Translating the “Primitive”: Representation of Two Asian Cities in Lucy and Now You See Me 2

• Main Authors: Wang, Fang, 王方
• Other Authors: Lee, Ken-fang
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/qm2w92

碩士 === 國立臺灣師範大學 === 翻譯研究所 === 106 === In view of translation between Eastern and Western cultures, this thesis focuses on the visuality of two contemporary films, Luc Bessons’s Lucy and John M. Chu’s Now You See me 2. The main body is divided into three sections: First, with help of Laplanche’s theory of enigmatic signifiers, the thesis explores how the unfamiliar Oriental surroundings may cause unease to the characters and how decoding the Oriental signifiers helps ease the discomfort. During the process, the primitizing of Eastern settings and the civilized portrayal of the Western world corresponds to the characters’ changing experiences. Secondly, the thesis discusses how languages are presented and preferred by analyzing text-centered scenes as well as languages characters choose (not) to use. Using Laplanche’s view of the Other as reference, two opposing attitudes are discovered: both set in multilingual backgrounds, one tends to cling to the self and the familiar while the other explores different combinations and possibilities. Lastly, turning to examine the gaze between characters and the power dynamics between two cultures and worlds, the thesis discovers that both films begin with a relatively singular viewpoint but eventually develop a globalized and inclusive perspective. In sum, while there are traces of alienating Eastern and Western cultures found in the two films, ultimately it is a diversified depiction of the world that is established.