Christian Murillo
Professor Wexler
English 495
December 15, 2013
Lost between Public
and Private Translation
David
Harvey’s, “Cultural Space and Urban Place: The New World Disorder,” seemed to resonate
in-conjunction with the film “Lost in Translation,” partly due to the concept
of Public and Private spaces. Sophia Coppola’s film is about a middle-aged man
named Bob, played by Bill Murray. Bob is an accomplished actor past his prime
and supremely dissatisfied with his life and with his current lack of a career.
Faced with monetary problems and few choices for alleviation, he takes a job in
Japan reading lines for a whiskey commercial. While some people would see this
as an unforgettable opportunity to dive into a new culture and climate, Bob
sees this as a mockery of his profession and at worst, as an absolute waste of
his time. His indifference changes however upon meeting Charlotte, played by
Scarlett Johansson. Scarlett is a young woman who, like Bob, also finds herself
in Japan under unfavorable circumstances; but more importantly, she also
discovers that she and Bob are occupying the same lonely place within a city
filled people. As a result of mutual isolation, Bob and Charlotte spark a close
and intimate friendship that shelters them from the outside world. What’s
interesting about them however, is that Bob and Charlotte, despite their similarities,
represent a key concept from Harvey’s “Cultural Space and Urban place;” the
idea of the public and the private space which are traditionally applied to men
and women respectively, but which Sophia Copella has altered to represent the
role of women in the modern world.
When we first meet Charlotte, she
is isolated from Japan and from society; she exists primarily in the Private
space. Her husband however, is working as a photographer that caters to
celebrities. As such, he is pivotally placed within the Public sphere. The
Public and the Private spheres are concepts that exist in nearly every culture
around the world. This is what turns this film from an American story to a
Multinational text. Charlotte represents the Private Sphere which Harvey notes is
representative of the “Home” and the “Feminine,” both of which apply to
Charlotte. However, Charlotte is not content to remain at “home;” as the film progresses,
Charlotte leaves her room and engages in primarily Japanese activities. This is
a stark contrast to her husband who within the Public sphere is unable to
disengage himself from his American “hobbies” such as drinking in a bar and focusing
on work, and as a result does not engage with the true Public sphere. This is a
reversal of the traditionally dominate public role that men have occupied; throughout
the course of the film, Charlotte is the one who demonstrates how comfortable
she is in the Public sphere by leaving the room and trying different
experiences.
To expand upon this further, we
must look at the role of Bob and his interactions with the Public Sphere, which
as Harvey notes is considered masculine due to its association with work. Bob however,
is uncomfortable within the traditionally male Public sphere due to his
inability to understand the language and because of his initially blatant refusal
to compromise to Japan’s cultural norms. As such, Bob is dissatisfied with work
and thus spends much of his time in Japan (whether within the Public or Private
realms) visibly uncomfortable; from trying to stand underneath a shorter shower
head, to mocking Japanese accents and tastes (Roger Moore) to even turning down
a very coveted chance to appear on Japan’s version of the Johnny Carson show. He
is determined to leave the country as soon as he collects a paycheck, up until
he meets Charlotte. This is where the film really begins the redefine the role
of the Public and Private spheres; Charlotte who started in the Private domestic
sphere, is the traveler and the adventurer who unlocks Bob’s innate desire to
interact with those around him. Because of Charlotte, Bob discovers the joy of Karaoke
and spends more than one night partying with a group of Japanese strangers (Charlotte’s
friends). Bob also tries new restaurants and remarkably, despite his initial
mockery of Japanese accents, he fully and completely engages with an elderly
Japanese man at the hospital, completely bypassing the language barrier to have
a conversation (even though he doesn’t understand anything). He even takes the “Johnny
Carson” job in order to spend an extra day with Charlotte. As such, Charlotte has
redefined the gender norms of Public and Private spheres by not only successfully
navigating the Public sphere but also by dragging Bob back into the Public
sphere as well and strengthening his relationship with it.
Although “Lost in Translation” starts with the
traditional Public and Private spheres, the film focuses on the growing relationship
between Bob and Charlotte. As two lonely people who come together in mutual isolation,
the film is a bit of a tragic love story and because of that, it is able to
successfully flip the gender roles. Charlotte should be in the domestic sphere
while Bob focuses on the Public and yet it is only because of Charlotte’s
desire to leave the domestic space that Bob is able to gradually become comfortable
with his role and even desire to be in it longer. This makes the film into a
multinational text as the Public and Private are well-known through most patriarchal
societies; but by changing and combining the roles (Charlotte and Bob helping
each other cope with the loneliness of the Public sphere), “Lost in Translation”
is able to successfully show women not only adapting but defining new roles
with men who are no longer seen not just as leaders but as followers and
ultimately as partners.
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