Stuff from Class

Before I forget, here is my mother's website with her photography. It's www.carolmell.com. Hope you all get through finals! :)

Wrap Up 2

Dear Everyone,

Here's my last post. Has your perspective on the ethical nature of translating others' works of art changed? This can include historical, cultural, or other changes between a translation and an original. What works (you can refer to some outside of class, too) got you thinking about this and why?

How is art interconnected between genres and in history? When do you feel a translation is "stealing" someone's work versus "borrowing"? How much does the original work matter?

This seemed to be an area where there was some disagreement and a lot of good ideas, so I wanted to give everyone one last chance to discuss.

Thank you for the semester!
Laura

Wrap Up

Hi, everyone!

To wrap up the class for our final blog week, I'd like to ask you about the class as a whole. What did you learn/gain from this course? What translation did you like best/least and why? What did you like best overall? Least? Would you change anything about this class?

Have at it! :)

Owl City - Fireflies - ASL Song

The earlier post about Deaf poetry got me thinking about music and I felt the urge to share this video with those of you who might be interested. Altough signed music can sometimes be a touchy subject, it can also be very beautiful. This is "Fireflies" by Owl City, performed in sign language by Stephen Torrence.

Extra Post

Hello All!

Since this is our last week on the blog I wanted to ask you how your perspective on the translation of art has changed since being in this class. I know that this class has broadened my perspective on the translation of art, and I am interested in seeing how this class has affected your perspective! I know this is a pretty open ended question so have fun sharing your thoughts!

Looking forward to reading your posts!
-Priscilla

Deaf poetry

I am very interested in Sign language and Deaf culture, so I thought I would show you guys some Deaf poetry. Let me know what you think of this. The first link is a hearing man, so it's a little more accessible.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbtVepS53t0

This next clip is a man telling a poem about a two-faced friend, and it's entirely in ASL (American Sign Language.) Don't worry about trying to understand it, I am just curious about how a person might experience poetry differently when it is visual as opposed to auditory.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSiquwxJAa8&feature=related

Let me know your thoughts :)

Random post/ spoken word

Okay so I was stumbling, as so much of my free time is filled of, and I found this really great adaptation-like collaborative piece of the famous "I like big butts" song.
I thought it was really cool. I just happened to read it aloud to a friend and it ended up sounding like a quirky poem.

http://www.midwestsportsfans.com/2011/04/reddit-hilarious-i-like-big-butts-thread/

What do you guys think? I think these accidental collaborative pieces are great. I'm pretty sure no one was trying to make a poem out of it, each stanza just followed a pattern so it turned out that way. Did you guys think it sounded poetic or is it just funny changing the song around?

Happy blogging! :)

What Teachers Make

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxsOVK4syxU&feature=related

One of my music education professors showed this in class last semester. This is the inspiration that keeps me going.

(As annoying as Taylor Mali was in the documentary, he must be one heck of a teacher. )

What do you think?

Laura

Something I Found

OH MY GOSH you guys!
So, I'm a notorious "stumbler" (stumbleupon.com), and I stumbled upon this:

*Click image to make larger

Now, if Marcel Duchamp had just done this with the original, I totally would have got it. Instead, his cubist style down-right confused me :P

I just really wanted to show this to your guys and maybe see what you thought about it.

Kristie

Extra Blog Discussion

Hello All!

So I have a had a some nagging questions that I would like to ask you all. The questions were sparked by my work on my final project. I started imagining just how much I would enjoy seeing a quality translation of some of my favorite pieces of art. Obviously we all have a few favorite pieces of art, whether they be books, films, musical pieces, photographs, paintings, etc. So Question 1: Would you like to have one of your favorite art pieces translated? Describe the piece and explain why or why not. If your answer to the above question was no, pick another favorite art piece that you could imagine being translated. Question 2: What would be some of the challenges to translating your work? Question 3: What are some integral elements that you feel would be necessary to maintain integrity to the original work?

I look forward to hearing your responses! Happy blogging!
-Priscilla

Great Expectations?

Hey all!

So the other day, I was watching TV with some friends, and just so happens that the “Great Expectations” episode of South Park comes on. Coincidentally, I had just read the book in my last honors class, and was very surprised that despite the crudeness and obvious changes in script, it was a good translation! It got the point across, and represented the characters well.

