Furthermore, the film exploits what film semiotician Christian Metz called the “impression of reality.” When a character speaks German without subtitles, hearing viewers who understand German gain privileged access; non-German speakers remain in Teddy’s limited perspective. However, when subtitles are provided for German, they may offer correct information—or correct information that Teddy ignores—thereby indicting the viewer’s own gullibility. Scene description: Teddy and his partner Chuck (Mark Ruffalo) interrogate a German former concentration camp commandant, Mr. McPherson (John Carroll Lynch), who is now a patient. McPherson speaks mostly English but intersperses German phrases. In the original script, he says: “Sie sind nicht bereit für die Wahrheit. Aber ich sage es trotzdem. Der Übermensch kommt.”
Translators face a dilemma. Should they subtitle the German into French/Italian, thereby giving the audience more information than Teddy has? Most commercial subtitles do translate the German, inadvertently destroying the alignment between viewer and protagonist. A minority of fan-made subtitles preserve the opacity by adding a note: “[speaks German, no translation].”
No subtitles are provided for the German phrases. Non-German speakers hear only the fragmented English: “They watch you… the game… you are already…” This forces the viewer into the same incomplete understanding as Teddy, who dismisses her as a hallucination. In fact, her German lines are true: Teddy has been a patient for years.
Furthermore, the film exploits what film semiotician Christian Metz called the “impression of reality.” When a character speaks German without subtitles, hearing viewers who understand German gain privileged access; non-German speakers remain in Teddy’s limited perspective. However, when subtitles are provided for German, they may offer correct information—or correct information that Teddy ignores—thereby indicting the viewer’s own gullibility. Scene description: Teddy and his partner Chuck (Mark Ruffalo) interrogate a German former concentration camp commandant, Mr. McPherson (John Carroll Lynch), who is now a patient. McPherson speaks mostly English but intersperses German phrases. In the original script, he says: “Sie sind nicht bereit für die Wahrheit. Aber ich sage es trotzdem. Der Übermensch kommt.”
Translators face a dilemma. Should they subtitle the German into French/Italian, thereby giving the audience more information than Teddy has? Most commercial subtitles do translate the German, inadvertently destroying the alignment between viewer and protagonist. A minority of fan-made subtitles preserve the opacity by adding a note: “[speaks German, no translation].” shutter island subtitle
No subtitles are provided for the German phrases. Non-German speakers hear only the fragmented English: “They watch you… the game… you are already…” This forces the viewer into the same incomplete understanding as Teddy, who dismisses her as a hallucination. In fact, her German lines are true: Teddy has been a patient for years. McPherson (John Carroll Lynch), who is now a patient