help with American localisation

I'm rewritting my film script to American locale and the problem is it's been long since I've been to the USA and I miss some cultural info.

The protagonist is a neurotic philosophy teacher at a University, so of course I thought Harvard in Boston.

1) He's 45 and still hasn't written a dissertation necessary to get a PhD, so the head of the philosophy faculty is threatening to fire him unless he finally submits it -- is such a situation possible in your country?
That sounds plausible to me.

2) He lives in a messy flat in a tenement house, a poor district. Now it fits Poland and its academics very well, but actually my idea of USA is that 99% teachers have own houses...?
He lives in a messy apartment in an apartment building or brownstone (not "flat" or "tenement"). Lots of people live in apartments and pay rent, especially in large cities.

3) One of his friends repairs TVs, DVD players and other electronic appliances in a repair shop -- do you even have such shops? Where you take your TV when it breaks?
They're called "stores" in the US. Not shops. It would be called an TV or electronics repair store. They exist, but wouldn't get a lot of business; most people would throw out and buy new.

4) Do you have guarded estates in the suburbs where rich people have their houses? A fence, security guard, and beyond that a street with houses?
Yes.

5) During the course of his adventure he has to go to a sea resort, which would be an embodiment of hell to a neurotic: a beach full of surfers and suntanned chicks, a big-ass ferris wheel, generally a gaudy tourist trap. So maybe somewhere in Florida? But how long would he drive to get there from Boston?
Americans never call it the "sea," always the "ocean." Florida has lots of oceanfront beaches and resorts. It takes about 2 1/2 days to drive from Boston to Florida.

No doubt someone will be along with even better answers. Someone American. I'm Canadian.

Please, if you have any comments on the above, help this poor writer from overseas.

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goldmund said:

I'm rewritting my film script to American locale and the problem is it's been long since I've been to the USA and I miss some cultural info.

The protagonist is a neurotic philosophy teacher at a University, so of course I thought Harvard in Boston.

1) He's 45 and still hasn't written a dissertation necessary to get a PhD, so the head of the philosophy faculty is threatening to fire him unless he finally submits it -- is such a situation possible in your country?

It probably depends on his actual position. I have a friend who was fired from Harvard, and he had no PhD, but his teaching position was nowhere near permanent to start with.

2) He lives in a messy flat in a tenement house, a poor district. Now it fits Poland and its academics very well, but actually my idea of USA is that 99% teachers have own houses...?

I'd think not at Harvard. Some cities, you could manage it. We have an old Victorian district where your rent could be dirt cheap and folks would think you are just a Bohemian architecture junkie (who indeed live there along with the dirt poor).

3) One of his friends repairs TVs, DVD players and other electronic appliances in a repair shop -- do you even have such shops? Where you take your TV when it breaks?

We do call it the repair shop. That may be a Southern thing; I don't know. Usually it's a tiny shop in some plaza or even out of a home office.

4) Do you have guarded estates in the suburbs where rich people have their houses? A fence, security guard, and beyond that a street with houses?

Oh, yes. Maybe not in some places, but I'm guessing the whole East Coast is familiar with that.

5) During the course of his adventure he has to go to a sea resort, which would be an embodiment of hell to a neurotic: a beach full of surfers and suntanned chicks, a big-ass ferris wheel, generally a gaudy tourist trap. So maybe somewhere in Florida? But how long would he drive to get there from Boston?

Myrtle Beach, SC is closer. Still a long haul. Someone can probably suggest somewhere up north.

Please, if you have any comments on the above, help this poor writer from overseas.

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1) A place as high up as Harvard probably isn't going to get someone on faculty without a PhD in hand. However, there are hundreds of four-year colleges that might, and community (2-year) colleges typically only require a Master's degree to teach.

2) Sure, it's possible, especially if he is new faculty without a PhD.

3) Electronic repair stores are rare, since it typically costs as much to repair as it does to buy a new one. A more realistic situation might be that his friend custom builds computers for the researchers at the university to run specialized equipment. I can provide some examples if you'd like.

4) Yep, especially in large cities.

5) Florida and California sound like good locations for this.

Let me suggest a scenario that will resolve 1 and 2: Your MC has been hired by a small 4-year college as an adjunct instructor (at much less pay) on the condition that he completes his PhD within a given period of time (say, one year). He will then enter as an assistant professor at about double the salary. I know people who have done this. Go to the website for the Chronicle of Higher Education and look for their faculty salary surveys. Making much less than an assistant professor would, that would make the messy apartment living much more realistic. That, or he could be in temporary faculty housing provided by the university, although those are often rental houses, but for an unmarried faculty you could probably get away with putting him where ever you want.

