131 réponses à ce sujet

[Original182]

Now that the OP mentioned it, I actually agree.

Flemeth's raspy voice made sense as a witch.

It's not that Morrigan's voice actor was bad. She was good. It's just that her voice doesn't suit that of a witch of the wilds. Morrigan's voice actor should be more for a snobbish upper class mage used to people giving way to her.

[night0205]

Morrigan is a young beautiful woman... how does the voice of a young beautiful woman not fit? So what if she's a witch... are witches not allowed to be attractive... I think the attractive aspect is something that Bioware knew they needed for this character. The reason why she isn't cliche is the whole reason why she is such an amazing character.

[InvaderErl]

Bad voice actress?



CLAUDIA BLACK? BAD VOICE ACTRESS?

[The Velveteen Rabbit]

You must remember that Flemeth was supposedly once beautiful and, whether she liked it or not, married to a powerful lord. So it follows that she would speak like a lady and thus her daughters would do the same by example.

[MiSsSmOkEy20]

I loved her voice.

[InvaderErl]

Also wasn't Morrigan somewhat self-taught, I remember reading something to that effect, as in from books accounting for her formal pattern of speech.

Modifié par InvaderErl, 04 septembre 2010 - 08:43 .

[jermungand]

night0205 wrote...

Morrigan is a young beautiful woman... how does the voice of a young beautiful woman not fit? So what if she's a witch... are witches not allowed to be attractive... I think the attractive aspect is something that Bioware knew they needed for this character. The reason why she isn't cliche is the whole reason why she is such an amazing character.

The voice of a young beautiful woman DOES fit.  The voice of a young beautiful woman with such an accent does not.

[jermungand]

InvaderErl wrote...

Also wasn't Morrigan somewhat self-taught, I remember reading something to that effect, as in from books accounting for her formal pattern of speech.

Not enough to actually acquire a formal pattern of speech.  You can't READ an accent.

And by the way, the decision to misleadingly label the topic "Morrigan's bad voice actress" was a poor choice on my part.

[jermungand]

The Velveteen Rabbit wrote...

You must remember that Flemeth was supposedly once beautiful and, whether she liked it or not, married to a powerful lord. So it follows that she would speak like a lady and thus her daughters would do the same by example.

Even if Flemeth's accent were as pristine as Morrigan's (and it isn't really), her example alone would still not be enough.

Modifié par jermungand, 04 septembre 2010 - 09:08 .

[night0205]

Eh, Morrigan just taught herself her own accent... what's wrong with that? She probably did it so she could seduce men like her mommy does...

[jermungand]

night0205 wrote...

Eh, Morrigan just taught herself her own accent... what's wrong with that? She probably did it so she could seduce men like her mommy does...

She may sound seductive, but it's not because of her accent.  There's no more compelling reason for her to teach herself to speak in that accent than there is for an aristocrat to learn to sound like a vagabond.

Modifié par jermungand, 04 septembre 2010 - 09:45 .

[Deylin]

well her voice does sound a bit posh but i think it suits her personality, she seems like she wants stuff her own way, thus she is a witch

[SmokePants]

Way to completely miss the mark. Morrigan speaks with an anachronistic use of vernacular -- that is, she uses a dialect that Fereldans would consider "old-fashioned". Which makes perfect sense, given that she was home-schooled by a being that is hundreds of years old.

You can't accuse her of sounding upper class, when none of the nobility in Origins sound remotely like her.

Morrigan lacks social graces, but that hardly qualifies her as some sort of feral wolf-girl. She is obviously literate and able to read ancient and modern tongues. Language is not her problem, nor should it be.

Even if you had a point -- which you don't -- there are dramatic considerations that supercede raw contextual logic. Morrigan carries herself as superior to those she encounters, and that doesn't mesh very well with a rural dialect.

Claudia Black is very intelligent and knows what she is doing. Same with the writers. However, I cannot say the same about everyone.

Modifié par SmokePants, 04 septembre 2010 - 09:53 .

