Since When Is Fran Drescher Jewish?: Dubbing Stereotypes in The Nanny, The Simpsons, and The Sopranos

176 Pages·2011·3.697 MB·English

by  Chiara Francesca Ferrari, Joseph Straubhaar

$55.00
s
i
n
c
e

w
h
e
n

i
s
“Since when is Fran Drescher Jewish?” This was Chiara Francesca Ferrari’s reac-
f
r
tion when she learned that Drescher’s character on the television sitcom The a
n
Nanny was meant to be a portrayal of a stereotypical Jewish American princess.
d
Ferrari had only seen the Italian version of the show, in which the protagonist r
e
s
was dubbed into an exotic, eccentric Italian American nanny. Since When Is Fran c dubbing stereotypes
Also of interest h Also of interest
Drescher Jewish? explores this “ventriloquism” as not only a textual and cultural e
transfer between languages but also as an industrial practice that helps the r in the nanny
LATIN POLITICS, GLOBAL MEDIA je YOUTH CULTURE IN GLOBAL CINEMA
media industry foster identification among varying audiences around the globe. w
Edited by Elizabeth Fox and Silvio Waisbord At the heart of this study is an in-depth exploration of three shows that is the simpsons Edited by Timothy Shary and Alexandra Seibel
h
“This book makes an important contribution in bringing moved from global to local, mapping stereotypes from both sides of the Atlantic ? and the sopranos Youth Culture in Global Cinema offers the first comprehen-
together a wide range of essays that address the relation in the process. Presented in Italy, for example, Groundskeeper Willie from sive investigation of how young people are portrayed in
between globalizing media industries and the state in con- The Simpsons is no longer a belligerent, alcoholic Scotsman but instead easily film around the world. Eighteen established film scholars
since when is
temporary Latin America. The contributors are very solid, becomes a primitive figure from Sardinia. Ironically, The S opranos— a show built from eleven different national backgrounds discuss a
very deeply knowledgeable about the countries they are around Italian Americans— was carefully repositioned by Italian TV executives, wide range of films that illuminate the varied conditions
addressing; this is an impressive assemblage of expertise who erased the word “mafia” and all regional references to Sicily. The result of in which youth live. The essays are grouped thematically
from across the region.” Ferrari’s three case studies is evidence that “Otherness” transcends translation, fran drescher around the issues of youthful resistance and rebellion;
—Daniel C. Hallin, Professor of Communication and as the stereotypes produced by the American entertainment industry are simply f cultural and national identity, including religion and poli-
e
Political Science, University of California, San Diego replaced by other stereotypes in foreign markets. As American television studios r tics; and sexual maturation, including gender distinctions
r
a
ISBN 978-0-292-72537-9, paperback continue to attempt to increase earnings by licensing their shows abroad, Since r and coming-of-age queer. Some essays engage in close
When Is Fran Drescher Jewish? illuminates the significant issues of identity i jewish? readings of films, while others examine the advertising
raised by this ever-growing marketplace, along with the intriguing messages and reception of films or investigate psychological issues.
The volume concludes with filmographies of over 700
that lie in the larger realm of audiovisual cultural exchange.
youth-related titles arranged by nation and theme.
CHIARA FRANCESCA FERRARI is Assistant Professor in the Department of
ISBN 978-0-292-71414-4, paperback
Communication Design at California State University, Chico. F O R E W O R D B Y J O S E P H S T R A U B H A A R
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS PRESS www.utexaspress.com 800.252.3206
ISBN 978-0-292-72315-3 $55.00
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS PRESS, AUSTIN Printed in U.S.A. Texas
chiara francesca ferrari
Since When Is Fran Drescher Jewish?
FFeerrrraarrii--ffiinnaall..iinnddbb ii 99//2288//1100 77::5511::0088 PPMM
THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK
Since When Is
Fran Drescher Jewish?
The Nanny,
Dubbing Stereotypes in
The Simpsons, The Sopranos
and
CHIARA FRANCESCA FERRARI
FOREWORD BY JOSEPH STRAUBHAAR
University of Texas Press Austin
FFeerrrraarrii--ffiinnaall..iinnddbb iiiiii 99//2288//1100 77::5511::1144 PPMM