For travel times, go to Google Maps, select "Driving Directions" and enter the two cities. It will give you driving times between your cities. Boston to Miami is about 25 hours, without stopping. Figure two days of solid driving.

As Caro hinted, once you get the story written, find an American beta reader who can flag some of your terminology. It only takes getting a couple things wrong to give your American character a really bad accent!

Edit: I cross posted with backslashbaby & Chris P

goldmund said:

I'm rewritting my film script to American locale and the problem is it's been long since I've been to the USA and I miss some cultural info.

The protagonist is a neurotic philosophy teacher at a University, so of course I thought Harvard in Boston.

1) He's 45 and still hasn't written a dissertation necessary to get a PhD, so the head of the philosophy faculty is threatening to fire him unless he finally submits it -- is such a situation possible in your country?

Click to expand...

The bit about threatening to fire him unless he actually submits is perfectly plausible.

It would be pretty much unheard of for him to have bopped around as a graduate student since his early twenties (2+ decades) without getting a degree. Hanging out in academia without accomplishing much is pretty common, but something on the order of 4-5 years is typical for a Ph.D. course. At about eight years I'd expect to see some serious pressure to submit or quit.

However, he could have gone back to school in, say, his late 30s. That would be unusual but not unheard-of. One plausible scenario would be that he got an undergrad and an M.A. and taught at the community college level for 10 years. That would be just barely plausible, however--jobs teaching philosophy are hard to come by and would usually go to a Ph.D. But it could conceivably happen. A masters does qualify you to teach at the community college level. (I taught comp. sci. in community colleges for a while.)

goldmund said:

2) He lives in a messy flat in a tenement house, a poor district. Now it fits Poland and its academics very well, but actually my idea of USA is that 99% teachers have own houses...?

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Teachers, yes. Graduate students, no. If he's working on a Ph.D. and teaching, he's almost certainly doing so as part of a scholarship package. Such people are called 'graduate assistants' and are paid a pittance. There's no way he could pay for a house on what he was making as a grad assistant. A messy flat in a tenement house sounds about right. (Again, personal experience.)

goldmund said:

3) One of his friends repairs TVs, DVD players and other electronic appliances in a repair shop -- do you even have such shops? Where you take your TV when it breaks?

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What CaroGirl said.

goldmund said:

4) Do you have guarded estates in the suburbs where rich people have their houses? A fence, security guard, and beyond that a street with houses?

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Yes.

goldmund said:

5) During the course of his adventure he has to go to a sea resort, which would be an embodiment of hell to a neurotic: a beach full of surfers and suntanned chicks, a big-ass ferris wheel, generally a gaudy tourist trap. So maybe somewhere in Florida? But how long would he drive to get there from Boston?

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Florida or maybe Myrtle Beach, SC would be good picks, but if he's from Boston I'd think someplace in new york would be a more likely destination. I've never been to Coney Island, but I think it would fit. Or maybe Atlantic City, New Jersey? New York or New Jersey would be a lot closer, anyway.

Wherever you settle on, google maps can give you reasonable estimates of travel time.

Boston to Panama Beach Florida is about 1400 miles - that's a good, solid 24 hour drive. Or maybe a 2-3 hour flight--I think it would actually be cheaper to fly.

goldmund said:

Please, if you have any comments on the above, help this poor writer from overseas.

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goldmund said:

1) He's 45 and still hasn't written a dissertation necessary to get a PhD, so the head of the philosophy faculty is threatening to fire him unless he finally submits it -- is such a situation possible in your country?

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Don't know, sorry.

goldmund said:

2) He lives in a messy flat in a tenement house, a poor district. Now it fits Poland and its academics very well, but actually my idea of USA is that 99% teachers have own houses...?

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"Apartment" in an "apartment building." Which part of Poland? I'm familiar with Krakow and the surrounding area, and familiar with Boston, so I could probably give you a comparison.

That being said, it's highly likely this guy would live in faculty housing. There's plenty of information about Harvard faculty housing on the web.

If you want him to have his own place, and want it to be a poorer area, he could live anywhere from South Boston to the suburbs like Lowell. The further out he goes, the more likely he would have a house or a room in a house as opposed to an apartment.

goldmund said:

3) One of his friends repairs TVs, DVD players and other electronic appliances in a repair shop -- do you even have such shops? Where you take your TV when it breaks?

