González Vera, María Pilar

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SeNDeBAR 23 (2012), 379 - 398. ISSN 1130-5509RESEÑASDe Marco, Marcella (2012). Audiovisual Translation through a Gender Lens. Am-sterdam-New York: Rodopi (Approaches to Translation Studies), 240 pp.Mª Pilar González VeraUniversidad de zaragozapilargv@unizar.esInvestigators in Translation will certainly welcome this recently published volume on audiovisual translation and its relationship with the representation and transmission of stereotypes. De Marco skillfully weaves an elaborate research study where Gender Studies and Audiovisual Translation intermingle with the aim of examining “(1) whether the translations transfer to the other languages the gender-oriented prejudices inherent in the language of the original version, (2) whether the translations reinforce any prejudices by adding sexist, racist or homophobic nuances which are not found in the original and (3) whether the translations delete or neutralize any biased attitudes” (107). The book, which is divided into four chapters, offers an invaluable theoretical framework that allows a subsequent thorough analysis where concepts from Gender Studies are related to Sociolinguistics, Film Studies and Translation Studies. The first chapter of the volume presents the theoretical basis upon which De Marco’s study is based. It provides a detailed overview of Gender Studies, connecting gender issues with ideological aspects of translation and introducing the new directions in which Gender Studies has branched out, Gynocriticism, Gay and Queer Studies. Under these branches, De Marco deals with the notion of masculinity and femininity and the difference between ‘masculinity’ and ‘masculinism’ (Brittan 2001). The socio-cultural dimension involved in these concepts allows her to relate them with translation, which is considered a cultural space. The cultural dimension of translation is highlighted by the introduction of the ‘cultural turn’ and the Polysystem Theory, the approach adopted for analysis in Chapter 4. Furthermore, De Marco establishes similarities between gender and translation, like the fact that both Gender Studies and the study of translation may be approached from multiple angles (49). Likewise, the author suggests an approach to Audiovisual Translation similar to the one proposed by Díaz Cintas (1997), who considers screen translation as a product that embraces a social, cultural and ideological perspective, and she concludes with an exposition of the case of audiovisual translation in Spain and Italy, the cultures of the target texts analysed.After the interdisciplinary approach to translation, Chapter 2 tackles the issues of sexism and gender stereotypes as the effects of a mental process of categorization (75). The first part of this chapter is devoted to the relationship between androcentrism, sexism and stereotypes. De Marco deals with the impact of male-centred patterns, the use of gender-derogatory language and face-threatening acts on the portrayal of stereotypes. Throughout this part the author attempts to show that “language is not sexist per se. […] It is the set of bad habits and false beliefs that are filtered through words that makes RESEñAS380SeNDeBAR 23 (2012), 379 - 398language sexist, thus contributing to the perpetuation of disparity and imbalance between sexes” (70). The second part of this chapter is equally illuminating. De Marco, from the standpoint of feminist film criticism, questions the evolution of the most stereotypical images that have characterized female representation and takes into consideration the roles of the representations of women and the portrayal of masculinity in cinema from the very beginning. The analysis leads the author to explore through the role of images, patterns of behaviour and the beliefs about women’s and men’s ways of speaking in the display of stereotypes. Thus, the volume brilliantly moves forward to a discussion on multiple portrayals of gender in Anglo-American cinema in Chapter 3. In the third chapter, Talbot’s (2003) reflection on people being “perceived through a ‘lens’ of gender polarization” (109) introduces De Marco’s research on both the different ways in which gender stereotypes are moulded and exported through im-ages and sounds, and the sociological implications that these representations may have on the target audiences from different cultural backgrounds. In doing so, De Marco deals with the analysis of the images on the screen and of the titles and DVD covers that differ from one country to another. Her work also includes a study of acoustic representation and the importance of voice as a discriminatory social element. All these aspects are amply illustrated by a considerable number of examples from the British and Hollywood films that make up the corpus chosen by De Marco for this volume: east Is east (1999), Billy elliot (2000), Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001), Bend