this post was submitted on 02 Apr 2025
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Even worse in my opinion is when they use a generic British accent as a stand-in for literally any time and place in history. Ancient Rome? British accent. Ancient Greece? Also British accent. Ancient Persia? British accent again! Ancient Egypt? You guessed it! British accent! Even when the actors aren't even British, the accent is. It makes no sense. It's lazy and arrogant.
If I had a billion dollars, I'd make the most painstakingly realistic movie about Samurai in feudal Japan, and have all Japanese actors using a SoCal Chicano accent. Or maybe a hyper realistic Viking epic with a full Nordic cast, but they all talk like surfer bros.
The audience needs to be forced to see how insulting that shit is.
Yeah I can understand speaking English and avoiding subtitles, but there are basically three options for accent:
The English accent is often used for evil empires too, eg Star Wars.
Also lots of evil mastermind types in spy movies and whatnot. They also like to eat while being evil, which I have a whole theory about.
There are a lot of interesting discussions around the use of food in movies. Even ones that aren't directly about food.
Regular food intake is critical for our survival so it makes sense that it takes a large social role.
As a general rule, making and sharing food is considered "good".
Taking and consuming food is "bad".
The exception is when food is offered. In that case, graciously accepting the food is also good.
How does Valentine serving Sir Galahad McDonalds on a silver platter in Kingman Secret Service fit into that?
I'll take a stab at it but I don't remember that movie well so I had to re-watch the clip.
I'll start by reiterating that the above stuff is generalizations. Some authors ignore them and some intentionally break them. I thin Kingsmen falls into the latter category.
The movie is full of class shibboleths and makes a point of dissociating etiquette from kindness or morality.
To start with, it's rude of Valentine to offer McCdonalds. There's an expectation of generosity towards guests and McDonalds certainly doesn't meet that expectation in that sort of setting.
Sir Galahad's response is that of a perfect guest. He doesn't argue with his host or call him out. Instead he accepts what is offered and humbly supports Valentines implication that it's the height of epicurean delight.
The larger context is to set up a contrast between Valentine and Eggsy. While booth violate high-class etiquette rules, Valentine does it out of aggression and selfishness and Eggsy does it to save the world.
Hey I appreciate the well thought out comment in response to my train-of-thought-probably-shouldn't-have-posted-it 1-liner!
I likewise appreciate you’re reading and tolerating my bloviated comment :)