Glee-talia: adapting Glee for an Italian audience

Abstract

ABSTRACTGlee was an American television program that emphasized differences in high school students’ social status by juxtaposing popular teens with underdogs. This theme, consistently reinforced in promotional materials in the US, got lost in translation when Glee was exported to Italy. Through an examination of cultural symbols and editing practices that affect both visual and auditory elements, this study brings critical attention to one element of the transnational television adaptation industry. Although the Italian alteration of American promos disrupts the encoding of Glee’s central narrative—the exclusion of marginalized identities by those with privilege—I conclude that viewers’ increased familiarity with American symbols ultimately reinforces the social binary that separates popular characters from social outcasts; furthermore, the development of Italian promos for Glee’s second season demonstrates the learning curve inherent in promotional materials’ cross-cultural adaptation.