It Like Beckham (2002), and Calendar Girls (2003) and Working Girl (1988), Pretty Woman (1990), Sister Act (1992), Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) and erin Brockovich (2000).Finally, De Marco’s solid argumentation allows her to offer an in-depth study of a selection of some of the best and most representative exchanges from the aforemen-tioned corpus. Throughout this chapter, she presents an analysis of the language used by male and female characters in the portrayal of gender stereotypes. She explores the original versions and the dubbed translations into Spanish and Italian with the aim of seeing whether the kind of language used by the interlocutors can be labeled as sexist or includes any trace of intolerance. Her work discloses to what extent there is an equal distribution of power between male and female characters through the study of the use of linguistic devices such as compliments, insults, vocatives and other forms of interpersonal communication in the original and the dubbed versions. Thus, De Marco provides a deep reflection on the extent to which audiovisual translation may contribute to shape, nurture and perpetuate overgeneralised assumptions and prejudices about men and women from one culture to another.To conclude, Audiovisual Translation through a Gender Lens has much to recom-mend it. In these years where films have a strong presence and have become an essential source for depicting images and stereotypes, this book analyses audiovisual texts from a Gender Studies lens. The volume, which undoubtedly makes a significant contribution to this field of interdisciplinary research, offers its readership a stimulating panorama of what will certainly become some of the most prominent orientations in forthcoming works and research tendencies.RESEñAS 381SeNDeBAR 23 (2012), 379 - 398BibliographyBrittan, Arthur (2001). Masculinities and Masculinism. In The Masculinities Reader. Stephen M. Whitehead and Frank J. Barrett (eds.), 51-55. Cambridge: Polit.Díaz Cintas, Jorge (1997). el Subtitulado en tanto que Modalidad de Traducción Fílmica dentro del Marco Teórico de los estudios sobre Traducción (Misterioso asesinato en Manhattan, Woody Allen, 1993). PhD dissertation, Universitat de València.Talbot, Mary (2003). Women Rule as a Matter of Fact: Reproducing and Challenging Gender Sterotypes. In Género, Lenguaje y Traducción. José Santaemilia (ed.), 26-41. Valencia: Universitat de València and Generalitat Valenciana.Gil-Bardají, Ana, Orero, Pilar y Rovira-Esteva, Sara (eds.) (2012). Translation Peri-pheries. Paratextual Elements in Translation. Berna: Peter Lang, 196 pp.Laura CarlucciUniversidad de Granadacarlucci@ugr.esVeinticinco años han pasado desde que Gérard Genette se ocupara de estudiar aquellos elementos que no forman parte del texto literario propiamente dicho, sino que se sitúan en la periferia de este y que, sin embargo, tienen el poder de hacer que el texto se transforme en libro. Desde entonces, los estudios de los elementos paratextua-les han dado lugar a una amplia e interesante producción científica. En la traducción y recepción de un texto literario, el estudio debe ser contextualizado de la forma más completa posible; en este sentido, tanto el texto como el paratexto que le rodea ad-quieren la misma valencia y la misma importancia. En otras palabras: en el estudio de la dinámica de la recepción de una obra traducida dentro del polisistema literario de llegada, los elementos paratextuales —tanto icónicos como verbales—  juegan un papel fundamental, no solo porque sirven para acompañar, introducir, presentar y condicionar el texto y su recepción, sino porque tiene la función de guiar, orientar, dirigir, controlar y, porqué no, condicionar la lectura de ese texto. Bajo el atractivo titulo de Translation Peripheries, el volumen colectivo aquí reseñado reúne un conjunto de aportaciones al análisis de los elementos paratextuales en la traducción y recepción de una obra literaria. En la Introducción, que firman los editores del libro, Anna Gil Bardají, Pilar Orero y Sara Rovira-Esteva, se informa al lector que este volumen recoge algunos de los estudios presentados en el “VII Congreso Internacional de Traducción” que tuvo lugar en la Universidad Autònoma de Barcelona en junio de 2010, cuyo título fue: Los elementos Paratextuales en Traducción. Los editores se detienen en presentar muy brevemente el concepto de paratexto, para posteriormente comentar todos y cada uno de los trabajos que componen el libro, con objeto de ofrecer un claro panorama de los contenidos del volumen.

De Marco, Marcella (2012). Audiovisual Translation through a Gender Lens. Amsterdam- New York: Rodopi (Approaches to Translation Studies), 240 pp.

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De Marco, Marcella (2012). Audiovisual Translation through a Gender Lens. Amsterdam- New York: Rodopi (Approaches to Translation Studies), 240 pp.

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