Translation as a Gap and as a Site of Creativity in the Films of Jim Jarmusch

TY - JOUR

T1 - Translation as a Gap and as a Site of Creativity in the Films of Jim Jarmusch

AU - Kapsaskis, Dionysios

PY - 2020/8/11

Y1 - 2020/8/11

N2 - In most of his films, director Jim Jarmusch portrays linguistic difference and the aporias of translation in order to convey states of alienation and miscommunication between his film characters. This article will argue that translation constitutes a key trope in Jarmusch’s work insofar as it appears not only in the guise of interlingual exchanges in the dialogue but also as a theme that informs the narratives and as a practice performed through the subtitling of dialogue. The theoretical implications of these uses of translation will be teased out drawing on recent literature at the intersection of film and translation and on Walter Benjamin’s theory of translation as a mechanism of cultural transformation. It will be argued that, for Jarmusch, the value of translation is in delineating a gap in communication which prompts the realisation, for both characters and audiences, that human interconnectedness takes place at a poetic level beyond language as a signifying system. The article will conclude by analysing a statement by Jarmusch on originality and filmmaking, where, it will be submitted, he discusses artistic creativity in translational terms. Translation for Jarmusch seems to demarcate a site of creativity that questions the standard paradigms of originality and authorship.© 2020, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. The attached document (embargoed until 11/02/2022) is an author produced version of a paper published in QUARTERLY REVIEW OF FILM AND VIDEO uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self-archiving policy. The final published version (version of record) is available online at the link. Some minor differences between this version and the final published version may remain. We suggest you refer to the final published version should you wish to cite from it.

AB - In most of his films, director Jim Jarmusch portrays linguistic difference and the aporias of translation in order to convey states of alienation and miscommunication between his film characters. This article will argue that translation constitutes a key trope in Jarmusch’s work insofar as it appears not only in the guise of interlingual exchanges in the dialogue but also as a theme that informs the narratives and as a practice performed through the subtitling of dialogue. The theoretical implications of these uses of translation will be teased out drawing on recent literature at the intersection of film and translation and on Walter Benjamin’s theory of translation as a mechanism of cultural transformation. It will be argued that, for Jarmusch, the value of translation is in delineating a gap in communication which prompts the realisation, for both characters and audiences, that human interconnectedness takes place at a poetic level beyond language as a signifying system. The article will conclude by analysing a statement by Jarmusch on originality and filmmaking, where, it will be submitted, he discusses artistic creativity in translational terms. Translation for Jarmusch seems to demarcate a site of creativity that questions the standard paradigms of originality and authorship.© 2020, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. The attached document (embargoed until 11/02/2022) is an author produced version of a paper published in QUARTERLY REVIEW OF FILM AND VIDEO uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self-archiving policy. The final published version (version of record) is available online at the link. Some minor differences between this version and the final published version may remain. We suggest you refer to the final published version should you wish to cite from it.

KW - Translation, linguistic difference, creativity, originality, Jarmusch

U2 - 10.1080/10509208.2020.1803690

DO - 10.1080/10509208.2020.1803690

M3 - Article

SN - 1050-9208

VL - 38

SP - 766

EP - 792

JO - Quarterly Review of Film and Video

JF - Quarterly Review of Film and Video

IS - 8

ER -