Lost in Translation: culture clash and stereotypes
When talking about cultural diversity and clashes, stereotypes are an important topic. Stereotypes are those characteristics that are attributed to people that belong to the same group from those external to it, without actually having specific information about it. More often than not they are generalizations. They can be wrong and harmful. They can also be an obstacle in the process of integration. If one is not aware of them, they affect our judgment unfavorably influencing both our perceptions and our behavior.
An introduction to Lost in Translation
Lost in translation is a movie that premiered in 2003, directed by Sofia Coppola and starring Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson. For those few people who do not know the movie yet, it narrates the story of Bob Harris and Charlotte, two lost souls who meet each other in Tokyo and establish a bond of pure complicity and love.
Bob is a fading American movie star. He arrives in Tokyo to shoot an advertisement for a whisky brand (Suntory) he is endorsing. There he meets Charlotte, a fresh out of college woman, who is still finding her path in life and happens to be in the city because of her husband. Both of them are going through relationship problems and find solace in the other person. The isolation due to the cultural and linguistic barriers contributes to the feeling of alienation from being in a different country, which in turn strengthens their chemistry.
The stereotypes issue in the movie
As much the Western countries appreciate the movie, deeming it close to a masterpiece, the Asian public did not receive it with the same enthusiasm. The Japanese actor Yoshio Tsuchiya defined the representation of his country in the movie as “very stereotypical and discriminative” and the reasons for that are several.
The background of the story is Tokyo. However, it could be argued that what is depicted is not the real and authentic city, but rather a caricature, the Western perception of it based on the most common stereotypes Americans have of Japan.
Characters
All the Japanese characters in Lost in Translation are very one-dimensional. It feels like each of them is only there to represent a specific stereotype, all coming together to depict this “weird” image of the country, to enhance the feeling of isolation of Bob and Charlotte, who do not fit in whatsoever.
However, they may serve a further purpose. Each interaction between the protagonists and these characters is full of misunderstandings and frustration (the director shouting his indications or the escort sent in Bob’s hotel room for example). Almost to symbolize that as long as one sees the foreign culture through the stereotype lens and lets their judgment be clouded by prejudice, no actual integration can happen and the feeling of alienation will remain.
It is important to underline the American characters’ behavior. They do not make any effort to understand the foreign culture. But they don’t tolerate when they don’t understand while interacting with Japanese people, whose pronunciation is sometimes confusing.
Setting aside stereotypes
A very clear-cut change in the atmosphere happens when Bob and Charlotte let themselves truly enjoy the culture. With no prejudice ruining the experience. Only then, keeping an open mind, integration can take place. Many are the instances in the movie. When Charlotte visits the temple for the second time, when they enjoy local food eating it with chopsticks, when they have fun at the karaoke and many more.
Japan: a masculine society?
Japan scores very high in masculinity according to Hofstede’s model (95, one of the highest in the world). This can be reflected in the way male and female roles are perceived in society.
Related to this, there are two very exasperated scenes in the movie. The shooting of the commercial. When the director insists for Bob to pose in different iconic moves and expressions resembling famous American male celebrities and fictional characters (Sinatra or Roger Moore in 007). The director believes these models are what a desirable American male looks like. Even though it does not correspond to reality as Bob, an American himself, does in fact not look comfortable in replicating these old imaginaries.
The second scene representing Japan as a masculine society happens when an escort enters Bob’s room, being all loud and obnoxious, demanding for Bob to “lip (rip) her stocking”. This character has the clear intention to make the public laugh. But it also shows how Japanese society sees women: either associated with the sexual sphere or doing minor jobs.