Copyright © 2010 by the University of Texas Press
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
First edition, 2010
Requests for permission to reproduce material from this work should be sent to:
Permissions
University of Texas Press
P.O. Box 7819
Austin, TX 78713-7819
www.utexas.edu/utpress/about/bpermission.html
○∞ The paper used in this book meets the minimum requirements of ansi/niso
z39.48-1992 (r1997) (Permanence of Paper).
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ferrari, Chiara, 1975–
Since when is Fran Drescher Jewish? : dubbing stereotypes in The nanny, The
Simpsons, and The Sopranos / Chiara Francesca Ferrari ; foreword by Joseph
Straubhaar. — 1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-292-72315-3 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Minorities on television. 2. Stereotypes (Social psychology)
on television. 3. Ethnicity on television. 4. Dubbing of television
programs. 5. Foreign television programs—Social aspects—Italy. 6. Television
programs—Social aspects—United States. I. Title.
pn1992.8.m54f47 2011
302.230945—dc22
2010025058
An earlier version of Chapter 4 appeared as “Dubbing The Simpsons: Or How
Groundskeeper Willie Lost His Kilt in Sardinia,” Journal of Film and Video 61
(2009): 19– 37. © 2009 Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. Used with
permission of the University of Illinois Press.
FFeerrrraarrii--ffiinnaall..iinnddbb iivv 99//2288//1100 77::5511::1199 PPMM
Ai miei genitori, Franco e Cinzia, per avermi dato la libertà di
diventare ciò che volevo.
Ad Andrea . . . “che mai da me non fi a diviso.”
FFeerrrraarrii--ffiinnaall..iinnddbb vv 99//2288//1100 77::5511::2200 PPMM
THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK
Contents
Foreword by Joseph Straubhaar ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction. Since When Is Fran Drescher Jewish? 1
1. Nation in Translation: The (Im)Possibility of the Local? 11
2. Indigenizing Texts: Television Translation as
Cultural Ventriloquism 26
3. Dubbing Yiddish, Hidden Rabbi: The Nanny in Translation 52
4. Dubbing The Simpsons: Or How Groundskeeper Willie Lost His
Kilt in Sardinia 72
5. The Sopranos in Italy: Or “Why Should We Care? We Have the
Real Mafi a Here!” 100
Conclusion. Translating Stereotypes: The Cultural Politics of
Reformatting 127
Notes 133
Selected Bibliography 147
Index 159
FFeerrrraarrii--ffiinnaall..iinnddbb vviiii 99//2288//1100 77::5511::2200 PPMM
THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK
Foreword
In this book, Chiara Ferrari introduces us to a critical form of cultural
mediation that has largely been unnoticed in decades of debate about
the fl ow and impact of U.S. television in the world. Originally, in the
1970s, scholars and policy makers focused on the large, unbalanced out-
fl ow of television programs from the USA to the rest of the world. Those
programs were often assumed to have a substantial, direct impact, but
researchers who looked at that had a hard time substantiating that as-
sumption. Other researchers began to notice that many audiences began
to prefer programming from within their own nations or cultures, seem-
ingly lowering the threat posed by imported U.S. programming. Others
began to notice that audiences were not only active in making choices
but also in making meaning, interpreting U.S. programs in a way that
changed their original meaning. Others noted that there was something
of a counter-fl ow by other TV exporters like Japan, Mexico, and Brazil,
whose programs competed with those of the United States.
What went unobserved for a long time was a more detailed examina-
tion of the process by which U.S. programs were not only imported into
other countries but adapted and changed in the process. Here Dr. Fer-
rari makes a remarkably original contribution to these debates in inter-
national communication, global media studies, and cultural studies by
showing in a detailed but clear and lucid way just how much the pro-
cess of translation of U.S. programs into other languages and cultures
changed them in ways that alter the terms of all the debates and research
mentioned above. She shows just how much the process of both linguis-
tic and cultural translation of a program like The Nanny into Italian for
viewers there changed the content and meaning of the program.
In its Italian translation, the story of The Nanny is changed substan-
FFeerrrraarrii--ffiinnaall..iinnddbb iixx 99//2288//1100 77::5511::2211 PPMM