[2581] in Humor
HUMOR: Lost in translation--and yet gained
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Sharalee M. Field)
Wed Dec 9 09:11:54 1998
Date: Wed, 09 Dec 1998 09:10:52 -0500
To: humor@MIT.EDU, mowu@MIT.EDU, "MEGallagh@aol.com" <MEGallagh@aol.com>,
wheger@wbc-architects.com,
"kris.m.kelly@us.pwcglobal.com" <kris.m.kelly@us.pwcglobal.com>,
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immer@MIT.EDU, jack.gingras@ae.ge.com, tlawlor@palmerdodge.com,
nkahn@gph.com, GDeVoe@rimco.com,
"Jean, Marc (GEAE)" <marc.jean@ae.ge.com>, celia_kent@harvard.edu,
Maryellen Fitzgibbon <mfitzgib@fas.harvard.edu>,
cjwells@fas.harvard.edu,
Cheryl Guarino Buccelli <c_buccelli@harvard.edu>,
leite@fas.harvard.edu, Courtney Nichols <crnichol@fas.harvard.edu>
From: "Sharalee M. Field" <sharalee_field@harvard.edu>
>Date: Mon, 07 Dec 1998 23:27:54 -0800
>From: Connie Kleinjans <connie@nanospace.com>
>X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.06 [en] (Win95; U)
>To: connie@nanospace.com
>Subject: HUMOR: Lost in translation--and yet gained
>
>Excerpted-from: The New York Times Sunday, November 15, 1998
> Week in Review Section
>
> -- James Sterngold : Lost, and Gained, in the Translation
>
>One of the reasons that movie studios make so many action pictures is
>that they do well overseas. There are no translation problems when
>Bruce Willis is firing an Uzi or fleeing a fireball.
>
>Comedies and dramas are a different story. Comedy, in particular,
>frequently hangs on the thinnest of cultural threads. But when a comic
>film takes off, the distributors will do everything possible to push
>it overseas. Take, for instance, "There's Something About Mary," one
>of the biggest and silliest movies of the year, starring Cameron Diaz.
>To foreign audiences, the title was mystifying. So 20th Century Fox
>renamed the movie country by country.
>
>In Poland, blonde jokes are popular, so the title became, "For the
>Love of a Blonde." In France, it was, "Mary at All Costs."
>
>Scott Neeson, the executive in charge of foreign distribution at Fox,
>said Asians prefer literal titles. So in Thailand it became, "My True
>Love Will Stand All Outrageous Events." In Hong Kong it was called,
>"Enjoy Yourself in the Game of Love."
>
>That's poetic by the standards of Hong Kong, where the demand for
>literal descriptions has produced some jarring results. The Cantonese
>title for "Leaving Las Vegas" translates to "I'm Drunk and You're a
>Prostitute." "Field of Dreams" was "Imaginary Dead Baseball Players
>Live in My Cornfield." For truth in advertising, you could not beat
>the title for "The Crying Game" -- "Oh No! My Girlfriend Has a Penis!"
>
>Occasionally, the Chinese seem to find unintended meanings in American
>movies. "Interview With the Vampire," for instance, became, "So, You
>Are a Lawyer."
>
>But there's no arguing with the Chinese take on "Babe": "The Happy
>Dumpling-To-Be Who Talks and Solves Agricultural Problems." Or "My
>Best Friend's Wedding": "Help! My Pretend Boyfriend Is Gay." Or
>"George of the Jungle": "Big Dumb Monkey Man Keeps Whacking Tree With
>Genitals." Or even "Batman and Robin": "Come to My Cave and Wear this
>Rubber Codpiece, Cute Boy."
>
>But still, there is that poetic side, as with the Pamela Anderson Lee
>vehicle called "Barb Wire." The Chinese saw it as "Delicate Orbs of
>Womanhood Bigger Than Your Head Can Hurt You."
>
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