Have you ever felt identified with Una? Are there many clients like Æon?
Feel free to comment!
Andrea
PS: You can watch this episode here
It seems that there aren't many characters that work as translators in TV series or films. One reason could be that interpreting is more popular and dynamic to show and also, neither translators nor interpreters are needed when everyone in every point of the galaxy speaks or understand English! But surprisingly, there is animated sci-fi tv series from the ‘90s that shows quite faithfully how translators are perceived and what people expects from them, even though is set in a dystopian future. This series is called Æon Flux and it is still aired on MTV. In few words, the story is about a secret agent, Æon, whose mission is to stop any plan her enemy/lover, President Goodchild, has. Every chapter is a different story with an unpredictable ending (and a quite unusual character design as you can see). In the episode called Isthmus crypticus, Æon has the instructions to get to the place where Goodchild has imprisoned two creatures, the Seraph-Trevs, and she wants to rescue them. But the instructions are in another language, so she needs the help of Una, a translator. Una falls asleep before she starts translating, and when she wakes up, she starts panicking... Una didn’t meet the deadline, but she’s ready to negotiate a new one. However, Æon doesn’t negotiate. She asks Una to go with her and read the text while translating the instructions. Una starts translating but she makes some mistakes that sends Æon in the wrong direction, which annoys Æon and makes Una feel embarrased. Spoiler alert: at the end Una translates the instructions correctly.
Have you ever felt identified with Una? Are there many clients like Æon? Feel free to comment! Andrea PS: You can watch this episode here
2 Comments
valentina
9/12/2014 05:42:26 am
I haven't realized the lack of translators in films or series until you pointed out. Although, I think we are represented -or at least our job it is- in a different way mostly in adventure, horror and fantasy films, generally involving a very old hieroglyph and a person who can read it. The funny* or not so funny thing*is that the person isn’t a translator, but an expert in a certain culture or field which it’s something that happens a lot in our industry. -I mean does Una have a degree in translation or she just learned a language or a culture in general?-
Thank you for your comment, Valentina =) When I was writing this entry I couldn't remember any other character in any film/TV series that is actually seen translating (reading a text, using dictionaries, trying to figure out what the words mean and recording her voice). If you remember another one, please tell me!. Leave a Reply. |