Translaboration in a film context: Stanley Kubrick’s collaborative approach to translation

Serenella Zanotti
Roma Tre University

This study explores the notion of translaboration in the context of audiovisual translation using Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket (1987) as a case study. Specifically, it explores the dynamics of translaboration in the Italian version of Kubrick’s film by drawing on archival methods and sources to examine the material traces left by the translation process. The study aims to unveil the translaborative dimension that characterized Kubrick’s approach to film translation, pointing to the specificity of a collaborative interaction in which one participant holds ultimate authority. Findings gleaned from translation-related material in the Stanley Kubrick Archive (University of the Arts, London) are combined with insights from working documents found among the personal papers of Riccardo Aragno, who translated Kubrick’s last five films into Italian for both dubbing and subtitling. Archival documents show that Kubrick was involved in collaborative work with his translators, sometimes adopting an interventionist approach.

Publication history

Date received: 9 May 2020

Date accepted: 10 May 2020

Published online: 1 July 2020

Table of contents

Film translation is a context where forms of collaboration are particularly prominent. As Nornes (2007, 221) reminds us, in dubbing the “translator” is in fact a collective entity rather than an individual, comprising “the team of technicians, translators and actors” who all take part in the process. In subtitling, where significantly fewer agents are involved in decision-making, translators are nevertheless “a link in a chain” (Díaz-Cintas and Remael 2007, 81). Di Giovanni (2016, 6) also highlights this collaboration in pointing out that “subtitlers hardly ever work alone on the linguistic operations involved in the overall subtitling process,” as the workflow entails at least two stages, one of which involves the intervention of proofreaders who revise the main translator’s work and who may impose a different interpretation of the source text.

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References

Filmography

Kubrick, Stanley
1971 A Clockwork Orange. UK and USA: Polaris Production, Hawk Films.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
1987 Full Metal Jacket. USA and UK: Hawk Films.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
①
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Archival sources

Continuity and Spotting List
Full Metal Jacket. The Stanley Kubrick Archive. The University of the Arts, London. SK/16/4/2/12.
Audiocassette
Scotch 6090m. Riccardo Aragno Papers. Private collection.
Sony HF 60. Riccardo Aragno Papers. Private collection.
Sony HF 120. Riccardo Aragno Papers. Private collection.
Corrected subtitles
Full Metal Jacket. The Stanley Kubrick Archive. The University of the Arts, London. SK/16/4/2/19.
Final dubbing script
Full Metal Jacket. The Stanley Kubrick Archive. The University of the Arts, London. SK/16/8/6/13.
French subtitles
Full Metal Jacket. The Stanley Kubrick Archive. The University of the Arts, London. SK/16/4/2/17.
Italian subtitles – first draft
Full Metal Jacket. The Stanley Kubrick Archive. The University of the Arts, London. SK/16/5/3/42.
Italian dubbing script – first draft
Full Metal Jacket. The Stanley Kubrick Archive. The University of the Arts, London. SK/16/4/2/19.

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