Marvel enters deal with a Kuwaiti company
I must say, this is not very pleasing, most certainly not when thinking about how the "House of Ideas" went and perverted Captain America a few years ago, turning the adventures of Steve Rogers into a blame-America fest that also insulted the character. From Yahoo's business wire:
What's being implied or indicated here is that any references to Jewish, Christian and Hindu backgrounds in the Simpsons could or will be edited/obliterated from any translations made here. And if that's what they're doing to the Simpsons, then one can only wonder: would Teshkeel do the same when it comes to characters like Kitty Pryde, who's Jewish, and Nightcrawler, who's Christian? Would they even take any steps to belittle mythological figures like Thor and Hercules?
All I can say is that Marvel has really gone the awkward route with this one, and is doing little to improve upon their errors of the past few years. It's bad enough that they went and abused their own properties in the past few years, but to allow another company to do the same is just as bad.
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 21, 2005--Teshkeel Media Group, KSC, announced today a comprehensive agreement with Marvel Entertainment, Inc., a leading global character-based entertainment and licensing company to bring Arabic-language Marvel comics, trade paperbacks and magazines to the Middle East region. The agreement was announced by Naif Al-Mutawa, CEO of Teshkeel, and Bruno Maglione, President of Marvel International.No kidding. And there's some good questions I've got here on all this: just how will they be marketed? Will they include any of the values that made them work when written well? There's no clear indication here of what anything they translate will look like. But when looking at the topic within the context of this report from ABC News (Hat tip: Jihad/Dhimmi Watch) that tells how The Simpsons is going to be marketed in Arabic countries by the Arabic TV station MBC, one can only wonder if any Marvel books will undergo similar damage. From the report:
Under terms of the agreement, Teshkeel will engage in a wide-ranging multi-year publishing program which for the first time will bring Marvel's world-famous comic books to the Middle East in local language. The Marvel comics will be distributed throughout the region, from the Arabian Gulf to North Africa.
"We're extremely excited and proud to be working with Marvel," said Naif Al-Mutawa, CEO of Teshkeel. "Marvel's Super Heroes provide positive role models for children worldwide, and it's extremely gratifying to be able to bring them to an Arab audience."
Maglione added, "The Arab world is emerging as one of the fastest growing markets in the world. Our character franchises each began as comic books, and introducing Marvel comics is a crucial first step to developing our full business model in new regions. We met with a variety of potential partners, and it was clear that Teshkeel was uniquely situated and best able to execute on bringing Marvel's comic book franchise to this region."
Hot dogs will become Egyptian beef sausages, and donuts will become popular Arab cookies called "kahk." Moe's Bar has been completely written out of "Al Shamshoon."Well, certainly the bloggers, that's for sure.
With characters who are Jewish (like Krusty the Clown), Hindu (like Kwik-E-Mart owner Apu) and Christian (like the family's pastor, Rev. Lovejoy), Al Jean — "The Simpsons" executive producer — says those changes mean they aren't "The Simpsons" anymore.
"If he doesn't drink and eat bacon and generally act like a pig — which I guess is also against Islam — then it's not Homer," Jean said.
Some on the Arab street agree. Many bloggers have also expressed discontent.
What's being implied or indicated here is that any references to Jewish, Christian and Hindu backgrounds in the Simpsons could or will be edited/obliterated from any translations made here. And if that's what they're doing to the Simpsons, then one can only wonder: would Teshkeel do the same when it comes to characters like Kitty Pryde, who's Jewish, and Nightcrawler, who's Christian? Would they even take any steps to belittle mythological figures like Thor and Hercules?
All I can say is that Marvel has really gone the awkward route with this one, and is doing little to improve upon their errors of the past few years. It's bad enough that they went and abused their own properties in the past few years, but to allow another company to do the same is just as bad.
Labels: Africa, censorship issues, Europe and Asia, islam and jihad, marvel comics, msm propaganda
