[Mis]understanding Dubbing
Wikipedia.org explains what seems to be the sad reality of the infamous practice of dubbing: “Foreign-language films and videos are often dubbed into the local language of their target markets to increase their popularity with the local audience by making them more accessible.” The article peppers the technical definition with criticism and defense, including some references to its use as a tool for censorship.
Beyond any deep judgments, dubbing offers an interesting experiment on the semiotics of cinema. By breaking the medium into an awkward combination of body, voice, and language, dubbed films present themselves as some kind of visual lego to be assembled in the spectator’s mind.
There is noise in the assembly process of dubbed films, the communication does not flow seamlessly and is interrupted by unavoidable errors derived from cultural contradictions, physical limitations (e.g. trying to fit lengthy Spanish-language dialogues in the swift modulation of American actors), and the substitution of the voice.
When confronted with Tom Cruise speaking perfect Spanish, the audience is inevitably forced to deal with a huge cultural incongruence that is amplified by the fact that Cruise’s voice might be too similar or even the same as Brad Pitt’s (dubbed) voice. Two or more real actors often times share the same dubbed voice, charging the substitute voice with intense connotations derived from the actor it represents. The end result is a constant reminder of the film per se that contradicts the very nature of cinema.
The dubbed actress, stripped from her voice, brings back the medium to a strange limbo between silent films and the modern era. The actress is not real; her acting is not complete without her voice. This situation transforms her into a container ready to receive the wealth of meaning embedded in the dubbed voice. She becomes the host of an alien element that redefines her as a person as well as an actress, distorting the character that she represents in the process.
Guillermo Cabrera Infante deals with dubbing in one of his essays published in Cine o Sardina. His excellent prose lets a very sharp argument cut through our intellect leaving a strong bias against dubbed films. The author exposes the politics behind dubbing rendering the need for translation as a mere excuse to ensure proper government control (via censorship). In Cabrera Infante’s eyes, dubbing also exposes stereotypes and plain racism, which can be easily uncovered by just listening to the voices that dub black actors in certain circumstances. The essay is rich in anecdotes and has a unique way of educating us on the nuances of dubbing, confirming its importance as a semiotic experiment which, at the end, might very well justify its existence.
Here are some dubbed clips from Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting to illustrate the point while celebrating the film's tenth anniversary.