Anyone else hate British cuteness?

[Rainforce]

what are you talking about
why do you judge an entire country just because a person who lived there wrote the HP books with her own personal taste in choice of words?
Also "Kal'sur" sounds too pretentious, and "Muggles" is more or less an in-universe slang word.

Again, it might just be the fact that I'm American.

yes, yes it is.

I generally don't care about pretentiousness - it just looks cool.

I mean, Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh Wgah'nagl fhtan?

How is that not awesome?

Thats ok, it has masses of context given. But to START thinking up a story while randomly naming everything that is available for plotrelevancy "Kal'sur" ISN'T.

 

[Zeriu]

As an American, I do like British culture, especially comedy, but I can't get over their obsession with making everything cute.

I'm not even sure if cute is the right word, it's just the best word I can muster. They don't just apply cute names to things like the Japanese do, but apply cuteness and expect everyone to take it seriously. I can't get into Harry Potter, though I'm sure it's brilliantly written, just because non-magic users are referred to as Muggles. To compare, the Final Fantasy series has creatures called Moogles, but FF doesn't force us to take them seriously.

Again, it might just be the fact that I'm American. I'm used to mystical things sounding sort of Asian or Middle Eastern and putting apostrophes in random places. An ancient secret society should be called Kal'sur and the mystical weapon should be Dor'salim. So if non-magic using people in the HP universe were called Cara'sin instead of Muggles, maybe I wouldn't be posting this on the net, but as it is, Muggles is a word that forces me to accept the fact that I'm reading a book written for an 8 year old even though the later novels grow with the audience.

As it is, I hate British naming of Fantasy things. Posters should feel free to add their own grievances.

It wasn't cute, it was condescending.

 

[Puzzlenaut]

I believe the word you're looking for is "Quaint". The guys obsessed with "cute" are the Japanese, and in fact even the Americans have more of a thing for cute than the British.

Quaint is an entirely different thing, but entirely hard to define -- its a sort of nostalgia for the post-war austerity days before the world came to our doorstep via en masse airplane transport and the television in which the British had a kind of inane pride in their little home, but pride not because of their nation's great political power as had been the case during the days of empire, but but because of its "quaintness"; how little and rustic the country is, and how pleasant -- even in this you can see the scathing sense of irony of the British coming through

 

[Mozza444]

as an englishman i think its not so much that you're an american, but rather that you have no idea what you are talking about.

^^ Well said sir.
I agree with this 100%

thankyou sir.
i think the only way to redeem this thread now is for us brits to start laughing at the idiocy of those poor, inbred, stupid little colonials. don't you think?

(fixed, sorry - keyboards on the blink)

Oh why sir, we are British.
Therefore we are gentlemen.
And rather than "poor, inbred, stupid little colonials"
I would prefer "Warm, Fuzzy, friendly little friends"
because as we already know us Brits are highly fond of our cuteness.

 

[DracoSuave]

So if non-magic using people in the HP universe were called Cara'sin instead of Muggles, maybe I wouldn't be posting this on the net, but as it is, Muggles is a word that forces me to accept the fact that I'm reading a book written for an 8 year old even though the later novels grow with the audience.

So after 7 or 8 or 9 years, an 8 year old is magically an old adult now?

Seriously?

Really?

Get over it. You're reading a kid's book.

 

[Vault Citizen]

Your first post gives the indication that you hate the word muggle because you believe all mysticism in fantasy should be based on eastern culture.

 

[Richardplex]

So, you 'hate', which is a rather strong word, based on a single word in a single series of books, a part of British culture, which doesn't even exist. I see sir, you make a rather compelling argument. However, might I suggest you make a few more examples of this logic. I for one aren't comfortable with J.K. Rowling representing the entirety of British culture. Not to say she's a bad person in any way, but to be the sole representative would be a bit much. I might just as well say that Lauren Faust represents the entirety of American culture, and I hate that American thing of mostly-everything being ponies.

Also, as to the explanation of the word 'Muggles'. You see, in Britain, it is a rather common event for people not proficient in magical arts to go out into the dirty streets with knives and start an activity known as 'mugging'. It is so common, that one might say it is a favourite pastime of ours, being mugged. I hope this clears any confusion you might have, Mister irrelevant83, and I hope you have a good day.