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There are repair shops (and they can be called "shops," though most places are stores), but generally very small. Most people either throw away broken electronics, send them to the manufacturer to be fixed, or take them back to the big-box store they bought them at. But there are definitely still small repair shops, especially in big cities.

goldmund said:

4) Do you have guarded estates in the suburbs where rich people have their houses? A fence, security guard, and beyond that a street with houses?

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Yes, they're called "gated communities" here.

goldmund said:

5) During the course of his adventure he has to go to a sea resort, which would be an embodiment of hell to a neurotic: a beach full of surfers and suntanned chicks, a big-ass ferris wheel, generally a gaudy tourist trap. So maybe somewhere in Florida? But how long would he drive to get there from Boston?

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Don't do Florida. Too far away. He could drive (actually ferry) to Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard or Provincetown in an hour. Those are all upscale, but have plenty of tourists, surfers, and tanned muscular youngsters.

Another option is drive down to the Jersey Shore in New Jersey which is the embodiment of what you're talking about. It really doesn't get more gaudy and there are plenty of ferris wheels, board walks, and tanning is a way of life. It's a 5-6 hour drive from Boston.

Hampton Beach, New Hampshire, is oceanside resort-ish, in some parts at least, and is only an hour or so north of Boston. If your main character lives in Boston and the resort needs to be close, I would use Hampton Beach. (Disclaimer: I've heard of Hampton Beach and have a friend who used to live there, but I'm not familiar with it myself other than knowing what and where it is.)

I would say your character could definitely live in an apartment, and given the sheer number of colleges and universities in and around Boston, there are a number of landlords and apartment rental services that specialize in renting to students and/or university staff. So that's definitely plausible. In the actual city of Boston, I would think that even those who earn more might tend to rent an apartment or buy a condo rather than a house; real estate is very expensive in the city.

goldmund said:

I'm rewritting my film script to American locale and the problem is it's been long since I've been to the USA and I miss some cultural info.

The protagonist is a neurotic philosophy teacher at a University, so of course I thought Harvard in Boston.

1) He's 45 and still hasn't written a dissertation necessary to get a PhD, so the head of the philosophy faculty is threatening to fire him unless he finally submits it -- is such a situation possible in your country?

Click to expand...

I seriously doubt someone could get on the faculty of Harvard without a Ph.D. Why would they hire him over someone with a Ph.D? As someone mentioned above, make him a professor or an adjunct professor at a smaller four-year college or even junior college.

2) He lives in a messy flat in a tenement house, a poor district. Now it fits Poland and its academics very well, but actually my idea of USA is that 99% teachers have own houses...?

Click to expand...

Not all colleges pay well especially if he is just an adjunct, so it is believable to me that he could live in an apartment (flat). Also, not everyone wants to own a house.

3) One of his friends repairs TVs, DVD players and other electronic appliances in a repair shop -- do you even have such shops? Where you take your TV when it breaks?

Click to expand...

I had a TV repair guy come to my house to fix our flat screen TV, so yeah we do have repair guys. Especially since flat screen TV's can be pretty expensive. People are less willing to throw them out and buy new.

4) Do you have guarded estates in the suburbs where rich people have their houses? A fence, security guard, and beyond that a street with houses?

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Yes

shawkins said:

Or maybe a 2-3 hour flight--I think it would actually be cheaper to fly.

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Southwest's cheapest flight would be less than $300 round trip, if I'm reading their website correctly, flying from Boston to Ft. Lauderdale, with a plane change in the Baltimore/Washington airport, and takes between six and seven hours each way.

If he's going to drive, the direct route would not be good for his neuroses, as it would take him through several megalopolis driving hells. A longer but more relaxing route would be to go west on Interstate 84 to Scranton, PA, then turn south on Interstate 81 and proceed through Pennsylvania and Virginia, by-passing New York, Washington, Philadelphia, Baltimore and all of New Jersey. Turn left at Staunton, VA to pick up I-64, pass through Richmond to Norfolk, and from there he's got his pick of beaches all the way down the Carolinas, Georgia and the Atlantic coast of Florida. Or stay on I-81, pass through Staunton down into Tennessee, veer left at Knoxville onto I-75, which will take him through Georgia and down the Gulf coast of Florida, all the way to Alligator Alley on the edge of the Everglades. I'm not sure it's tacky enough to meet your criteria, though, once he gets past Weekee-Watchee, anyhow. I'd plan on three or even four days driving, just so's he can enjoy all the beautiful scenery he's going to see. And I hope he's got a car that gets decent gas mileage, or the flight really would be cheaper.