For this weeks blog, I'd like you to watch the first couple of minutes of the show:

http://www.southparkstudios.com/full-episodes/s04e05-pip

and tell me what you think. Is this an acceptable for of translation? From a classical novel to...South Park? I know that children watch this show, so how would the translation affect them? What are your thoughts on it? The language, the accents, the characters? If you need a refresher on Great Expectations, or haven't read it, this website has the novel online, and reading the first one or two chapters should be enough!

http://www.online-literature.com/dickens/greatexpectations/1/

Rainbow Graffiti in Albuquerque

Something a little different this week.

Many of you may have seen the rainbow drippings on some buildings around ABQ, particularly in the downtown area.

To some it is seen as art. To others, however, it is vandalism.

What is your stance on this particular case? (You can check out this link to read an interview with the "artist" http://alibi.com/feature/33316/Rainbow-Warrior.html)

What are your feelings about graffiti in general?
Have any interesting stories?

I can't wait : )

Random Post

Hey all,
So I just looked at Marissa's post and got to thinking. Disney... We all know and grew up with the Disney Princesses and Princes. I'm sure we all have our favorites and even wish our own lives were fairy tales.
I had this discussion with my mother over Spring Break. We had just saw Disney Princess on Ice (Yes, be jealous :P), so we decided to watch a Disney movie when we got home. When looking at the selection of movies to choose from, I couldn't help but notice that Disney has made some very unsuccessful sequels to their already adapted works.
The Little Mermaid, taken from Hans Christian Andersen, continues with the Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea and even a third edition. Cinderella, coming from the Brothers Grimm, continues with Cinderella II: Dreams Come True and so on. There is Mulan II and Pocahontas II. After already adapting a story, Disney then makes sequels and tri-quels (is that even a word?).

So the discussion I had with my mother and want your input in on is: Is it ok for the adapter to continue the story and make sequels? Why have these Disney sequels been so unsuccessful?

Have fun with this, bring any other examples in ^_^

Happy posting,
Kristie

Spoken word poetry

Hey guys,

So I'm really into poetry, spoken word poetry really, and I wanted to share this clip with all of you. The clip is of a woman named Sarah Kay and she has been preforming spoken word poetry since she was 14 years old and began the V.O.I.C.E project which helps poetry and self-expression in schools.
Her poem "B" moved me to tears the first time I heard it (the first poem she preforms in the clip).

http://www.ted.com/talks/sarah_kay_if_i_should_have_a_daughter.html

I wanted to ask all of you, your opinions of her work. Would the impact have be different if you had read it on a page of paper rather than listened to her preform it? Do you think it makes a difference to actually see the performance rather than listen to it? Would it have been different to see it live? What did it make you think about or feel?

Have fun guys!

My Unexpected Post

I was stumbling around the internet when I came across this video. Nick Pitera, a Pixar animator, created a One man Disney Movie using songs from several different disney movies and singing the parts of the heroine, hero, sidekick, villian, and chorus. He sings the the female roles with startling skill (apparently, he has been featured on Ellen), and startling is the word for it; it is disconcerting. Now, I really liked it just because it entertained me. Then I found myself wondering what you guys might think about his presentation of these disney songs so here is the link: One Man Disney Movie http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zp1BYzIVi0U&feature=player_embedded

Sarah's Topic: Film vs. Stage Musicals

Hey everybody! I was going to wait until after class tonight to post my topic, but I figured it wasn't necessary and wanted to get it up here before I forget!

Since we're reading/watching "The Phantom of the Opera" this week, I thought we could talk about musicals. This will be the second musical we've encountered, "Wicked" being the first.

My question is, how do you think film productions of musicals differ than stage productions? What do we gain/lose from each medium? If you've seen "Phantom" live, how did your experience of the musical differ to when you watched the film? Do you prefer one to the other?

Do films add more to the story because they aren't limited by the confines of a stage, are able to employ greater special effects, etc.? Would you have preferred "Wicked" as a film? If you're tired of talking about "Wicked", think about other movie-musicals you may have seen and talk about those, especially if you've seen the stage production as well.

Happy discussing!

Whatever You Like - Ingrid Leask

Hi girls!!
I have one song, Whatever You Like.  One version is by T.I, the other by Anya Marina.  The official music video for T.I's version is edited, so there is no swearing, however the version by Anya is explicit. 
So, write what feelings you get from each? What do each of the songs communicate, even though they have the same lyrics?  Are they communicating anything different? How does a hip hop beat and the voice of a male change the meaning of the song, versus an acoustic version with a female voice? What about the visual aspects of the music videos and the actors in each?
The links are below:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6INLzQaWask

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQJACVmankY


Have a good week girls :) 

Free Reign In Your Own Hands

Hello everyone!

