally try to use the original spelling.
Trekzilla, you’re on the bottom of our collective shoe, here. You could have the grace to recognize that, and let us scrape you off and be done with you.
That is best accomplished by your silence, in case you were wondering. Shut down your computer. Take off your tribble slippers and put on actual shoes. Now, come out of your mother’s basement, and go outside. There is a wide and wonderful world to be discovered there. One in which the air does not smell of stale Cheetos, and (who knows?) you might make an actual friend. Because you’re surely not doing it here.
@118
I, too, use Vulcan. I have no idea where they got the idea for the alternative.
Colon really is not a bad thing. Conventions are good, too. Still, our title, if without the colon, is grammatically correct, and literal. Mrok, however, would be much more fitting. A little imagination and creativity, so it wouldn;t sound as awkward, would be appreciated.
Honestly, I’m more worried about the movie itself. If someone who doesn’t know Star Trek lore will get to translate it…. again… that will be the biggest disappointment.
Much better comments, these past ones. More like what we trekkies stand for.
AJ is right. Star Trek is about Inclusion and Spock’s IDIC is a great example. Tos had many Eps that showd how Stupid prejudice really is in the Ep. Let that be your last battlefied. Or with Pqatterns of Force or with many other Eps back in the 60s. Also. Star Trek in the Tos and earlier Movies would base themselves on current day topicks. Like Star Trek 6 usuing the Federation and the Klingons like the U.S and Russia. I see Star Trek Into Darkness pretty much the same way. Terrorism. need I say more about that.
Sorry about the bad spelling. Lol. Just tested the new and inproved Agony Booth. Lol
Just who/what have you now in mind for the Agony Booth or do you have the need of the upgraded state-of-the-art model for just in case moments?
BTW – I may have need of it if I find that Orci and co. have been particularly mean to “my captain” – you may atone and grovel now, if you wish, Bob Orci…:)
I am reading the new state of the art Agony Booth for Orci if this movie Bombs.
#119 — You are a turd. And a rather stinky one at that! I’m not here to make friends…and I certainly do not care if you are my friend.
You stink.
#126.
You’re a rather pathetic, spiteful little piece of…….well, I was going to call you a “piece of crap”, but that label would be above what you are, so I guess you’re in a class of your own.
Who is this Trekzilla person and why is he/she referring to Russians as “Rooskies” and calling other posters “turds”?
Oh never mind…:((
Looking at that russian poster, I can tell that whoever chose that poster doesn’t have a very clear strategy. Maybe if there was a starship, the people might understand what the movie is about.
Looks like Starfleet HQ is being destroyed, or at least its immediate environs.
# 92 AJ
Exactly!
I speak a little Russian myself, and I could never understand Chekov’s anguish over the “V” sound; maybe Chekov simply has a unique speech impediment; sort of like a Russian Elmer Fudd …
;-D
@91-
I understand your frustration. But if you’ll read my comment @66, and positive comments left by others, you’ll see that there are indeed positive, open minded and respectful people here.
What I said about the Russian tank crew I got to know, was my 100% honest appraisal of the men. They were tough, smart and consistent.
What I didn’t mention, was that they were some of the finest men I’ve ever served with regardless of what country they hail from. Men I would trust as a part of my tank crew, men I would want in a foxhole next to me. And, they were good humored guys always willing to tell a joke and laugh.
We all concluded, that it would have been a terrible shame had we at some point ended up fighting each other, instead of becoming the good friends that we all became. The Cold War ends, and American and Russian Tanks Crews become friends-who would have thought it possible.
RE: 129 – more then one Phil in the mix, I see…
FWIW in the 60s we fans figured it would be a pretty big slam against the educational system of the 23rd century if people couldn’t speak whatever Earth language they chose flawlessly. So what wa up with the accents? Our conclusion was that they were what they sounded to be: assumed afectations drawn from popular media of the past, e.g. movie.
To what end? A misguided fad that caught on; meant to honor the ancestors.
What’s next – USS Vodka? ;-)
131:
Sebastian S.:
One thing Yelchin did say in proper Russian in ST09 was “Yo Mayo!” Ё моё!
when he grabbed Kirk and Sulu in freefall. It is colloquial, and essentially translates to “F*ck Me!”
Polish posters:
I know from 2009 that Poland’s distributor didn’t even get ST09 into the major cinema chain (I lived in Poland for 3 years), Cinema City. I saw Matrix 3, Incredibles, Superman Returns, and many more big flicks at the one in Sadyba in Warsaw. In my travels, I saw that they are everywhere throughout the country.
If they are poo-poo-ing the strange translation option they chose, let’s hope at least that they will properly distribute the film this time.
#127 — You also are a big stinky turd…and a troll.
Kiss it.
@137 That’s ok. ST09 was in all the Multikino cinemas, it’s a chain as big as Cinema City. It was also in some smaller theatres. It’s just Cinema City that screwed up. :)
Remember how, back in late 90s, Lucas all of sudden insisted that “Star Wars” would be called “Star Wars” worldwide? No more “Guerre stellari”, no more “Gwiezdne wojny”, no more “Guerra de estrellas” – only “Star Wars”.
This feels rather similar. I suspect it might actually be originating from Paramount, one way or other.
I, too, am absolutely disgusted by the racism on this site coming from (presumably) Americans towards Russians.
That said, I have a question for Iva: why do you even care about Trek? Your country produced the two greatest SF films of all time (Tarkovsky’s Solyaris and Stalker) and even lesser ilms like Planeta Bur still hold up quite well and were showing multi-ethnic crews exploring the strangenew worlds before Trek was made! Your country has so much to proud of. :-)
139:
Little p-brane
Well, let’s hope Cinema City is on the list this time. They have major hubs in malls in Warsaw, Lodz , Poznan’ and Krakow, amongst others. Sadyba already had IMAX 3D back in 2004.
@ 141. katie
Thank you :D I only got into ST in the 90s, because of the American media influence. I am first and foremost a book hard SF fan because I consider it “real SF” (haha, snob much) and it is my greatest beef with ST -
the fact that they have moved away from SF and started making adventure time content with space just being a backdrop and science practically nonexistent.
btw, I am not Russian, I am Slavic though.
Iva – There was as much genuine science in Star Trek as there has been in any other Star Trek iteration on film or television.
Stop repeating falsehoods and understand what you are actually writing. The notion of the possibility of being something akin to a Kerr’s black hole has been part of scientific *theory since 1963, however warp drive, transporter technology etc not so much.
Whose idea was that exact transliteration of “Star Trek”?