Undercover mishaps and awesomeness - NCIS:LA style

One of the things I love about NCIS:LA is all the undercover characters they have. I am a big fan of acting, theatre and storytelling and I love all the little stories they spin with the undercover characters and how easily they have the main characters flow between being undercover and being themselves. They are like chameleons and it it such fun to watch. But a la NCIS:LA style they sometimes proper middle ground. They have both had terrific undercover characters and characters that were so bad I could barely watch. So today's topic is delving into those undercover characters goodies and define my favorite and least favorite.

Sam: His worst undercover character was hands down in episode 3x10 'The Debt' when he impersonated a rapper. Sam wore his regular work outfit of jeans and a well fitting black shirt. The only thing he did was to put on a gold chain. His entire undercover outfit consisted of a gold chain!!! To me, that shows low standard. 

I was also not a fan of when he pretended to be a wine taster/cork collector. I never got that scene entirely because the accent that he used was very difficult for me to understand which frustrated me. 

To explain a little further: I have trouble with deciphering/hearing properly what people say sometimes and that frustrates me on a general level, both in my native language as well as English. I am well aware of differing accents (English major here!) and I am used to listening to and interpreting all sorts of accents, both from native speakers as well as foreign speakers of English. But I am not perfect it it. When I can't grasp properly what people say I don't like it. It frustrates me quite a lot actually. I have to rely 100% on my auditory English skills when watching TV when I generally rely on a mix of subtitles and auditory and as I am not a native speaker of English it has challenges. When I have to pause and replay over and over again scenes from my favorite show just to understand what's going on I get annoyed. It detracts from my enjoyment from the show. Generally this is not a problem for me when watching TV but it does occur most often with NCIS:LA for some reason. 

I am pointing out the challenges I face when I watch American TV shows and how English continues to challenges me. It's a part of consuming media in a language I am still learning and dealing with. I don't think this is something that people generally realize can pose a challenge so I am pointing it out as one of the many facets and challenges of consuming American media as a European. 

Frankly, I prefer Sam when it's just him and his lovely humor. He is at his best then, not when he's undercover.

Callen: His worst undercover character was also in the episode 3x10 'The Debt' when he pretended to be Sam's lawyer when he impersonated  a rapper. Not only did Callen adapt an extremely obnoxious accent in that scene but his behavior was also completely off. He became very obnoxious, annoying and cocky. Another undercover low for Callen was when he pretended to be a hotshot in order to get into a 'clandestino' in season 2. He had the same arrogant attitude

It seems to be a constant for Callen to adopt a very disrespectful and cocky attitude and  generally behave like dusch which I do not like. I understand it's all about playing roles and molding personalities but still....

Callen is such a nice character and has some great moments. I prefer him on his own, NOT when he's undercover.

Kensi: Her worst undercover was in in season 4 she played a Latina girl in the episode 'Drive' when they were bursting an illegal car selling ring. There was just something about the character that bit me. It was so incredible stereotypical from the tatto 'Krafty' to the braids, the gum, the hoodie, the clothes and the accent. It was a hyped up stereotype in my opinion and the character just felt flat and unreal. It was a low for a character as great as Kensi. That's why I was so happy when they had Kensi roll back into being herself and correcting Deeks' bad Spanish Grammar. 

The best one in episode 4x01 when she played the mean, rich house wife in the bank. Her rant about her idiot husband who was a sheep and how much she hated being married to him was an absolute hoot. I laugh so hard every time I see that scene. It is one of the funniest scenes of the entire NCIS:LA franchise and it's absolute comic gold. Scenes like that are the reason I watch NCIS:LA.

Deeks: He is my most favorite character when going undercover. You can never figure out what stunts he will pull next and watching him spin something out of thin air is always as much fun. He also as the best array of undercover characters.
His worst one's are when he plays the hobo. It just never feels right in some way, not the way he plays it or how the character is. I cannot pinpoint it exactly but I don't particularly like it when he plays the hobo.

