Space Sweepers — A Textbook Case of Cultural Dislocation

Where do they get these (English-speaking) actors from!?

It’s funny to think how Netflix started as a service that would mail you DVDs of your favourite movies. But today, it’s mostly streaming and video-on-demand, constantly encouraging people to become couch potatoes. You can find random shows and movies on that platform, some better than others. In fact, the other day, I randomly stumbled upon a Korean movie out of sheer boredom. Did I enjoy it? Well… almost. But the movie is called Space Sweepers.

So I didn’t pay too much attention to what the hell the plot was. There’s this misfit group of “space sweepers” who make a living by collecting space junk or something and then selling it to buyers. They find a girl who is said to be a walking-talking weapon of mass destruction, and there’s this British bloke who wants to destroy Earth. Basically, it’s your casual sci-fi mumbo jumbo, nothing too original. I mostly watched it because I thought it would make for an interesting article. Why? Because it features several languages, that’s why. But whoever was in charge of the casting messed up… slightly.

I didn’t enjoy the movie too much. The characters were one-dimensional (especially the big bad, who was virtually non-existent), and it lacked originality. The worldbuilding was somewhat interesting to a certain extent… but that’s it. So you can tell that the writing isn’t all too well, but as I alluded to previously, the casting was weird when you consider that some of the English-speaking actors didn’t know how to act, or at least it seemed that way because of how bad the acting was. But I did like how they incorporated multiple languages. At least that’s one thing they did right.

Did anyone catch how many languages were in that movie?

This isn’t the first time I have written about how Korea employs English speakers in their movies/shows, with or without a connection to Japan. I wonder what might be the reason for that because I don’t know it, as I know very little about Korea.

There were a bunch of languages present in the movie. There was Korean, with English being featured as a secondary language. There’s also Spanish, French, and Norwegian (if I’m not mistaken since I’m not sure what language that was). The thick accent of some of the characters will also lead you to believe that there’s some African language present. Well… there isn’t. It’s English with a thick African/Caribbean accent. I think there might’ve been more languages. My point is it was a complete language fest.

So yes, the Koreans sure know how to make multicultural movies/shows, unlike Japan (no offence. I love Japan, but they’re somewhat xenophobic). But… how come there aren’t more of these? Now that the age of Netflix has arrived, it’s not just Korea that can become a mixture of various cultures, but every other country. But I suppose it’s just in Korea’s best interest now that they’re slowly becoming the centre of the world.

I would like to see more multicultural movies

As much as it is a change for me, it would be great if more movies had more than just English speakers, which is how I recognise every movie nowadays. But with Netflix, I can broaden my horizon and discover movies and shows that don’t just focus on America, and it’s pretty neat. That right there is the simplest solution: just make more of these.

As for any alternative solution… I don’t know. This time, there isn’t too much of a problem, as I only mentioned that I want to see more of these. Not every article needs to be centred on a problem.

Did you see this movie?

Did you enjoy it? What do you think about the whole trend where Netflix is taking over the world? Personally, I don’t mind if Netflix becomes the ruler of everything; they do seem to be beloved by most people. I suppose they’re probably doing a better job than the government. Which government? They’re all the same. Anyway, do tell me your opinion.

In Conclusion…

So… Space Sweepers… was a decent movie. I probably won’t watch the sequel… if there will be one… or might I don’t know it depends on how bored I am at the time.

There definitely needs to be more multicultural movies. As I said, I would love to see more of these, and not just from Korea. But whether there will be more or less is something is entirely not up to me.

Anyways, this article hasn’t been who-knows-what. I’ve had rough days recently… but it’ll be over soon… hopefully.