[jermungand]

Deylin wrote...

well her voice does sound a bit posh but i think it suits her personality, she seems like she wants stuff her own way, thus she is a witch

If people had aristocratic accents just on account of being really self-centered, the world would be a really bizarre and comical place.

No, it's not believable that she would sound like she does.

[jermungand]

SmokePants wrote...

Way to completely miss the mark. Morrigan speaks with an anachronistic use of vernacular -- that is, she uses a dialect that Fereldans would consider "old-fashioned". Which makes perfect sense, given that she was home-schooled by a being that is hundreds of years old.

You can't accuse her of sounding upper class, when none of the nobility in Origins sound remotely like her.

Morrigan lacks social graces, but that hardly qualifies her as some sort of feral wolf-girl. She is obviously literate and able to read ancient and modern tongues. Language is not her problem, nor should it be.

Even if you had a point -- which you don't -- there are dramatic considerations that supercede raw contextual logic. Morrigan carries herself as superior to those she encounters, and that doesn't mesh very well with a rural dialect.

Claudia Black is very intelligent and knows what she is doing. Same with the writers. However, I cannot say the same about everyone.

It's still an aristocratic accent.  Regardless of what the writers choose to write about it, it still is a very posh accent to all of us here on Earth, and is therefore a bad choice in trying to make this character believable to people. Sorry but you've missed the mark and my point still stands.

[Lord_Anthonior]

someone should really let Claudia Black know that she has been considered to have an aristocratic accent, I think she would be pleased.

[Fugiz]

Somehow the aristocrats in DA:o do not speak like Morrigan. They do not sound as "high-born" as she does. She is like some home schooled person who grew up isolated with nothing but an old governess and ancient literature for company, speaking with a weird accent is all she knows coz thats what she learnt.

[Fugiz]

jermungand wrote...

SmokePants wrote...

Way to completely miss the mark. Morrigan speaks with an anachronistic use of vernacular -- that is, she uses a dialect that Fereldans would consider "old-fashioned". Which makes perfect sense, given that she was home-schooled by a being that is hundreds of years old.

You can't accuse her of sounding upper class, when none of the nobility in Origins sound remotely like her.

Morrigan lacks social graces, but that hardly qualifies her as some sort of feral wolf-girl. She is obviously literate and able to read ancient and modern tongues. Language is not her problem, nor should it be.

Even if you had a point -- which you don't -- there are dramatic considerations that supercede raw contextual logic. Morrigan carries herself as superior to those she encounters, and that doesn't mesh very well with a rural dialect.

Claudia Black is very intelligent and knows what she is doing. Same with the writers. However, I cannot say the same about everyone.

It's still an aristocratic accent.  Regardless of what the writers choose to write about it, it still is a very posh accent to all of us here on Earth, and is therefore a bad choice in trying to make this character believable to people. Sorry but you've missed the mark and my point still stands.

Could it be you dont actually understand her when she is talking. You could turn on the subtitles....they help.

[thespianicism]

Lord_Anthonior wrote...

someone should really let Claudia Black know that she has been considered to have an aristocratic accent, I think she would be pleased.

I watched an interview with her once where she said something like people were always telling her to do "serious drama" and such because she has a 'fancy' voice but all she wanted to do was run around with guns and play badass characters. 

----

So, from reading the OP's additional responses in this thread, I gather that this is really more of an argument against the artistic choice for what Morrigan should sound like rather than "Claudia Black is bad". I believe the thing to remember her is that Morrigan is all about power. The ways she presents herself, the way she behaves, all of it is to give her the upper hand. People can train an accent. She spent much time in animal form and thus had a good way of spending time around people unnoticed. Flemeth also wouldn't want her daughter sounding like a hick and likely trained her to speak in the way that Flemeth would want for herself. Also, part of Flemeth's grand design involved that Grey Warden thing (kept vague due to the no spoiler rule). Morrigan could hardly pulled that off if she sounded unsophisticated and unable to properly cajole a participant into compliance.