His best undercover character is Max Gentry. Gentry is the only undercover character on NCIS:LA which has genuinely freaked me out. In episode 2x22, I felt repulsed every time he came on screen and he was the very definition of someone creepy and sadistic. The scene where he shouts and threatens actually made me scared and I felt really uncomfortable when he kept touching the hair of a girl in the bar scene. Gentry as a character had me terrified. He is so completely different from Deeks so it's a fascinating change to observe, how much Deeks changes when he becomes Gentry and how reconciles playing such a repulsive man to do something good. It is fascinating to watch, makes for great TV and is an example of NCIS:LA goodiness. 

So all in all, the undercover part is both good and bad but it's an integral part of the show and an aspect I love. NCIS:LA continues to challenge my English skills as well and while it's annoying sometimes, it helps as well. 

NCIS:LA - a look on foreign policy

Now, I am a long term clandestine (my favorite word ever!) fan of the NCIS:LA series that feels embarrassed about liking it so much, cannot get enough of watching it but has ended up loathing certain episodes. One of the things that I have come to find interesting on the show is their view on foreign policy. I want to make it absolutely clear that I am more than aware of the fact that this is a show that plays around with reality and that the viewpoints expressed in the show do certainly not express the view of the people behind it. Having said that, I still believe it offers an interesting insight into American foreign policy.

I having an affinity for acquiring strange hobbies and one of the things that interest me randomly is American foreign policy. During the last presidential election, it was the issue I put most focus on researching and forming an opinion on. And today I read an article on NBC news that stated that Obama was busy with trying to rebuild America's reputation within Europe that had been badly impacted by the Iraqi War. It'll take time, I can tell you that much. Also it was losing its credibility as a leading world power.

This got me thinking about NCIS:LA and their affinity for weird foreign policies. One specific episode comes to mind which confused me greatly. It was episode 2x19 which dealt with Venezuela. In the episode Nell stated that a man that was preparing to step forth as a presidential candidate for his country was pro-American which was a rarity. She also went unto explaining that Venezuela had ties with Iran which was very bad apparently.

At that scene my brain was in a muddle and this episode continues to confuse me

For one thing, is being pro-American really a rarity? From what I can tell, the biggest majority of the countries in the world have a pro-American stance. Of course that does not mean that we (speaking as a Scandinavian)  approve of all of America's actions (I know I can think of a few things I do not like) but we are certainly all America's allies and work with the country diplomatically. My own country for example shares a very positive relationship with America and I am assuming that is not a rarity.

Secondly, does Venezuela really have ties to Iran and if it does, does that really pose a threat to America? No South-American country has ever attacked USA in recent decades. And if it is bad that Venezuela has ties with Iran, wouldn't that by definition mean that all countries that have ties to Iran are bad countries and pose a threat? Does a connection to a specific country automatically make another country bad and an enemy?
And then what about Russia? Scandinavian countries all have very positive and respectful communication and ties to Russia and there is mutual friendship between the countries. Would that then make Scandinavian countries bad, even if they also have a good relationship with USA?

At the end of the day, how do we define who is an enemy and who poses a threat? What measures do we use to tell? And what the precise difference between being pro-America and anti-America? Would it make me anti-American that I criticize racial relations and history within the country, the Iraqi War and that I do not agree with their view on foreign policy, drones, gun laws and many other issues. Does it make me pro-American that I consume the culture on a daily basis, know the language, have traveled there and am a big fan of American literature and love researching the history of the country and find it very fascinating?

At the end of the day, where do the lines lie?

NCIS:LA is certainly not a poltical commentary and it should not be. It is entertainment. But it does give cause to think. When, in episode after episode, national security is threatened from countries abroad ranging from Germany and France to Ethiopia, can anyone that is not American really be trusted? Are all other countries just out there to get Americans? Does everyone pose a threat on some level?

