Comments | _jems_: I'm obsessed. Film at eleven.

_jems_

I'm obsessed. Film at eleven.

Jun 30, 2011 22:53

I'm going to keep talking about City Hunter, because I can't not, if you know what I mean (and I think those of you watching do).

( I had to watch the first few minutes of episode 12 just now because the episode 11 cliffhanger was killing me. )

kdrama: city hunter, kdramas, gvp (gratuitous video post)

Comments 5

typicrobots June 30 2011, 21:42:38 UTC

SAE HEE!!! Oh man, I really love her too, for being all nerves of steel and quick on the uptake and great at subtle hints and meanings. Nana is in the thick of the action but she only ever has half the information she needs, while Sae Hee seems to know everything but only takes action when she's made to be involved. I love it. I love how she doesn't shy away from it but neither does she go in guns blazing, because no, this isn't her business, but yes, she'll help if you need it.

Also the "pitiable" comment isn't a mistranslation exactly; I think the context just doesn't come through in English. He means that she's someone Yoon-sung should feel sorry for, because Young-ju feels sorry to her. As in, Young-ju has treated her so badly already that Yoon-sung shouldn't do the same. That comment actually made me like him better (but I'm already kind of fascinated with him to begin with) because it showed that he's aware of the damage he's done to his ex-wife, he just can't seem to help himself ( ... )

_jems_ June 30 2011, 22:06:55 UTC

I love that both Sae Hee and Na Na, once they figure it out, will totally give him pointers while pretending to be just talking generally. The women on this show are fabulous! I love it that they're clever and brave and funny and will do the right thing, even when those around them may disapprove.

I think the context just doesn't come through in English.See, I was afraid of that. Maybe something like "she deserves better" (implied: "than both me and you") would have worked? That's what frustrates me about fansubs. It's so freaking nice of people to do this for free, but I don't think that they have the experience to really think about how best to express a concept in English, they just translate literally. Like, what I assume to be the direct translation into "I know". In every instance where the speaker of that line has just been told brand new information, I cringe at that translation. Because it should be "I understand" or "Got it" or something along that vein, and it makes the speaker seem unbearably arrogant when it instead ( ... )

typicrobots June 30 2011, 23:23:49 UTC

I haven't been watching this show with subs so I had no idea that's how "I understand" was being translated. LOL. I SHOULD BE THE SUBBER FOR THIS SHOW, I BET YOU I WOULD MAKE AN AWESOME SUBBER ( ... )

_jems_ July 1 2011, 00:05:47 UTC

It's not just this show, it's ALL dramas. It's really quite annoying too, because it's so obviously not what someone would say in that situation, and yet people just don't take the time to put it into context.

I SHOULD BE THE SUBBER FOR THIS SHOW
You really should! Hell, I sometimes even want to take a crack at fixing up the subs myself because it bugs me so much, especially with City Hunter since I rewatch the episodes, like, A LOT.

It's a pretty hard sentence to translateIt does seem like that. I think one problem is the differences in society. In English, I'd immediately feel that it's demeaning if a man calls a grown woman a child. So phrasing it as "that child deserves better" also sounds condescending. "That girl deserves better" wouldn't be as demeaning, but it might also not get the message across as well unless the viewer knows at least some Korean. In the end, though, I feel like it's better to lose some of the nuance of him calling her a child in favor of getting across the fact that he's not being an asshole ex-husband ( ... )

Thread 5