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DUONG KIM THANH QH2013.F1.E10INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION ESSAY

ASSIGNMENT

INTRA/CROSS/INTERCULTURAL MATERIAL ANALYSIS

“LOST IN TRANSLATION”

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“Break open a cherry tree

And there were no flowers

But the spring breeze

Brings forth myriad blossoms”

It is a magnificent poem by Ikkyu Sojun about gorgeous Japanese

Cherry blossoms. Up to now, Japan has been well-known for a land of

beauty of both nature and people, attracting millions of the hearts all over

the world, particularly the director Sofia Coppola. This country is a source

of great inspiration to her “Lost in Translation”, a comedy released in 2003

about two lost souls seeking the meaning of life in Japan. The movie

depicts a couple of cultural dimensions especially Japanese value,

individualism versus collectivism and communication styles in both

Japanese and North American (The U.S) cultures.

“Lost in Translation” begins when Bob Harris (Bill Murray), a

fading, B-level American movie actor facing with his “midlife crisis”,

travels to Japan to make commercials for whiskey. Here, he meets by

chance Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson), a Yale recent graduate and also a

young wife of a photographer working on assignment. As living in the

same hotel, they meet during one of their midnight to share with each other

their feeling of desperate loneliness and “out of context” in Japan. The

seed of their friendship germinates day by day and becomes a perfect

relationship despite their age gap. They begin exploring foreign cultures as

well as seeking the meaning of life together. Eventually, Bob and

Charlotte, however, are not together till the last moment, either as friends

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or lovers because he suddenly travels back to the U.S, resulting in a semi-

open ending for viewers.

Intercultural value presented in “Lost in Translation” contributes to its

great prominence. That the movie was shot entirely in Japan gives audience

the opportunity to experience most marked points of value in Japanese

community. “Value” is culturally defined guiding principle or standard of

good, beautiful and desired characteristics in society (Lustig & Koester,

2010). Throughout this film, “strict hierarchy” must be the most splendid

value which is clearly proved by Japanese greeting. When arriving at the

hotel from the airport, Bob receives a warm and rapturous welcome from

the staff and a small group of his future colleagues. Not only do they offer

Bob their business cards as well as precious presents but they also greet him

by bowing, whereby the angle of inclination illustrates the hierarchical

relationship or the comparative status difference between him and them.

This astonishing welcome really makes him a little overwhelmed but Bob

still manages to follow this deep-rooted culture. Actually, it is not difficult

to understand the astonishment of Bob. He is a typical American who often

tries to freeze almost all status differences in social interaction whereas

Japanese community does not. Another important factor supporting the

hierarchy value in the movie is language. Research by Dolan and Worden

(1994) indicates that the system of honorific vocabularies and humble terms

used by Japanese is very rich and diverse. Evidence corroborating this can

be noticed in the scene of shooting whiskey commercial at the studio. The

director gives Bob long instructions and explanations in Japanese, which

then are translated into English by the female interpreter. It becomes a

matter when the English texts are obviously much shorter than Japanese

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ones, which makes him confused. Bob sees the director speak for a long

time but what the interpreter says to him is just “look into the camera,

please”. His face appears anxious and insecure for not being sure whether

she covers all the Japanese words or not. Lost in translation, Bob is like a

child taking the first hesitant steps into a strange world with a strange

language, too. Were Bob to know that “formalities” have been preferred to

utilize in Japan so far, he would get the answer for the question why

Japanese speakers usually take far longer than the English to say nearly the

same things. He still follows what he can hear from the Japanese interpreter

but his head is burning inside. It is language barrier that provides a literal

interpretation of the title “Lost in Translation”.

In addition to Japanese cultural value, “Lost in Translation” describes a

great number of distinct differences between individualistic society and

collective one. There is no doubt to say both Bob and Charlotte are typical

examples of individualism which prioritizes the individual self rather than

social institutions (Craig, 2012) while “Land of Rising Sun” itself is a

representative of collectivism in which the group spirit is highly respected.

