Title: When seeing and hearing do not help: communication failures in Canadian films
Source document: Brno studies in English. 2013, vol. 39, iss. 2, pp. [137]-155
Extent
[137]-155
-
ISSN0524-6881 (print)1805-0867 (online)
Persistent identifier (DOI): https://doi.org/10.5817/BSE2013-2-9
Stable URL (handle): https://hdl.handle.net/11222.digilib/130314
Type: Article
Language
License: Not specified license
Notice: These citations are automatically created and might not follow citation rules properly.
Abstract(s)
In Canadian cinematography, with its Anglophone and Francophone branches and rich new currents from other cultures, the interest in communication gaps and failures is enormous, although the filmmakers mostly deal with them in global and universal communication contexts. This article examines various aspects of miscommunication through subtitles and focuses on the problems of monolingual people in a foreign-language environment, either in a foreign country (as in Peter Mettler's Tectonic Plates) or in a different part of their native country (the frustration of English-speaking people in Francophone Québec in Denis Villeneuve's "Le Technétium" and Patricia Rozema's Desperanto). In this context, the article explores the unreliability of human sight and hearing and investigates the roles and possibilities of various forms of nonlinguistic, especially visual communication, as presented in Atom Egoyan's En Passant (Passing Through) and Mettler's Tectonic Plates.
Note
This article was written within the project CZ.1.07/2.3.00/20.068 "Representing of the Past: New Methods of History Interpretation in Arts and Media," co-financed by the European Social Fund and the state budget of the Czech Republic.
References
[1] Caquard, Sébastien, Daniel Naud, and Benjamin Wright (2014) "Mapping Film Audiences in Multicultural Canada: Examples from the Cybercartographic Atlas of Canadian Cinema." In: Hallam, Julia and Les Roberts (eds.) Locating the Moving Image: New Approaches to Film and Place. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 130–49.
[2] Dennis Dake (2011) "Aesthetics Theory." In: Smith, Ken, Sandra Moriarty, Gretchen Barbatsis and Keith Kenney (eds.) Handbook of Visual Communication: Theory, Methods, and Media. New York: Routledge, 3–22.
[3] Egoyan, Atom, dir. (1991) En passant. Montréal vu par… Dir. Denys Arcand, Michel Brault, Atom Egoyan, Jacques Leduc, Léa Pool, and Patricia Rozema. Atlantis Alliance Vivafilm; Cinémaginaire, 2002. VHS.
[4] Egoyan, Atom, and Ian Balfour (2004) Introduction. Subtitles: On the Foreignness of Film. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press; Alphabet City Media, 21–30.
[5] Giannetti, Louis (2013) Understanding Movies. 13th edition. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
[6] Giri, Vijai N. (2009) "Nonverbal Communication Theories." In: Littlejohn, Stephen W. and Karen A. Foss (eds.) Encyclopedia of Communication Theory. Los Angeles: SAGE, 690–94.
[7] Gullberg, Marianne, Leah Roberts, Christine Dimroth, Kim Veroude, and Peter Indefrey (2010) "Adult Language Learning After Minimal Exposure to an Unknown Natural Language." Language Learning 60. Suppl. 2 (December 2010), 5–24. | DOI 10.1111/j.1467-9922.2010.00598.x
[8] Hays, Matt (2006) "Producer of the Year: Bon Cop's Kevin Tierney." Playback, 18 Dec 2006. http://playbackonline.ca/2006/12/18/tierney-20061218/.
[9] Langer, Suzanne (1953) Feeling and Form: A Theory of Art Developed from Philosophy in a New Key. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.
[10] Leeds-Hurwitz, Wendy (2009) "Semiotics and Semiology." In: Littlejohn, Stephen W. and Karen A. Foss (eds.) Encyclopedia of Communication Theory. Los Angeles: SAGE, 874–76.
[11] Lefebvre, Jean Pierre, dir. (1969) Jusqu'au coeur. National Film Board of Canada, 1969. Film.
[12] Mettler, Peter, dir. (1992) Tectonic Plates. Rhombus Media; Hauer Rawlence Productions; Bullfrog Films, [n.d.]. DVD.
[13] Naficy, Hamid (2004) "Epistolarity and Textuality in Accented Film." Subtitles: On the Foreignness of Film. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press; Alphabet City Media, 131–51.
[14] Ong, Walter J. (1967) The Presence of the Word: Some Prolegomena for Cultural and Religious History. New Haven: Yale University Press.
[15] Peirce, Charles (1982) The Writings of Charles S. Peirce: A Chronological Edition. Ed. Peirce Edition Project. Vol. 2. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
[16] Percy, Walker (1984) Lost in the Cosmos: The Last Self-Help Book. 1983. New York: Washington Square Press.
[17] Percy, Walker (1993) "Interview on Worldnet." By Claude Richard, Simone Vauthier, Jean Rouberol, and Regis Durand. More Conversations with Walker Percy. Ed. Lewis A. Lawson and Victor A. Kramer. Jackson: University of Mississippi Press, 156–68.
[18] Romney, Jonathan (2003) Atom Egoyan. London: British Film Institute.
[19] Rozema, Patricia, dir. (1991) Desperanto, or Let Sleeping Girls Lie. Montréal vu par… Dir. Denys Arcand, Michel Brault, Atom Egoyan, Jacques Leduc, Léa Pool, and Patricia Rozema. Atlantis Alliance Vivafilm; Cinémaginaire, 2002. VHS.
[20] Rozema, Patricia (2004) "Little Life Lines in 'Desperanto'" Subtitles: On the Foreignness of Film. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press; Alphabet City Media, 65–67.
