Localization in film: the Bad examples

You may have read my earlier blog on good examples of localization in film, where we looked at several films and TV shows that showed realistic and well-thought-out localization processes, and how the clever writers had made the magic of localization integral to the plots of these shows. However, those of you who follow our social media accounts will know from our #TCFilmFriday posts that, unfortunately, there are plenty of bad examples too.

In this article, we will be taking a look at some of the worst examples of localization, or localization processes, committed to film. But it’s not all bad news. Although these examples are bad, there are definite lessons that we can learn from them about how we plan and execute our localization projects, and how we can avoid making the same mistakes in real life.

So, grab some popcorn and join me as we look at three of the worst examples of localization processes in film and television.

The Twighlight Zone – To Serve Man

We start with the cult Sci-Fi classic TV Show, ‘The Twilight Zone’. In the episode ‘To Serve Man’, an alien race called the ‘Kanamits’ makes contact with Earth and, in a meeting with the UN, set out their plan to help the Human race. It starts well, with the Kanamits promising to share technology, help solve Earth’s crises, as well as setting up interplanetary visits for adventurous humans. It seems that first contact with an alien race is going well.

However, one of the aliens accidentally leaves a document behind after the UN meeting, and a team of US codebreakers hurriedly works to decipher it. They get as far as the title, which translates as ‘To Serve Man’. This seems like a good sign. Armed with this partial translation, and the promises made by the Kanamits, people sign up to visit the alien home world, including members of the translation team.

However, it’s at this point that one of the team realises there is something wrong, and rushes to stop the extra-terrestrial tourists. Watch the clip below to find out why.

Grim stuff indeed – but how could a better localization process have avoided this calamity? Well, the most obvious mistake is that the team didn’t finish translating the whole document – in fact, they barely translated the title before members of the team were volunteering for an intergalactic voyage. Rushing a translation is a recipe for disaster. Indeed, there are many examples of rushed translation causing problems in the real world.

Their second mistake – and it is a huge one – they didn’t understand the cultural and contextual positioning of their translation. While this would have been difficult since the aliens had only just made contact with Earth, understanding something of the motivation of the visiting aliens would have informed the translation, greatly helping the team with the meaning behind the text. With only a literal translation of the title, ‘To serve man’ was mistakenly understood as being helpful and aiding mankind, but with the proper context of the document (spoiler alert) being a cookbook, it takes on a whole different meaning. This highlights the importance of having a translator that understands the nuances and culture of both the original and target languages.

Pontypool – Warning message      

Pontypool is an interesting take on the somewhat crowded genre of zombie horror with a novel concept – the English language becomes a vector for infecting victims with a zombie virus, with certain words causing infection. The plot follows the staff of a local radio station in Canada, as they gradually become aware of the crisis that is unfolding around them.

After broadcasting news about events happening in the local area, the radio station’s signal is hijacked by the Canadian military, who broadcast a message in French, explaining what they believe is happening, and giving strict instructions for the population to follow. For the benefit of listeners who do not understand French, the staff translate the message live on air. Unfortunately, part of the instructions was (A) to stop speaking English, and (B) not to translate the message, as some of the words used in the translation were believed to be infected. Unfortunately, this warning was given at the end of the message, meaning the team of radio broadcasters only got to this part right at the end of the message.

So, what went wrong with this localization process? Well, due to the unfolding crisis, our translators did not understand the wider context of what they were decoding before they started the translation process. Had they taken the time to fully read the message and put it into a wider context of why it was being broadcast in the first place, this issue could have been avoided. It would have also helped if the original message, sent by the military, had been made more localization-friendly by having the warning before the main message, instead of after.

This highlights how important it is to have a translation partner that understands not just the cultural context of the subject matter, but also the reasons why the material for translation exists in the first place. Not having this understanding can lead to many issues, such as misrepresenting or mistranslating important instructions, missing key warnings, or making even simpler errors, such as incorrectly translating units of measurement. I cover this in more detail in a previous blog post about technical translations.

Lost in Translation – Whisky Commercial

The 2003 film ‘Lost in Translation’ was tailor-made for this blog. In it, Bill Murray plays Bob Harris, an American actor visiting Japan to make a whisky commercial. While filming the commercial, Bob has to work with an interpreter to understand the director’s instructions. Unfortunately, as the clip below shows, the interpreter fails to translate much of the detail in the director’s messages to Bob, leading to frustration on both sides.

So, what can we learn from this example? Well, like the previous examples, it shows the importance of the translator being able to convey the meaning of the message accurately in both languages. We can clearly tell that Bob’s interpreter is given very detailed instructions by the director, but she fails to pass these on to Bob, giving only vague directions on how Bob should act. We can hazard a guess that the interpreter, while being skilled in both Japanese and English, doesn’t have a good understanding of acting or directing, or the language used to describe key concepts in both. This is why it is important for your translation partner to have a good grasp of not just your industry but also the specialised terminology used in your sector.

There are several things you can do to avoid these issues. One is to employ a localization partner that has experience of carrying out technical translations in your industry, so that they already have experience of working in your field, and know the language and issues you will face when translating. Another is to do some good old-fashioned terminology management, by setting up a translation glossary that gives detailed instructions on the context in which specialised terms will be used. The translators then have a clear understanding of the exact meaning and the importance of conveying this meaning. One of my colleagues, Elvinas Jakubauskas, covered this in his blog on terminology management.

End Credits

So, I hope you found this look at bad localization in film and TV somewhat informative and entertaining. While these examples are obviously exaggerated for dramatic or comic effect, they do shed light on some common issues that arise from badly planned translation and localization processes.

It’s important to ensure that you don’t rush the translation process and that you have a localization partner that understands the target language’s cultural context so that they do more than merely translate the words and actually provide a full localization of your content. That being said, it’s also important for your translator to have a good working knowledge of your industry and the subject matter, especially if you are dealing with complex, technical translations, where precision of meaning is very important to the success of your localized content.

If you want to read more about translation and localization, why not have a look at this blog on the good examples of localization in film & TV here, or if you would prefer to keep reading about bad translations, you can read about some famous examples of bad software localization here. Or, if you have a technical translation project of your own that you would like to discuss, why not get in touch with us here.