Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma: reflections on history and the fuzzy edges of translation

Gardner, N. (2022) Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma: reflections on history and the fuzzy edges of translation. Bulletin of Hispanic Studies, 99(10), pp. 935-950. (doi: 10.3828/bhs.2022.56)

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Abstract

This article reads Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma though the lens of translation. Reading the past as Cuarón’s source text, I consider three areas where the translated text (the film) displays fuzziness. These fuzzy aspects of the film are elements in which the translation of the past displays differences that reveal authorial comment and suggest readings that align with the personal rather than the universal. The three components that are scrutinized are the use of non-dominant languages in the Mexican context, the presence and absence of photographs (as well as the character’s engagement with them), and the readings that Roma’s monochrome presentation invites. The focus on fuzziness in the film invites the reader to consider how distance between the source text and the translated text is relevant in traditional and non-traditional translations and signals the challenges of representing the past through film, offering rich veins for analytical probing and discussion.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Gardner, Professor Nathanial
Authors: Gardner, N.
College/School:College of Arts & Humanities > School of Modern Languages and Cultures > Hispanic Studies
Journal Name:Bulletin of Hispanic Studies
Publisher:Liverpool University Press
ISSN:1475-3839
ISSN (Online):1478-3398
Published Online:12 November 2022

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