Yes, I do drive a lot.

As someone with family in the Boston area who lives in the NYC metro area, I'd go for the Jersey shore, but not Atlantic City unless you want that gambling backdrop. There are towns further north with the boardwalk amusement parks. Google the Jersey Shore but dis-include the TV show.

There are a ton of colleges, large and small, in the Boston area. Everything from Harvard and MIT to Mount Ida (where my brother works) and community schools. School cultures vary. Right now money is an issue at many.

I looked up my friend's old title online, and he was a 'Lecturer' at Harvard (with no PhD), fairly recently, if that helps any His academic achievements were outstanding, though (Fulbright Scholar).

goldmund said:

1) He's 45 and still hasn't written a dissertation necessary to get a PhD, so the head of the philosophy faculty is threatening to fire him unless he finally submits it -- is such a situation possible in your country?

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He can be fired for anything, unless he has tenure. How long as he been teaching there?

goldmund said:

2) He lives in a messy flat in a tenement house, a poor district. Now it fits Poland and its academics very well, but actually my idea of USA is that 99% teachers have own houses...?

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He wouldn't be in a slum. He's a harvard professor. A house, or a condo would be most likely.

3) One of his friends repairs TVs, DVD players and other electronic appliances in a repair shop -- do you even have such shops?

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Yes. There's one is Sault Ste. Marie, MI, which is tiny. Also, see the movie Foolproof. One of the characters ran an electronics repair shop(and he accepted a t.v. for repair during the movie).

goldmund said:

Where you take your TV when it breaks?

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I don't. It's generally cheaper to buy a used one from the pawn shop(when I was poor), although now I just buy a new one.

goldmund said:

4) Do you have guarded estates in the suburbs where rich people have their houses?

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Yes.

goldmund said:

A fence, security guard, and beyond that a street with houses?

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Yes.

5) During the course of his adventure he has to go to a sea resort, which would be an embodiment of hell to a neurotic: a beach full of surfers and suntanned chicks, a big-ass ferris wheel, generally a gaudy tourist trap. So maybe somewhere in Florida?

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No, not Florida. Florida is a long drive from Boston, but they have those all over. Anywhere there is beach on the ocean you can find someplace like that.

Upon reflection, the one time a store is called a shop in America is when its function is to repair stuff. Like a body shop or electronics repair shop.

Oh, and fyi, it's not out of the question to be hired by harvard without a p.h.d. Long and distinguished careers in the field can get a person hired as a professor without a p.h.d. as can being published numerous times.

1) He's 45 and still hasn't written a dissertation necessary to get a PhD, so the head of the philosophy faculty is threatening to fire him unless he finally submits it -- is such a situation possible in your country?

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He'd probably be an adjunct or a lecturer, and it would be a "firing" so much as a threat not to renew his yearly contract and/or not to give him any classes (essentially, no work, which means no pay).

If you do decide to have him Vacay in Florida and need help with the specifics, let me know. I've lived here all my life and currently live minutes from the beach.

goldmund said:

I'm rewritting my film script to American locale and the problem is it's been long since I've been to the USA and I miss some cultural info.

The protagonist is a neurotic philosophy teacher at a University, so of course I thought Harvard in Boston.

Click to expand...

To start with, Harvard is in Cambridge not Boston.

1) He's 45 and still hasn't written a dissertation necessary to get a PhD, so the head of the philosophy faculty is threatening to fire him unless he finally submits it -- is such a situation possible in your country?

Click to expand...

It would be surprising if someone could hold a position on a faculty of a major university for more than 3 or 4 years without finishing a Ph. D. It used to be common for Assistant professors to just have Master's degrees, but that has become rare in the last 20 years. You might want to make him somewhat younger in his 30's to cover this and the vacation in Ft lauderdale.

2) He lives in a messy flat in a tenement house, a poor district. Now it fits Poland and its academics very well, but actually my idea of USA is that 99% teachers have own houses...?

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If the guy s a lecturer (a temporary faculty member), then this would fit, because they are poorly paid, and they can get by with a Master's. There aren't any "poor" ares in the Boston area any more, but he might live in a lower priced part of Bright/Alston. Cambridge, Somerville, and the rest of the municipalities around Cambridge don't have cheap rentals anymore.

3) One of his friends repairs TVs, DVD players and other electronic appliances in a repair shop -- do you even have such shops? Where you take your TV when it breaks?

Click to expand...

There are very few duch shops anyone more, because the cost to repair is almost as much as the cost of a new one, but there are computer repair places, so you could switch him to that. Some of the computer repair places also do housecalls.