So, I've decided to spice up the blog posting this week. I feel we've discussed many aspects of translating original works into different media, yet we haven't explored this idea by doing it ourselves. I feel to fully understand what it entails we should practice what we preach!

I thought it would be neat if we translated any of the works we've covered in class, just so we would all be on the same page, into our own interpretations. Particularly, I had poetry in mind but the purpose of this exercise is freedom of expression so go with whatever you feel. After your translation if you could just give a quick overview of your inspiration for the piece that would be great!

For example, I'll begin with a haiku:

S.O.L

Strange to family

Outcast from society

Left to be WICKED

I loved Maguire's central message within the novel Wicked, putting forth the question of what is evil and how is it "born". Overall, he answered this very question posed by Elphaba with the novel's plot showing that life events mold a person into what society has labeled them. This was my inspiration for the haiku.

Everyone in this class is super creative can't wait to read what you all write!!

Aubrey

Involvment in their Adaptations

In these couple of weeks of class, we have had the chance to read several interesting works and evaluate their adaptations.
We all are aware that Gregory Maguire sold the rights of his novel and gave full creative reign to the producers of the musical. On the other hand, Arthur Miller was more involved in making the adaptation to his play. Similarly... We never got to have our discussion on 300, so I did a little research on my own. Did any of you notice how closely the movie followed the graphic novel? In fact, Frank Miller not only was the author and illustrator of 300 but also helped produced the movie!
So my questions are:
1. How important is it for the originator to be involved in on the making of the adaptation?
2. Does this involvement make the adaptation better or worse?
and...
3. Is it ok for the originator to NOT be involved (much like Maguire)?

Why Translate?

We’ve talked a lot about what makes a “good” translation, which translations we like/dislike and why, and we’ve touched on what a translation does to our perceptions of original works. I think the change in perceptions of original works is really interesting, especially after my experience with the Wizard of Oz and Wicked. I started to wonder what possessed Maguire to write a “spin off” of the original idea; why did he choose this type of fiction writing as opposed to a completely original work? (I’m not saying Wicked isn’t original, but it’s not completely his.) So, here’s my question(s): Why do you think people translate works? Is there a purpose (cultural etc.) to making an original print work into a visual work? And, (so this isn’t such a dry topic, sorry guys) can you think of examples?

Interpretations of novels

I have heard many say that the translation of Wicked from a novel to a Broadway musical was not appropriate for the novel because of the darkness and theme of the book. I was wondering, what qualities must a novel have to be successfully transformed into a musical or play? Why do you think that it is necessary to have these qualities? If the novel doesn't have these qualities, what type of adaptation is more suited for that book? (movies, TV series, comics, etc.) What are some examples that you have seen successfully made into a musical or play? Thanks! I am excited to see what you all think! :)

Preference

Recently I heard someone mention a quote from the film theorist Bela Balazs, saying that "one may perhaps make a good film out of a bad novel, but never out of a good one." The idea that really good books have some sort of hard-to-catch something that makes them a little extra stubborn when it comes time to move into another form appealed to me, even though it is far too absolute of a statement to really feel true. I was thinking about it, though, and I wondered how much truth there is in that line of thinking. I can't count the number of times I have heard someone say that "the book is better than the movie". After all, there really are very few movie or stage adaptations that I prefer to the original work, when I have been exposed to both (although Wicked is now on that list).
So, what do you think? Do good books make the transition into a different medium with more difficulty? What are some instances where you have preferred an adaptation to the original and vice versa? Is that preference based on how “good” the source material was to begin with, or does it have more to do with how much you personally care for the source work?

Versions of Wicked

I know we were all a little surprised at how different Wicked the book and Wicked the play are. I was wondering if people thought that a play that followed the book more closely would work on the stage or if the format of the book would be too difficult to transfer to the stage. If you were to include different scenes or themes or change some aspects of the musical what would they be? I read yesterday that ABC is planning to make a tv mini series that is based only on the book. Would this be a more suitable medium for the book's content? Are there other example's of adaptations that worked better in one medium( like a play) than in another(a movie or tv show)?

