Lost In Translation - LIT

So much of our reality is founded on communication, literal, verbal, silent, body language that fills in the gaps and completes the information we are trying to transfer to another. Because of the importance this is to us an entire profession has been created to not only teach communication techniques but even more money is spent trying to decipher what people are saying.

If you doubt this just look at politics and anything remotely cloak and dagger'ish.

This is also true in any part of the entertainment industry (where there business is supposed to be communication). Which is what prompted this post. . .

In re-dub' a film from one language to another certain latitude is allowed not only for the translation (words) but also the performance (acting/voice over - just depends on the film). It's in this world that a movie will either succeed in crossing over or fail miserably.

The edge is double sided and sharp to say the least and the costs can be staggering, but then so are the rewards if it is done right. My problem is this though - how much can you lose in translation and still have it be the same movie?

Over the past while I've noticed in many movies the story line is tainted, changed and in many ways lacking. Things that many might not notice are lost in translation or just omitted, and that is just between the english dub' and subtitles - I'm not even considering the cultural nuances.

In someways it becomes an entirely new movie. Still it is better than politics when you are missing the cipher to translate the double-talk and find what they are really saying is just slightly more than nothing at all.