Differences between two cultures are clarified by the situation when

Charlotte calls her friend at homeland, Lauren, trying to explain and express

her loneliness in new country and her not-going-well relationship with her

husband. But to her distress, Lauren says sorry for being snowed under and

not having time to listen to Charlotte’s stories. As a result, Charlotte is left

alone with silent tears rolling slowly down her cheek. It is as if she did not

make a phone call. From the hotel windows, looking to Japan outside where

people move in packs down the city sidewalks or get together to eat at the

hotels and to sing karaoke in public houses, she finds herself lost in that

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world, the world of collectivism. She is additionally disappointed at her

family and friends back home in the U.S who normally are too

individualistic to care about problems of the others. Bob’s situation is also

similar to Charlotte’s when he calls his wife in the last minutes of the movie.

After he completely cuts off the family life at home, the individualism of

Bob's world becomes more and more obvious. They, Bob and his wife, do

not spend much time communicating with each other. His voice over the

phone seems tired revealing his deep underlying dissatisfaction to the

stagnant marriage. He cannot tell her about his good and bad experiences in

Japan because she herself shows no interest in his new life. She also finds it

not difficult to keep their everyday life at home going smoothly without his

appearance. Even when asking about the kids, Bob is given the usual

response "They are fine but they miss their father, but they are getting used

to your not being there". It means that with or without Bob’s presence at

home, nothing special happens because each person has to make their own

private life by standing in their own feet, taking care of themselves and

adapting themselves to circumstances. What an individualistic culture!

Last but not least, it cannot be denied that “Lost in Translation”

succeeds pretty well in rendering communication styles including high and

low context. Hall (1977) argues that low context culture values directness,

trustfulness and details. In contrast, indirectness, formality and

interpersonal relationship are features of high context one. It is possible for

audience to realize that the low context communication is mirrored into the

image of Kelly, a friend of Charlotte’s husband. As sitting with her close

friends including the couple Charlotte and John and some other American

fellows in the hotel bar for a drink, Kelly talks about her private affairs and

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then her father life in which he was taken prisoner during the fight for the

"Bay of Pigs” so loudly and naturally as though no one else existed in the

world but only them. Even though involved in Kelly’s small talk, Charlotte

decides to stand up and plans her escape. The brash and direct way of

speaking, in deed, is inappropriate and awkward in such a society like

“Land of Sakura” where people would prefer to discuss private topics

confidentially or in secret. On the contrary, while Kelly brings her low

context culture to Japan from her beloved homeland, the U.S, Bob chooses

to abide by high context communication style when invited to participate

in one of the most popular talk shows in Japan. From his point of view,

this show is completely crazy with a Westernized in blonde hair, a very

colorful suit and a freaked-out style. Nevertheless, no matter how vulgar it

is, Bob makes his effort to adapt a little, being a ridiculous bloke imitating

outlandish acts as well as dances required by the host. He does not refuse

to do those weird things, because they are presumably what Japanese

people want, what is "cool”.

“Lost in Translation” is really a brilliant movie with many beautiful

and obsessed scenes about the loneliness, fear and insecurity of two main

characters in a foreign country. Watching this movie, audience can find the

perfect balance between the brooding melancholies with a little hilarity.

Besides, audience is provided a vivid image of Japan with a blend of

tradition and modern as well as various intercultural aspects in which

hierarchy value, collectivism and high context culture are central.

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References

1. Lustig, M.W. & Koester, J. (2010) Cultural identity and cultural

biases. In M.W.Lustig, & J. Koester, Intercultural competence:

Interpersonal communication across cultures (6th ed.) (p88). Boston, MA:

Allyn & Bacon.

2. Dolan, R., & Worden, R. (1994). Japan - VALUES AND BELIEFS.

Retrieved from http://countrystudies.us/japan/58.htm

3. Lazos, K., Donnellon, E., & McConnell, C. (n.d.). Japan: Values,

Proverbs and Languages. Retrieved from

http://acad.depauw.edu/~mkfinney/teaching/Com227/culturalPortfolios/

japan/values.htm

4. Craig Biddle. Individualism vs. Collectivism: Our Future, Our Choice

[Online] 2012. Retrieved from:

https://www.theobjectivestandard.com/issues/2012-spring/individualism-

collectivism/

5. Chapter 1 Lecture: High-Context & Low-Context Culture Styles.

(n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.marin.edu/buscom/index_files/Page605.htm

6. Eckert, A., & Kohler, I. (2003). Lost in Translation. Retrieved from

http://www.uni-hildesheim.de/interculturalfilm/show_entry.php?

fid=115&sid=0&cl=1