Sociocultural Awareness Through Dubbing Disney Film Songs

Abstract

Given the universal appeal of animation films and the importance of the messages they convey to a young audience, songs play a significant role in the filmmaker’s intention to summarize the plot of animation films for young audiences and convey the film message. The question arises as to how target cultures may receive pragmatic meaning associated with such film parts. The case study focuses on the ways sociocultural awareness is raised through songs in children’s films, which address a rather ambivalent audience, namely, children and parents. The study analyzes four Disney film songs and their Greek dubbed versions to examine if and how sociocultural values have been transferred in the dubbed Greek versions. It focuses on pragmatic shifts which translators allowed into the target versions to enhance the summarizing function of the songs in a culturally familiar manner. Findings show that dubbers interfere with the religion, race and gender narratives of animation films to match those circulating in target environments. The significance of the research lies in that it shows the liberties dubbers take in rendering animation film songs, making it a subgenre of its own.