It is a hypothetical muddle but I find it interesting. Who is enemy and who is not. How do we define loyalties between countries and who can be trusted?

And since I am the topic of foreign policy and. TV and NCIS:LA loves pulling the crazy European card why not go all out? Why not future Scandinavian enemies (except Norway for obvious reasons)? Or better yet, have a band on European villains that all come from tiny European countries, that have the common goal to prove to America that little countries can hold power as well. I am thinking along the lines of having Malta, Iceland, Faroese Islands, Luxemburg, Lichtenstein, San Marino and all other small European countries unite to create a bigger European power.

You see, the possibilites are endless and everyone is a potential enemy! It is just a matter of being creative.

But could you NCIS:LA folks please have an episode in the future where the agents actually cooperate with foreign intelligence agencies instead of constantly viewing them as threat? Because not everyone is crazy.

Language Galore - Part 3 - On the subject of accents and English

Another post heavy on the linguistic side :)

I watched the Oscars this year and one part of the ceremony bit me and got on my nerves. That is when Seth Macfarlane made the comment that now there would be someone presenting that they could not understand, like Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem or Salma Hayek so they'd just stare at them because they were so beautiful. And who else entered but the wonderful Mexican actress Salma Hayek.

She spoke perfect and delightful English. The only difference was that she spoke it with an accent. And that is no wonder! It does not take a genius to figure out that someone that does not have English as a native language pretty much always ends up speaking with an accent. Some more than others but it is an inevitable consequence. It annoyed me that it was hinted that the actors could not be understood because they spoke with an accent. It is no wonder when they spend most of their time and have grown up with using a language that  is completely different in pronunciation and has a completely different speech pattern. It felt degrading and carried a sense of superiority in my opinion. The American making fun of the Europeans/Hispanics that speak English with an accent. 

I wanted to shout that:

a) Those actors and generally all actors that are not American but work in Hollywood have had and continue to have a very successful career within their home country and within the area they come from (like within Europe). Europe has a vibrant and thriving film industry.

b)Many actors have the clear advantage of being able to speak two (or more) languages and consequently they are able to not only build a career within their own home but also in America. Many European actors are prominent figures in Hollywood despite not having grown up with English as a native language and coming from a country in which English is not the official language. I however do not see many American actors making it or buildin a career in Europe Just sayin'

Currently Mads Mikkelsen, the incredible Danish actor, is working on the series Hannibal. I do hope people realize he is a famous and well respected actor here with some incredible Danish movies behind him. En kongelige affære is amazing for example. He is an example of someone who is straddling the landscape between two different languages, two different worlds.

Lots os people do it everyday

I am European and Scandinavian. I have all my life spoken a language that sounds very different from English and has a very distinct accent and use of speech. I deal with English every day but on a literary basis more than a spoken one. When I speak English I have an accent. I do not have the heavy accent of my native language but instead a hybrid one that has some American characteristics (for some odd reason) with British and Scandinavian thrown in. However, it is very easy for me to slip into the heavy accent of my native languag and I do so naturally, both for fun and if I use occasional English words in my daily speech I pronounce them with a heavy accent. My spoken English will always be accented. I'll never have the same command of it as a native does and it is okay. If a person has spent their entire life dealing with a specific speech pattern and accent it is hard to change. It influences everything else. 

Of course there are exceptions. For example, the NCIS:LA actress Daniela Ruah had me more than 150% percent completely and utterly fooled with her accent for the longest time. I did not have the slightest inkling she wasn't American but Portuguese until like season 3. That is quite a feat if you ask me.to be able to be so incredibly comfortable with English to the point of fooling pretty much everyone. I know my own accent in English gives me away the instant I start speaking. But that does add to the fun of listening to interviews with her in which she uses Portuguese and people are surprised. Sometimes you just gotta love languages and confusing people. Last year when abroad, me and my friends delighted in freaking people when we switched between English and our native dialect (vastly different from English) in a completely natural way :) 

I will always speak English with an accent as well as Spanish and French but it's alright, it's okay. It simply means that while I love those languages (except French that is) I carry my native language with me wherever I go and I would not have it any other way. English as a language will never feel like home, not when I grapple with it still and it continues to challenge me in all sorts of ways. My native one will always be home. Plus, nothing beats having a hybrid accent and being able to switch between accents and being comfortable listening to all sorts of accents. Having a weird accent tends to give an edge.

