I don't know if this is the place that this thread should go, but I have a problem with a few stories and the general location of the story they're trying to tell. Let's say, to avoid stereotyping and admittedly me looking wrong, that there's this character from another planet. His species isn't anything that resembles us humanoids, say that he's more akin to a meatball with an eye and tendrils. Now, since his origins are from another world, we should expect him to have a very unique name that isn't compared to ours right? His name is Bob, deal with it. His name is just Bob even if he doesn't even look human. Characters from other nations that have strangely American sounding names are acceptable in my opinion, but that's only if they had American influences; If they're from a nation that wasn't colonized or had Western influences, it doesn't seem right to name a character from, let's say Star Wars, Tom Smith.
I'm not sure if that was meant to be humorous but i did chuckle...Bob...brilliant. I do agree though, a meatball with an eye from which planet should not be called Bob, however funny it maybe!!
Truthfully it was a bit on purpose to use Bob, a very generic human name, to describe an alien to emphasize the strangeness of using such name on an alien character from another species. But my whole point was that generic English names (such as Jim, John, Joe, Tom, and Mike) are given to characters that have nationalities that shouldn't most likely have those said names. As bad and stereotypical as they are, I do believe that nationalities should be given to common names that are local to their nation instead of having ones that sound too American/English, especially if said nation didn't/doesn't have much Western influences and therefore, their names standing out amongst the rest. This all began when I saw a story about someone going to Vietnam and a man named Dave fucks somebody. As much as I do not like talking shite behind someone's back, it just took me out of the story to read a story set in another nation but sounding like it's a town in America.
Was Dave a tourist in Vietnam getting some local strange? Was Dave an American soldier during the war buying a local prossie while on leave? Was Dave a businessman sent over to Vietnam to improve the productivity in a factory of local workers? Is Dave a student on his gap year doing a begging vacation? Was Dave a chef on his apprenticeship going to Vietnam to experience the influences France had on local cuisine? I can think of a tonne of reasons for a Dave to be in Vietnam. Was Dave a shapeshifting follower of the Spaghetti and Meatball alien Bob sent to earth to safeguard the birth of the prophesied Heavenly Starchild who is about to be born in Vietnam and prevent the followers of the Fettucini Carbonara alien Rob from killing the mother before she can give birth?
Dacia now you're just being silly, everyone know's the prophesied location of the heavenly starchild's birth is in Denmark. ;-)
That's just what Rob and his heretical followers would have you to believe! Theirs is an abomination. They would bring about an anti-Starchild. Each black hole in the galaxy where they succeeded in defeating the followers of Bob, the most magnificent of meatballs, praise be his oregano goodness. But not on Earth! Not today!
That's done it, i can bear this no more. I'm outing myself...... Death to the putrid meatball....Long Live the true lord....Long live ROB the Fettuccine Carbonara God King. May he reign in the great restaurant of the heavens for eternity. And may that false god, that rancid meatball Bob be doomed to Hell's trash recycling plant forever more. We crave the Birth of the Danish Anti-Starchild....his followers are ready and waiting. There....I've nailed my colours to the wall. Ha.
I knew I smelt the rancid cream-scent of a Carbonarite! Sour is the cream that flavours the sauce of all his followers. The Mighty Meatballatollah was right in casting the Fettuccine fiend from the Menu of Heaven. We will see this world turned red with the blood of the Fettuccine Carbonara's followers as red is the divine colour which all pasta sauces should be. For in the book of Spaghetti we are told that tomatoes are the only true fruit from which sauces shall arise!
How dare you question the divinity of the dairy based god! You who follow that menstrual meatball and his spaghetti minions. The purity of the White sauce cannot be denied, the Danish bacon bishops joined us, for even they see the truth...the starchild cometh forth to Copenhagen. we shall see who is the rightful God of Luncheon when do battle on the special boards of Earth!!
The TV series "Alien Nation" involved alien refugees coming to Earth and settling in the U.S. -- and they were all given American-sounding names. (The main alien character's name was George Francisco.) Those were humanoid aliens and not meatballs, but, still, I can see an alien being called "Bob" by humans.
Uhm... Hail Eris? (Ducks for cover under a spray of flying pasta and branded "Church of the Subgenius" apparel.)
Strangely this makes me think of alien nation. When the aliens arrive some are given human names because the humans have difficulty pronouncing their given names. Which is sort of a call back to some early immigrants into the America's.
Reminds me of a scifi story I read. The astronaut making first contact was called Chris. Which was unfortunately the alien's name for their version of Satan.