Anyway, this is just my opinion of the situation. Take with it what you will. Ultimately, though, this is a world created by the writers of the story. If they think that a more sophisticated accent fits a girl living in a hut with mummy, then it does. We don't have to like it, but it's out of our hands. Accent assignments in Origins are pretty arbitrary anyway. Humans have British accents and everybody else is American? What? For the most part (particularly in Claudia's case), the acting is good and I can pretty much accept however they sound as part of the writers' vision and move on with the story. 

Modifié par thespianicism, 04 septembre 2010 - 10:49 .

[Lord_Anthonior]

thespianicism wrote...

Lord_Anthonior wrote...

someone should really let Claudia Black know that she has been considered to have an aristocratic accent, I think she would be pleased.

I watched an interview with her once where she said something like people were always telling her to do "serious drama" and such because she has a 'fancy' voice but all she wanted to do was run around with guns and play badass characters. 
 

Chloe from uncharted, aeryn from farscape, vala from stargate, morrigan in dragon age, some anime cartoon I think she was in also a badass, and 2 times I know of being the guilty murderer  one episode of NCIS and in another program, so yes, I believe she is right of having guns and being a badass, that's what I like about her and her characters, strong badass characters and not forgetting hot.

Still, I do like that the developers cast her for Morrigan. If still arguing about the choice then anyone can come up with another option, who should have been cast? but I think they did right as it is.

[SmokePants]

jermungand wrote...

It's still an aristocratic accent.  Regardless of what the writers choose to write about it, it still is a very posh accent to all of us here on Earth, and is therefore a bad choice in trying to make this character believable to people. Sorry but you've missed the mark and my point still stands.

Not believable to people? What people? You mean you? This game came out 10 months ago and nobody had an issue with the performance until you decided to post this ill-conceived train of thought.

The fact is, Morrigan is not aristocratic. She does not sound aristocratic. And she is not intended to sound aristocratic. What she is is the most memorable character of the entire game. Not believable?

Get out more. Brave the stench and visit a renaissance fair. You'll find plenty of filthy people talking like "aristocrats." Go tell them that it's not believable.

I promise you this: the writers and Claudia Black are smarter than you and they've forgotten more about suspension of disbelief than you'll ever know. That is a straight-up fact.

[TJPags]

jermungand wrote...

TJPags wrote...

jermungand wrote...

TJPags wrote...

Umm, children imitate their parents. MOrrigan likely picked up whatever characterisitcs of "I'm better than you" you're sensing from Flemith.

Keep in mind, also - you're judging an accent by your own values/thoughts. Not everyone finds Claudia Blacks accent - not sure if it's British or Aussie or what - to be a "nobles" accent. Just because you do, well, you do.

Just going by the few responses here, it doesn't seem like everyone shares that opinion.

Yeah, but who has she practiced this "I'm better than you" demeanor on??  Obviously not on her mother.

Anyway, noble or not, her particular brand of British accent and mannerism are definitely too refined for someone who has lived that sort of life,  and that's not just "my values/thoughts"

Why do you think she needs to practice it?  You need to practice something that doesn't come naturally.  As she was raised by Flemith, who has that attitude herself, it likely comes naturally to her - assuming it's there at all.  I'm not sure I even agree with that.

As for her accent - if it's not just your values/thoughts, then where does it come from? 

A manner of speaking to other people only comes naturally if you actually speak to other people.  She's been in near total seclusion from everyone but her mother, to whom she would never speak in that manner.  It may be hard to imagine, but if you never had real contact with other people for your entire life except one harsh domineering mother, you would not be on your feet while talking to people.

As for her accent - these values/thoughts of mine are pretty well established and understood within the English speaking world I should tell you.  They have for many generations over hundreds of years, during which time people's have had accents derivative of the societies and locations in which they lived. 

Insofar as you are completely oblivious to this, I can only suppose that you haven't been exposed to the culture of the English speaking world for very long.  Perhaps you're really young or you're not from the western world, I don't know.

