The Lost in Translation - Movie Review Example

Learning Japanese: A Response to Lost In Translation Learning Japanese: A Response to Lost in Translation Developing language is most assuredly a taxing component to society. Verbal communication is one of the most complex tools humanity has created which requires a certain level of discretion over self-disclosure and nonverbal props. What I have always wondered is whether simple language is enough to convey the necessary sympathy for a healthy relationship. Despite any skills in communicating, language is an entity that can never truly posses absolute clarity. “Lost in Translation” is a phenomenal example. A washed-up actor Bob Harris and young photographer’s wife Charlotte are two Americans fussed together by the unfamiliar culture of Japan. Yet these two English speaking Caucasians can barely last seven days without confrontation amongst themselves and amongst their loved ones. Such is the downfall of language. People can understand the words, but it takes much more time and effort to understand the context in which people speak. This film essentially portrays the lives of two individuals in their unique journey to Japan. While it seems as though Bob is going through a mid-life crisis in conjunction with family problems waiting in the States, Charlotte appears to be having a crisis of her own at twenty years of age. She looks for sympathy in Bob Harris and receives something that borders on romance and heart-break. Not only an intense drama, but the film also portrays the life-styles of two different generations of marriage. Intimate relationships, especially marriages, are considered one of closest forms of relationships. Both participants are supposedly devoted enough to disclose very personal information to one another. Conversely, can that form of intimacy last? What if the discloser is no longer appreciated in a marriage? Bob Harris appeared to be going through such a scenario with his wife overseas. In a specific scene, Bob is speaking with his wife about some of the extraordinary people he has been meeting in Japan. To this end, Mrs. Harris mundanely expresses how happy she is that Bob is having fun. Of course, her voice and tone reveal that she could care less about Bob’s experience—even though he claims that Japan not fun, just “different.” Mrs. Harris’s lack of enthusiasm illustrates a marriage without intimacy. It is a marriage only held together by the devotion to their children. This film portrays very convincingly of the loss of such intimacies. Relationships can blossom so hastily only to fall just as quickly. A once exciting intimacy can degrade into jealousy and loneliness. In another scene, Charlotte exposes an actresses’ inferior intelligence to her husband. This actress being an old friend of the husband generates a hostile mood between the couple. Of course, it can be argued that the lack of intimacy between the couple is the cause of this jealous behavior. Therefore, it is reasonable to suggest that a minor disintegration in intimacy can result in inter-personal conflict. It should be noted, however, that a decrease in intimate discloser may not be the direct result of a failing relationship. According to Bodenmann and Shantinath (2004) in their article, “The Couples Coping Enhancement Training,” communication may not be enough to keep an intimacy strong. One of the five factors they claim contribute to divorce is not only a lack of communication, but an inability to deal with stress (Bodenmann 2004). In “Lost in Translation,” it is established throughout the film that Charlotte already suffers from an abundance of stress with her inability to sleep and her tear-jerking phone conversations with her mother. It is this rise in stress that provokes her hostile behavior, thus alienating herself from her husband. In many ways, this film allows me to question my own personal relationships in which I felt alone. I may have felt alone or I may have isolated myself. The question will be a constant thought and brings attention to how I communicate. Stress most certainly has a deteriorating affect on communication skills and can eventually lead to inter-personal conflict. Of course, Charlotte is not at complete fault of the deteriorating relationship. In fact, the lack of empathy she receives from her husband is appalling. Empathizing is vital to communicating well. Especially, if someone is trying to nurture an intimate relationship with their secluded spouse, a scenario that does not occur between Charlotte and her husband. This lack of empathy only inflames Charlotte’s stress as she searches for ways to vent her mood. Instead of receiving support from her husband, the young Charlotte finds Bob Harris to disclose some of her deepest thoughts and fears. The deepening of self-disclosure is accompanied by the deepening of a relationship as each individual reveals secret knowledge to the communicator (Berryman-Fink, Verderber, Verderber 2007 p. 230). Charlotte discloses to Bob Harris her anxieties over living in LA with her husband versus her home in New York. A secret bit of information that is certainly not known by Charlotte’s husband. Bob empathizes with Charlotte’s