Richardplex, awaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay.

 

[The Droog]

Please don't confuse British silliness (or absurdity) for cuteness.

 

[Farseer Lolotea]

Dull means grey, introspective and subtle to me. It doesn't mean "bad".

From what I've seen, American humor tends towards the zany/cornball. British humor tends towards the wry.

 

[Sizzle Montyjing]

Please don't confuse British silliness (or absurdity) for cuteness.

For if you do, we will break you're legs and leave you in a skip outside Dixon's.
*sniff* It's the British way...

 

[captaincabbage]

As an Englishman can I just say WHAAAAAAA?!?!

I've never heard of this making everything cute thing at all, ever.
And with the example of muggles, I always thought it sounded more derogatory than cute.

Seconded.

I always thought Muggles sounds kind of racist, or magic-ist, or whatever.

OT: I honestly can't comprehend what you're talking about. Since when to the English make things cute? I think you've gotten one island nation mixed up with another my good man.

 

[AK 1 ASSASSIN]

what are you Bloody on a about

 

[Alexi089]

Well, like people have already said, it's a bit misguided to make a blanket statement about a culture based off a single word used in one book. Also, don't you think you're barking up the wrong tree complaining about the use of a cute (to be honest, I think 'odd' is a better description)sounding word in a book first written for an 8-12 age market? It's a bit like a child complaining they didn't enjoy a Tom Clancy novel cos there weren't enough pink elephants in it.

Personally, I don't find 'muggle' all that cute. I associate it with 'mug' which is British slang for 'idoit' or 'niave person' (see a Guy Ritchie film for examples); so to me it sounds like more of an insult.

As for British culture being rife with cutesy-ness, well, Lord of the Rings isn't all that cute for a start. Nor's Wallace and Gromit really (it's kind of quaint and silly, but it is designed for both kids and adults). Neither are anywhere near as sickly sweet as Care Bears; the majority of American rom-coms or Will Smith's obligatory clean rap in every animated film he does. And High School Musical was ALL YOUR FAULT!

The only thing about our culture that I think could be misread as cute (I'm starting to think Americans use 'cute' in place of 'silly' or 'daft' now) is that we like to treat most things with as little seriousness as possible (unless you read the Daily Mail. They're readership makes up at least 80% of those with high blood pressure in this country... it's fun to rag on the Daily Mail).

 

[Togs]

Eh.... come again? Alot of English made entertainment tends to be very bleak and gritty.
One authors naming sensibilities does not make a trend.

 

[Serving UpSmiles]

Filthy Mudbloods......

 

[TheAmokz]

British cuteness? What the hall have you been drinking?

 

[Jake Martinez]

Yeah I don't get what this guy is on about either. As an American ex-pat, I find the British anything but cute. Like more annoying, yet slightly less lazy than Australians.

Also... that was a bloody childrens book. Are you REALLY surprised that many of the things in the book have silly sounding names? REALLY??

 

[devotedsniper]

Please don't confuse British silliness (or absurdity) for cuteness.

For if you do, we will break you're legs and leave you in a skip outside Dixon's.
*sniff* It's the British way...

This made me laugh quite hard, it is quite british to do something like that.


I must say I am enjoying the replys since my last post quite alot. All i have to say is i don't think the americans (or just the OP) understand our humor and books.

 

[jprf]

Remember Lord of the Rings, the granddaddy of modern fantasy? British, not particularly cute.
And 'muggle' is actually kind of a racial slur withing the Harry Potter universe. The word itself is a tad strange (originally the books were for a very young audience), but the connotations are anything but cute.

So yeah, I join with my countrymen in asking what the hell?

Uhm, Muggle is not a racial slur in the books. They even have "Muggle Studies". You're thinking of Mudblood.

If you look at the later books, the dark wizards certainly treat 'muggle' as a slur- they see them as lower forms of life, creatures to be eradicated. I always saw it as kind of a holocaust reference.

Yeah, I'm a massive geek.

And I don't like to have to watch a bloody ad just to get my captcha and make a forum post.
Huh, my captcha seems to agree with me, it's 'axe to grind'