The past several decades have seen the rapid popularization of environmentalist movements. These movements have had a strong influence on popular entertainment, and have spawned a myriad of books,...Show moreThe past several decades have seen the rapid popularization of environmentalist movements. These movements have had a strong influence on popular entertainment, and have spawned a myriad of books, films and TV series.During the same time period the art of animation has also emerged as one of the most profitable media genres and as a powerful means for reaching millions of young children and their families. These representations of environmentalism have received attention from academia, however coverage of productions lying outside of the mainstream films from Disney, Pixar and the Japanese Studio Ghibli remains rather scarce. Furthermore, previous studies have primarily focused on the environmentalist discourse manifested in singular films, which does allow for an in-depth analysis of the work itself, but does not permit for more widely applicable conclusions to be drawn, such as through a comparative analysis of Western and Japanese animation.Thus the research question that this thesis attempts to provide an answer to is “how do approaches to environmentalist discourse in Japanese and non-Japanese animated films/television series compare to each other and what are the implications for the entertainment industry as a tool to disseminate such discourses?”For this purpose it analyses the contemporary state of environmentalism in the West and in Japan. Afterwards several case studies are performed and conclusions are reached that there are specific ways in which nature and environmentalist discourse are portrayed in the West and in Japan, and that they have significant implications for the industry.Show less
Song translation is one of the most difficult forms of translation (Susam-Sarajeva, 2008). In addition to the semantic code, translators have to take account of prosodic, poetic, rhythmic, and...Show moreSong translation is one of the most difficult forms of translation (Susam-Sarajeva, 2008). In addition to the semantic code, translators have to take account of prosodic, poetic, rhythmic, and audial codes, to name but a few. Di Giovanni (2008) and Chaume (2012) add to this list the visual code, which is not only prevalent in film or musical, but also in popular music (Kaindl, 2005) and other live performance music genres (Low, 2005). The combination of all these factors contribute to establish some exceedingly severe limitations for song translators. Despite that, however, it is a surprisingly well-established fact that audiovisual translation in general, and song translation in particular, are relatively new and usually ignored areas of research (Franzon, 2008; Mateo, 2008; Susam-Sarajeva, 2008; Siitonen, 2014). Susam-Sarajeva, in the introduction to her 2008 special issue of The Translator, explains that one of the reasons of this is the relative difficulty and craftsmanship that song translation requires, as song translators should not only be near-fluent in both languages, but also have an extensive knowledge of music or drama theory. Another reason is that the field is somewhat outside the borders of traditional translation studies. A third objection may be that in song translation, the borders between translation, adaptation, and rewriting are not as clear-cut as in most other forms of translation. Whatever the exact reasons, however, to date only three major collections seem to have been published on the subject: Songs and Significance, a book of collected articles edited by Gorlée (2005); the aforementioned special issue of The Translator dedicated to music (Susam-Sarajeva, 2008); and Music, Text and Translation, a text book edited by Minors (2013) with chapters by different translation scholars active in the field. This is not to say that there are no other sources, or that the field was only established in 2005 (indeed, articles on the subject have been appearing since the early 20th century [Gorlée, 2005; Kaindl, 2005]), but research has traditionally been quite sparse.Show less