Post from Tara

Hi Everyone!
So due to all of the weather across the country I am actually stuck back east at the moment! But I thought that we could maybe touch on a sort of different topic today. In one of my other classes, we are reading a book that has been translated from the original french- its actually for Ed DeSantis's class, "A Phenomenology of Love", called "The Erotic Phenomenon". Anyways, while we were discussing the text itself, I noticed a lot of people complaining about the style of writing and how lengthy and complex the sentences were. However, having spoken french for about 10 years now, I recognized the slower and more eloquent style of writing and had no trouble reading it at all. I suppose my question is this, do you think that translating works from one language to another drastically changes the way that the piece is interpreted by the reader? Or does the work usually keep it's tone, as was my experience with "The Erotic Phenomenon"?
Can't wait to see everyone's thoughts!!
-Tara

The Other Side

Bonjour!

As I am sure that all of you know Wicked is the the story of the wicked witch of the west from the "Wizard of Oz". Many times stories are translated to tell the same story from another characters point of view. Stories also get adapted to focus on specific aspects or characters that may have not been touched on in the original work. What purpose does hearing the same story from another characters point of view serve? Does getting more background information on a certain character help or hurt the way they are portrayed in an original work? Give examples of other stories that are told from another characters point of view or characters that were taken from an original work and had their stories told outside of that original work.

Age and Translation

Hello All!

I wanted to take this opportunity to go off of a questions that I brought up under another post. I questioned whether the age of the original work was correlated with amount of artistic licenses available to the translator. For example older original works like Shakespeare and even religious texts, seem to lead to many translations varying in their maintenance of the original work. We probably have all seen The Lion King, which is the Disney, cartoon version of Hamlet. Though the themes and characters may be similar, the overall stories, settings, etc. are vastly different. On the other hand you have original works that were created much more recently, like the Harry Potter series; it seems to me that these books had a much more restricted range of interpretations that were deemed acceptable.

So my questions on this subject are
1. Do you think there is a distinction between the artistic license taken for works of different ages? What examples do you have to support your opinion?
2. If you think there is a difference or have seen differences, why do imagine those differences exist? (this question is a bit like trying to get into the heads of the translators, but sometimes that can be were we discover the coolest stuff!)

If you would prefer to discuss something else that is still related to the topic
3. What do you think qualifies as a translation of the original? Example: Is Lion King not a true translation of Hamlet? Why or why not?

Translating History into a Romance

Hi girls,

So while watching 300, I realized that there is a little emphasis put on the love between Leonidas & his queen. This reminded me of two other movies based on historical events with romances intertwined, Pearl Harbor and Titanic. Now, why do you think a director would add a love story into a movie that deals with something as important as our history? Do you think this in some way prevents the viewer from understanding the whole story? Maybe in order to fit the whole romance the director might cut the translation of the historical event short. Or does this enhance the viewers perspective of the event? Allowing us to see how certain people were affected. Or maybe it does both or neither. What do you think? I can't wait to see all of your opinions!! (try to be specific on how translating a historical event into a romantic movie enhances or worsens that certain event)

Revised Blog Schedule

Hello, all!

Just a quick little housekeeping note--Sarah Salvo had to drop the course, so I have moved Ingrid's week to post to hers (so, instead of Aubrey and Ingrid posting on February 23rd, it will just be Aubrey and then Ingrid will post on March 2).

Thanks!

Creativity in Translating

Hi Everyone!

One of the things I want to explore this semester is how a person who "translates" a work from one artistic medium to another uses his or her creative license. Often the translator takes some license and changes parts of the original story. Also, adding visual or audio stimuli often changes meaning on some level even when the story isn't changed much. But a lot of times he or she has to be creative in order to figure out how to portray something that works well in one form of art to another. For example, how does someone compress a novel onto the stage where there are space and time constraints?

For my post this week, you can elaborate on how you have seen creativity in some kind of adaptation. Or talk about some adaptation you really loved or really hated. : )

As for me, I really love both the novel and musical adaptation of Les Misérables. Although they cut out a lot for the musical (like the history of sewers in France!), I felt like it caught the essence of the story. The production used a rotating stage for quick set changes and to show motion. The music itself is absolutely beautiful, and it's through-composed with very little dialogue. If you have seen it, feel free to talk about what you thought too!

Anyway, thanks for taking this class! I'm excited for the semester!

Laura

Blog Posts

Hello, everyone!

Below is the blog schedule for everyone's info:

January 26: Priscilla and Perla
February 2: Tara and Ife
February 9: Marissa and Emma
February 16: Candace and Rachelle
February 23: Aubrey and Ingrid
March 2: Sarah S.
March 9: No blog (spring break)
March 16: No blog (spring break)
March 23: Sarah P.
March 30: Lindsey
April 6: Kami
April 13: Claudia
April 20: Holly
April 27: Kathryn and Laura