All three of today’s articles discuss the importance of dubbing and dubbing culture across the world, specifically in reference to many people who identify as queer across the world. It is interesting, because most of what is understood about dubbing is the translation of language for shows so that different audiences can understand, like in an anime or a foreign-based show. In this context, there is two sorts of dubbing, there is one that is found from international media that is introduced to the native culture, as in Boellstorf’s “dubbing culture”, and the dubbing found when one lives in a foreign country but uses native cultures, as found in Manalansan IV’s “The Borders between Bakla and Gay”. In both cases, there is something that is lost when something is translated from one culture to another.
Dubbing essentially translates the audio of something into something that is easier to understand for others in another culture. One of the many things that happens when shows are dubbed is that the original meaning of the words are lost, especially in terms of idioms and phrasing that makes everything easier to understand, as they are appropriated to the culture that they are translated to. That is essentially what happens in Indonesia when terms of mass media such as lesbi and gay are used in Indonesia. They are words that are found in globalized culture, from the Western world into the Indonesian culture. However, they are not accepted into Indonesian society. Even though most of the words come from ideas from Western nations, they are made to work in the more local setting, especially as those are terms that are not typically understood until after the people are exposed to mass media and understand those terms. They are foreing in a sense of the country that they are introduced to, and they are different because they are not used in the common society of Indonesia. There is also the danger of “Indonesianized'' items of Western cultures, as Boellstorf states, as people adopt more Western
values that can alienate them from the rest of the family. This is interesting because of the ideas of society that are found, these words exclude people and they create a new form of representation that is stated, but does not change the identity as Boellstorf explains within the article. It also seems that using these terms excludes them from society,especially those in lower socioeconomic studies. It is similar to what was discussed in “Turbo Consumers in Paradise” that we read earlier this year. While this is not the same case as the relationships that are had between gay Brazilian men and American consumers, this is similar in the manner that being a part of the gay world in Indonesia ostracizes you into a state of non-acceptance from Indonesian society as it is rare to use such terms and explain yourself in that way, and people are less willing to use terms that feminizes them.
Then there is the issue of translation, where the culture that someone is introduced to is different from the culture that is native to them. That is the case for Filipinos that are in the US who are queer. They see the Western ideals of queerness, which involves proclaiming their sexuality, and pride parades which involve a lot of people and noise. While they identify themselves as queer, they do not view themselves as needing to proclaim their sexuality to all of the world. Last month was pride month, and one of the hallmarks of pride month are the pride parades that take place all over the country. To those who are queer, those with a “feminine heart” as the term bakla seems to suggest in Filipino, most do not feel the need to “come out” or “unfurl the cape” or nagladlad. It is something that is neither accepted, nor denied, as Manalansan describes. There is not a need to make it dramatic as there is an understanding within the family about the person’s sexuality. They feel it without needing to say it, which is something that is not seen as much within the Western world. In that way, they are able to avoid the issues that are found in Western society: “coming out” to the family and the fears and the
troubles associated with that. While it can make some feel uncomfortable without knowing their parents’ thoughts, it creates less drama in the family and it does not make them feel as alienated as others may feel. It is kind of better, because there is not as much fear of the backlash and there is no concern about an affront to their own identity, and their queerness is different because it is inherently understood, and it does not need that proclamation that is seen in Western media.
It is also a testament to the different ideas of queerness held all over the world, from modernity to the more traditional, but also to ancient times as well. Some books have been translated so many times that some of the meanings of the work have been obscured or lost in the translations. One of these examples is The Iliad, which has been translated many times over the 3000 years it has been told/read. I read The Iliad last summer and was struck by the idea of Achilles dying as a result of his dearest comrade, Patroclus’ death. At that point, he decides that it is not worth living without Patroclus. Many historians have translated this Greek work in describing the notion that they were dear comrades, though many think that they were in fact lovers. It is interesting because of the fact that no one really knows their relationship but there are different words that are hard to translate from Greek because of the way that they are used. In that same way, there are many words that are lost and obscured in the same way now about language and sexuality.
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