Perceptions and (re)presentations of familiarity and foreignness: The cultural politics of translation in the subtitling of Japanese animation by fans

Abstract

This paper studies the leisure activity of anime fansubbing, where fans of Japanese animation subtitle these shows for distribution to other fans in their own native languages. This activity is studied within the framework of cultural politics whereby it will be shown that fansubbers, as “lead‐producers,” hold perceptions of cultural differences and how these differences should be (re)presented. Illustrated empirically using the themes of male/female, fictive kinship and human emotive discourse, fansubbers understand and promote the dichotomy of East/West by conceptualizing “Other” cultures as “Another,” in that they imply that “Other” cultures are “different” but must be accommodated in order for consumption to take place. In this regard, fansubbers actively engage in a constant negotiation of “familiarity” and “foreignness” within an imaginary and normative framework.