[21] Sand, George (2009) Letters of George Sand (in Three Volumes), Vol. III. 1886. Trans. Raphaël Ledos de Beaufort. New York: Cosimo.
[22] Sandler, Wendy and Diane Lillo-Martin (2006) Sign Language and Linguistic Universals. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[23] Shoham, Shlomo Giora (2006) Society of the Absurd: A Sociology of Conflictual Encounters. Second revised and expanded edition. Brighton: Sussex Academic Press.
[24] Sinha, Amresh (2004) "The Use and Abuse of Subtitles." Subtitles: On the Foreignness of Film. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press; Alphabet City Media, 171–90.
[25] Smith, Mark M. (2007) Sensory History. Oxford: Berg.
[26] Villeneuve, Denis, dir. (1996) "Le Technétium." Cosmos. Dir. Jennifer Alleyn, Manon Briand, Marie-Julie Dallaire, Arto Paragamian, André Turpin, and Denis Villeneuve. Max Films Productions. Film.
[2] Dennis Dake (2011) "Aesthetics Theory." In: Smith, Ken, Sandra Moriarty, Gretchen Barbatsis and Keith Kenney (eds.) Handbook of Visual Communication: Theory, Methods, and Media. New York: Routledge, 3–22.
[3] Egoyan, Atom, dir. (1991) En passant. Montréal vu par… Dir. Denys Arcand, Michel Brault, Atom Egoyan, Jacques Leduc, Léa Pool, and Patricia Rozema. Atlantis Alliance Vivafilm; Cinémaginaire, 2002. VHS.
[4] Egoyan, Atom, and Ian Balfour (2004) Introduction. Subtitles: On the Foreignness of Film. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press; Alphabet City Media, 21–30.
[5] Giannetti, Louis (2013) Understanding Movies. 13th edition. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
[6] Giri, Vijai N. (2009) "Nonverbal Communication Theories." In: Littlejohn, Stephen W. and Karen A. Foss (eds.) Encyclopedia of Communication Theory. Los Angeles: SAGE, 690–94.
[7] Gullberg, Marianne, Leah Roberts, Christine Dimroth, Kim Veroude, and Peter Indefrey (2010) "Adult Language Learning After Minimal Exposure to an Unknown Natural Language." Language Learning 60. Suppl. 2 (December 2010), 5–24. | DOI 10.1111/j.1467-9922.2010.00598.x
[8] Hays, Matt (2006) "Producer of the Year: Bon Cop's Kevin Tierney." Playback, 18 Dec 2006. http://playbackonline.ca/2006/12/18/tierney-20061218/.
[9] Langer, Suzanne (1953) Feeling and Form: A Theory of Art Developed from Philosophy in a New Key. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.
[10] Leeds-Hurwitz, Wendy (2009) "Semiotics and Semiology." In: Littlejohn, Stephen W. and Karen A. Foss (eds.) Encyclopedia of Communication Theory. Los Angeles: SAGE, 874–76.
[11] Lefebvre, Jean Pierre, dir. (1969) Jusqu'au coeur. National Film Board of Canada, 1969. Film.
[12] Mettler, Peter, dir. (1992) Tectonic Plates. Rhombus Media; Hauer Rawlence Productions; Bullfrog Films, [n.d.]. DVD.
[13] Naficy, Hamid (2004) "Epistolarity and Textuality in Accented Film." Subtitles: On the Foreignness of Film. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press; Alphabet City Media, 131–51.
[14] Ong, Walter J. (1967) The Presence of the Word: Some Prolegomena for Cultural and Religious History. New Haven: Yale University Press.
[15] Peirce, Charles (1982) The Writings of Charles S. Peirce: A Chronological Edition. Ed. Peirce Edition Project. Vol. 2. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
[16] Percy, Walker (1984) Lost in the Cosmos: The Last Self-Help Book. 1983. New York: Washington Square Press.
[17] Percy, Walker (1993) "Interview on Worldnet." By Claude Richard, Simone Vauthier, Jean Rouberol, and Regis Durand. More Conversations with Walker Percy. Ed. Lewis A. Lawson and Victor A. Kramer. Jackson: University of Mississippi Press, 156–68.
[18] Romney, Jonathan (2003) Atom Egoyan. London: British Film Institute.
[19] Rozema, Patricia, dir. (1991) Desperanto, or Let Sleeping Girls Lie. Montréal vu par… Dir. Denys Arcand, Michel Brault, Atom Egoyan, Jacques Leduc, Léa Pool, and Patricia Rozema. Atlantis Alliance Vivafilm; Cinémaginaire, 2002. VHS.
[20] Rozema, Patricia (2004) "Little Life Lines in 'Desperanto'" Subtitles: On the Foreignness of Film. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press; Alphabet City Media, 65–67.
[21] Sand, George (2009) Letters of George Sand (in Three Volumes), Vol. III. 1886. Trans. Raphaël Ledos de Beaufort. New York: Cosimo.
[22] Sandler, Wendy and Diane Lillo-Martin (2006) Sign Language and Linguistic Universals. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[23] Shoham, Shlomo Giora (2006) Society of the Absurd: A Sociology of Conflictual Encounters. Second revised and expanded edition. Brighton: Sussex Academic Press.
[24] Sinha, Amresh (2004) "The Use and Abuse of Subtitles." Subtitles: On the Foreignness of Film. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press; Alphabet City Media, 171–90.
[25] Smith, Mark M. (2007) Sensory History. Oxford: Berg.
[26] Villeneuve, Denis, dir. (1996) "Le Technétium." Cosmos. Dir. Jennifer Alleyn, Manon Briand, Marie-Julie Dallaire, Arto Paragamian, André Turpin, and Denis Villeneuve. Max Films Productions. Film.