4) Do you have guarded estates in the suburbs where rich people have their houses? A fence, security guard, and beyond that a street with houses?

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There are a few gated communities in the Greater Bosten area, but the good areas were developed before anyone thought to put gates and guards around.

5) During the course of his adventure he has to go to a sea resort, which would be an embodiment of hell to a neurotic: a beach full of surfers and suntanned chicks, a big-ass ferris wheel, generally a gaudy tourist trap. So maybe somewhere in Florida? But how long would he drive to get there from Boston?

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Fort Lauderdale, Fl. for Spring break. How old is the guy? He might be out of place with crowds of undergrduates, but he might pass as an older one, if he isn't too old.

I'd just like to from the perspective of a Floridian, Ft. Lauderdale would not be the place to go. It's were a lot of the older people migrate to.

Palm beach maybe. Cocoa beach is popular. On my coast, we're the IT place. Clearwater beach, about half hour drive from me, is pretty popular... (especially with the celebrity scientologists: travolta, cruise, etc.)

now, let me ask this... Are you set on harvard, or did you pick it because it was one you'd heard of? Is there any reason, your novel could 't take place in Florida at say, USF or FSU or the like? Everything you've mentioned is pretty local to these, the apartments (tenements), the gated communities, the beach resorts (Clearwater beach is about 45mins - an hour drive from USF). And I could see the scenario you described happening there. Just a thought.

wow. i'm lovin the amount of detailed responses. hope you're all around when i ask about Kansas lingo/ expressions/ particularities in a few weeks. (if i get the the go ahead.)

goldmund said:

Damn, this forum is amazing!
Thank you all... now I've started to believe my project is not-so-impossible as it seemed. Just don't go anywhere ;-)

The thing with the repair shop, dissertation, gated communities is settled thanks to you. I still need the 2 locations.

See, I'm not fixed on Harvard (or Boston, it was just my misconception about the location of Harvard). Actually, I don't need any real University, as this is a film script and I can write just "INT. FACULTY OF PHILOSOPHY" ;-)

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The Boston area has many universities, and most of them hire lecturers. You might want to look at MIT, Boston University, Northeastern, Boston College, Tufts, and many smaller ones. I think that BU, BC, and Tufts would be excellent for your purposes, unless this guy has great credentials but just hasn't gotten around to writing his dissertation.

A real location I need is that of a gaudy, loud resort that a neurotic, middle aged intellectual would deem horrible. A kind of place that he could say: "There's the only person who gives meaning to my life, and I wondered where she might go for her holidays. I thought Rome. I thought Paris. But no. Hello, NAMEOFTHERESORT."

The setup is as follows: he works in a city at the Uni, but chasing one girl who went for her holidays he eventually arrives in this ocean resort he finds abhorrent.
He has to drive, as this is a bit of a road movie, but not for very long, 2 days max.
So maybe some California resort, to which he'd drive from some inland city that has a Uni (I don't think the city needs to be specified)?

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Skiing. He works in the Summer, because his pay as a lecturer isn't all that much. He skis, and there are many ski resorts within two hours of Boston. Kllington, Sugarbush, Mount Snow, etc. He may not get a tan outside, but the tanning booths take care of that. There are timeshares to be had for not much, and there are many nice ginmills.

If you want some place really gaudy and loud, theme parks and amusement parks are that much more so than resorts, and many amusement parks include a swimming and water slides area so you can still have the bathing suits and tanned bodies. Spring break is a traditional time for college students and some faculty to go on wild vacations.

Want to drive a middle-aged bookworm nuts?

Send him to Disney World (esp. around spring break when the park is crawling with little kids, moms chasing little kids, dads pretending not to look at the college girls wearing skimpy clothes, high school kids running amok, college age kids trying to act like they're too cool to enjoy being at the park, the noise, the actors in their costumes, the lines, the music, etc.)

That should drive him straight up the wall.

Richard White said:

Want to drive a middle-aged bookworm nuts?

Send him to Disney World (esp. around spring break when the park is crawling with little kids, moms chasing little kids, dads pretending not to look at the college girls wearing skimpy clothes, high school kids running amok, college age kids trying to act like they're too cool to enjoy being at the park, the noise, the actors in their costumes, the lines, the music, etc.)

That should drive him straight up the wall.

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Yep. Orlando (about an hour and half drive from me) is Theme-park central, and we go regularly. I agree with this wholeheartedly. If a person likes quiet, scholarly environments, Disneyworld would be like hell to him.