Coppola Lost In Translation

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NAVIGATING THE GLOBAL- Tori Brown


Sofia Coppola's film, "lost in translation" offers a perspective of the global world, highlighting globalisation and its impact on human nature. She uses the protagonists to examine the difficulties and faults humans make when navigating through modern codes of language, sexuality and building a connection in a alien culture. Her film evaluates an impossible relationship, infused with ambiguity, misinterpretations and tension, to comment on the constraints in a seemingly limitless world.

Both Charlotte and Bob already exist in a highly globalised world, with Bobs field of expertise, acting, constantly involved with connections overseas. Furthermore, Coppola emphasises this by placing them in one of the most …show more content…

This is evident in the scene when Charlotte observes the city from the Hyatt skyscraper seemingly in a trance of questioning and uncertainty. The above shot camera angle composes her looking out the window in a fetal position which depicts her in a vulnerable state of isolation. The bustling city of Tokyo looks connected and collaborative; the 'insiders', therefore labeling her the alien. Casting her as confused and lost is justified continually throughout the film, for example the elongated takes of her in her hotel room listening to self-help tapes. She's aware she doesn’t quite 'fit in', resulting in the belief that something is wrong with *her*, not the isolating circumstance she’s been stranded in. This leads to her strive to 'fix' and improve who she is as a person. I have noticed this to be a reoccurring element of 'navigating the global' as we as humans have a distinctive desire to hunt for meaning and strive to better ourselves. This is projected throughout the film, but emphasised in the hotel bedroom scene when Charlottes admits her angst to Bob about not knowing 'what [she is] supposed to be' and Bobs admittance to his wife he wants to lead a better lifestyle over the phone- "I want to eat Japanese". Coppola demonstrates the idea that when people feel alienated by …show more content…

This is parallel to the idea that *reality* has no subtitles, therefore for the audience to have an authentic appreciation of the alienation the characters are feeling, they must also be quite literally 'lost in translation'. This is a comment that Coppola is trying to engage with; people feel powerless when found in a situation they cannot fully comprehend. It is then obvious human behavior to search for a connection with anyone of familiarity when dumped into circumstances of isolation. One could assume that for this reason Bob and Charlotte's relationship was not a product of 'love at first sight' but due to their western similarities, they were doomed from the beginning and automatically drawn to each other to form an inevitable

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