Wow.  Have you missed the mark, and contradicted yourself, all in one voice.

First - I am indeed from the English speaking world.  Born, raised, and still live in a small city on the east coast of the United States - you may have heard of it.  New York City. 

Second - I have heard, and interacted with people who have, a large variety of accents, in the 40+ years I've been on this Earth, and in this city.  So I assure you, I've not only been exposed to the culture of the English speaking world, but I have been for a long time.

Now - you mention that a person's accent is derivitive of the society in which they live.  I've mentioned that children learning to speak immitate their parents - I'll add that the imitate their neighbors and other relatives, as well.  That, my friend, is fact, otherwise, why would everyone from a particular family/geographic area sound so much alike.

Agree so far?  Good.

Flemith is a highly educated woman.  Was married to a lord, before that a successful merchant.  Clearly, powerful, upper crust people.  Her accent shows that, albeit that her voice is somewhat more raspy than Morrigan's.  I, personally, see some similiarity in the cadence, pronunciation and enunciation between Flemith and Morrigan.  Which makes sense, as her model for speaking when she was learning to do so was Flemith - a highly educated person who spent a long part of her life interactig with and being one of the powerful - the high society people, you know, like all of the British are. 

Obviously, you would prefer he to sound like some uneducated hill-billy-redneck from the backwoods of Mississippi or something, just because she 'grew up in a swamp'.  That's not the case, and I - and a lot of other people in this thread - think it makes sense.

So, again, perhaps your own values are coloring your impression here, and perhaps those values are not as based in fact - or as wide spread - as you may think. 

[bloodreaperfx]

jermungand wrote...

It's still an aristocratic accent.  Regardless of what the writers choose to write about it, it still is a very posh accent to all of us here on Earth, and is therefore a bad choice in trying to make this character believable to people. Sorry but you've missed the mark and my point still stands.

Perhaps you are stereotyping as to what an aristocrat should sound like. Also the character is not belivable to you, as most people say Claudia Black has done a wonderful job with Morrigan.

Second, this is a fictional world, you are expecting to be binded by social rules taken from the real world. I am pretty sure the writers did not want to edge Morrigan's forrest-living-simplistic-chasind-life, but her cunning, hidden potential and knowledge as well as her talent as a seductress. The voice and how she speaks points out exactly that.

When you say Morrigan, you don't think of a wild girl of the forrest but of a powerful apostate with deep and hidden agenda. The voice acting is fine.

[fantasypisces]

SmokePants wrote...

Way to completely miss the mark. Morrigan speaks with an anachronistic use of vernacular -- that is, she uses a dialect that Fereldans would consider "old-fashioned". Which makes perfect sense, given that she was home-schooled by a being that is hundreds of years old.

You can't accuse her of sounding upper class, when none of the nobility in Origins sound remotely like her.

Morrigan lacks social graces, but that hardly qualifies her as some sort of feral wolf-girl. She is obviously literate and able to read ancient and modern tongues. Language is not her problem, nor should it be.

Even if you had a point -- which you don't -- there are dramatic considerations that supercede raw contextual logic. Morrigan carries herself as superior to those she encounters, and that doesn't mesh very well with a rural dialect.

Claudia Black is very intelligent and knows what she is doing. Same with the writers. However, I cannot say the same about everyone.

SmokePants is right on the money with this quote...

To the OP, you say you know the game, but I really don't think you do, as this game has been out for a really long time, and I practically live on these forums and have never *ever ever* once seen this argument. Plus insulting others who are offering valid criticism's of your point will not get your thread far.

So I think it's just you?....

[Daradain]

I also might point out that Flemeth was once a court lady, so it stands to reason that she would teach her daughters to speak the same way she learned how to. And lets face it, if Morigan sounded like a red-neck, no one would like her. Red-necks are funny, evil superior red-necks are impossible to stand. 

Modifié par Daradain, 04 septembre 2010 - 03:45 .