Two noteworthy points of discussion are the ways in which the directors approach race and sex. In the entire show, Sun and Jin constitute two out of the three Asian characters in an enormous cast. The manner in which they are depicted is highly influential to the public mind’s view of Asians. For this reason, I’ve dissected subtle absences or insertions in the translated dialogues between Sun and Jin. The results are interesting:
Writer’s Translation: Sun- “I’ve got an idea.”
Literal Translation: Sun- “I’ve got a good idea.”
Writer’s Translation: Jin- “How could we do that?”
Literal Translation: Jin- “How could we do that without money?”
Writer’s Translation: Jin- “But what you’re saying is forbidden.”
Literal Translation: Jin- “But what you’re saying is ludicrous.”
Writer’s Translation: Sun- “Do you want to be with me or not?”
Literal Translation: Sun- “Do you love me?”
The creators of LOST essentially hold the master narrative, so they are the ones who determine how Koreans are portrayed in one of the most widely followed shows in America. The discrepancy between the writer’s translation and the literal translation cannot be accurately attributed to one cause. It could have been that Sun and Jin were given English scripts and they took artistic liberties in their translations. Or vice versa. Either way the difference between the two translations is somewhat interesting and even telling.
Without sounding too paranoid or contrived, one might blame these differences to a pre-constructed mode of thinking in which Koreans (or Asians in general), are believed to be incapable of good and original ideas, overly concerned with money, socially restrictive, and without the capacity for deep emotions. Some would say many Americans hold this opinion of China right now. That is not to say, that any of the creators of LOST necessarily have these thoughts in mind. Rather, this episode offers a context to examine the processes of translation (literal and cultural) by media, and what is lost (no pun intended) and retained.
Another point of discussion is the way in which Sun, the wife of Jin, is portrayed throughout this episode. She is shown as a helpless, emotionally unstable, and sexual person. In the instances where she interacts with others, her actions consist of lashing out verbally, crying, running away, asking questions, and stripping. Furthermore, due to a head injury, Sun is unable to speak English. Prior to this season, Sun was initially a meek and submissive wife who gradually becomes more assertive. This episode raises questions of certain female roles and characteristics that are assumed in our society. Women are “suppose,” to be weak, dependent, and emotional. Even at the end of the episode, Sun finds peace only by accepting help from Jack in order to find Jin.
So what do you guys think: are the creators of LOST racially ignorant? Chauvinistic? Or even ironic (they could simply be mocking certain stereotypes, such as when Keamy says, “I feel like I’m in a Godzilla movie,” while talking to Sun and Jin)?
Well, for awhile there I was thinking that maybe the subtitle folks just needed to edit the comments to fit the screen. But the Godzilla comment seems a bit over the top. I haven't seen the show, so I don't speak with any authority here. Maybe I should take a trip to the video store...
ReplyDeleteDo you think that the directors/actors are trying to project their stereotypes of Asian culture onto the viewers or reflect the stereotypes of the viewers so they are more familiar with the dialogue? It appears that the differences in translation are there in order for the dialogue to conform to the stereotype describing Asians as logical, analytical and mathematical rather than emotional and contemplative. I don't actually know anything about Lost, but the stereotypes exhibited in this episode appear to be completely intentional. I wonder how important they are to the plot?
ReplyDeleteI've never seen the show, but I find your observations very interesting. Whenever I encountered mistakes in translation from Serbian into English subtitles, I always assumed they were just unprofessional mistakes. However, the context does seem different in this case, since the two Korean characters are the representative ones in the show. It seems to me that the director tries to convey certain stereotypes even through translation. On the other hand, the viewer is the one who decides to accept it or not. I think this would be interesting to follow throughout the show, and to see if our perception of these two characters would change, taking into account both translations. However, my skeptical question still remains whether it's the problem of "being lost in translation" or an intentional tool.
ReplyDeleteWhen reading your post, I was wondering the same thing as Sladja. I wonder if the translation errors or if they were intentional. With the particular translations that you provided it seems like the differences between the literal and writer's translation don't look very different. But with a closer glance, you can recognize that they have slightly different meaning. I am surprised by the discrepancy between I have a good idea and I have an idea. I don't really understand why they would choose to omit good.
ReplyDeleteWe have this debate all the time in America. Why did they choose to make the Black/Latina woman stereotypical. Why reinforce (negative stereotypes) about an entire group of people. But, alas, this is TV.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, we can't expect two people to represent all that is good and wholesome about an entire country of people. Some characteristics will be included and not others. This sounds very ignorant of me, but for the sake of argument, why include Asian cast members if they are just going to behave like "normal (white) people"? The casting director might as well get white people then. It's the same with TV in America. If the Black woman is not stereotypical they call her white. If she is stereotypical there is uproar.
Stereotypes are bad in so far as we use them to put people in boxes. We should be intelligent enough to understand that people in every society embody a diversity of personality traits, and that stereotypical representations are just that- stereotypical, whether intentional or not.