My point is that accents are normal and natural. There is no possible way in the universe that everyone will be able to speak English perfectly. It'll never happen and it is important to accept that. It is fine to make gentle fun of languages and accents but one should always remember that they are a part of who people are. When someone speaks with an accent, it does not mean they are stupid or cannot grasp the language properly. It means that the person that spend his/her life dealing with another language, a native language that to that person will mean home, heritage, culture. And that is something to be celebrated. Accents are always beautiful to listen to, explore and discover and play around with.

(And please oh please oh please to anyone who reads this - when you talk to someone foreign in your native language and the person speaks the language fluently but with an accent - do NOT revert into using a slow, dumbed down speech. It really is insulting.
I had an experience like that with a native speaker of English this summer who I was talking with. I referred to a specific thing in perfectly clear English but used a different word that the person I was conversing with was used to (like using the word from one type of English when the person spoke another). And the reply I got was:"I don't know what it's like in X country but where I live...", all said in a very slow and maddeningly clear way, as if I couldn't understand and was stupid. Up until that point I had been communicating in perfectly clear and good English and yes, I got really annoyed. And yes, I do happen to have a major ego problem as an EFL speaker).

Ziva - what a great character

The focus in this post is Ziva David. This post wil be somewhat jumbly as it´s exam season for me so bear with my ramblings and spelling mistakes. 

Ziva is in my personal opinion, one of the more interesting characters on TV right now and is played wonderfully by Cote de Pablo (a great Chilean actress).
And she is the only Israeli, Jewish character on TV. She comes from a country that is completely different from America, has Hebrew as her native language, was shaped by her extraordinary circumstances growing up as the daughter of the director of Mossad and in war-torn Israel. Not to mention that her brother was a terrorist and she lost her sister and mother early on. And she was trained by Mossad and was in the Israeli military. She has some pretty advanced survival skills and tactics, is very beautiful and speaks a multitude of languages.

This makes her sound like a superwoman character and indeed, she could be pretty flat and uninteresting but somehow the NCIS folks managed to make her both lively and interesting. She has an intriguing past and I have always liked how the writers have woven her childhod and nationality into the shows. The characters has been shown speaking Hebrew several times which I love as it´s so refreshing to hear another language than English spoken. Her Jewish faith is regularly incorporated and they have been very succesful in displaying the complication of it. The character has been predjudiced because of her faith multiple times (one scene sticks out when was called a Nazi loving feminist). But there have also been times where the difference of her faith and the Muslim faith have come up and the difficulties of it are acknowledged and the Israeli sistuation (I will not disclose my opinion of Israel and Palestine).

When she first arrived at NCIS she didn´t adjust immediately and without trouble, but the clear opposite. She didn´t get on with Abby for a long time, had difficulty communicating with Gibbs and figuring out how to interact with McGee and DiNozzo. Her past played a part and it took a while for things to settle. And she had a notorious difficulty with figuring out English. In so many shows, it seems that a new character just adjusts to new things without any trouble at all when in the real world it is not so. I have always found it refreshing to they incorpoated Ziva´s difficulty in adjusting to NCIS into the show It seemed realistic and made me enjoy the character far more to see she wasn´t just some superwoman but that she was actually realistic and well nuanced.

I have always enjoyed Ziva as a character and still do now. She is very well executed, has had some wonderful storylines (the arch with her and Tony and her subsequent trip to Somalia is my firm favourite).
The way her character has developed throughout the season has been a treat to watch and is an example of good storytelling.

Next up for dissection is Tony.