emerging marriage problems in conjunction with his own archaic problems. An Oxford University Press article asserts that Bob is attempting to discover what he did wrong in his marriage while listening to Charlotte’s dilemma. Charlotte in turn receives the support and advice she so desperately needs from Bob Harris (Now Playing n.d.). Though there is no specific form of infidelity that culminates the Charlotte/Bob fling, it is clear that the temptation was present from the sharing of a cigarette, to the sharing a bed, and the sharing of a kiss in the middle of downtown Tokyo. These are affectionate forms of adultery that people commit all the time. I find that an unsatisfactory relationship can often lead to building new emotional relationships devoid of labels. In a way, it is possible, without conscious effort, to emotionally cheat on an intimate partner. This may be trifle as far as adultery is perceived, but emotions hold a degree of power. A study participated in by Christine Harris (2002) gave evidence showing that victims of adultery were more likely to be upset that the infidelity was emotional as well as sexual (Harris 10). Of course, when situations like this occur, it is not wholly due to the malevolence of the cheater, but the waning of the intimacy, the affection, the disclosure, indeed the entire relationship. An in-depth study presented in the Communication Quarterly (2005) illustrates the meaning of a healthy affection exchange. Not only does giving affection maintain an awarding relationship, but it is concluded that “communicating affection elicits benefits to the individual, and to his or her relationships, that are independent of the affection he or she receives in return” (Floyd, Miczo, Hess, Halone, and Kelby 303). This argument suggests that affection communicated holds no prerequisites. A couple is affectionate because each partner wishes to affectionately express their intimacy as oppose to pleading for attention with affection. It is when affection is specifically augmented to provoke communication does the relationship show signs of failure. It is often difficult to notice such situations until it is presented in a third person display. I know that many personal relationships were not subject to rational judgment when being encountered directly. What “Lost in Translation” has achieved is unraveling the emotions that individuals go through when they are begging for affection from a disappointing communicator. The film also implies the importance of not being held victim to a relationship devoid of any type of affection or intimacy. Institutions like marriage require both persons to remain affectionately involved in the relationship. If affection expires, then stress and possibly depression will follow. This will inevitably dilute the intimacy until the relationship is rendered obsolete. In Charlotte’s case, it is clear that the affection contributed by her husband is not up to par. This derives from his inability to comfort Charlotte on sleepless nights, a hesitation to include Charlotte in social gatherings—especially with the dimwitted actress friend, and refusing to take Charlotte on photography trips when her misery is obvious. Hence, why on such lonely nights does Charlotte fill a void with drinking, dining, and even singing with Bob Harris. “Lost in Translation” has certainly proved to me that communication is much more complex than verbal language. Is language good enough for a relationship? The answer is most assuredly no when it comes to intimate relationships. Communication is a recipe of disclosure, intimacy, actions, empathy, and what is simply not said. It is extraordinarily difficult to decipher every aspect of communication, even to realize that words communicated are not technically words intended. Bob and Charlotte are far from actually being happy as their spouses assume. Yet neither person can actually admit the problem until Charlotte and Bob meet. The reason may be due to the age difference. This gives each individual a third-person perspective on the matter as this film gives to the audience. It is something that people often need to witness rather than partake in order to understand. After all, it is easy to lose the translation even if everyone speaks the same language. References Bodenmann, Guy; Shantinath, S.D. (Oct 2004). The Couples Coping Enhancement Training (CCET): A New Approach to Prevention of Marital Distress Based Upon Stress and Coping. Family Relations 53, 477-484 Coppola, Sophia. (Director). (2003). Lost In Translation [motion picture]. United States: Focus Features. Floyd, Kory; Hess, Jon A Miczo, Lisa A Halone, Kelby. (Aug 2005). Human Affection Exchange: VIII. Further Evidence of the Benefits of Expressed Affection. Communication Quarterly 53, 285-303. Harris, Christine R. (2002). Sexual and Romantic Jealousy in Heterosexual and Homosexual Adults. Psychological Science 13, 7-12. Kathleen S. Verderber, Roudolf F. Verderber, and Cynthia Berryman-Fink. (2007). Inter-Act 11th ed. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc. Oxford University Press. Now Playing. http://www.us.oup.com/us/companion.websites/playingno w/translation/?view=usa. Read More