返回Google圖書搜尋

The Dream of Three Lifetimes

其他書名	Translation and Transnationality in Donald Duck Comics
出版	Pennsylvania State University, 2018
URL	http://books.google.com.hk/books?id=cPenwgEACAAJ&hl=&source=gbs_api

註釋Disney is one of the major cultural exports of America, with a multimedia empire of film, comics and even theme parks. Traditionally, the process has been regarded as one-sided and imperialistic, with Disney (and American culture at large) marching into new territories and asserting control over the native popular culture. This process is in fact more multifaceted, with American culture creating something entirely new in interactions with other cultures; the meaning is typically reinterpreted by outside audiences. This utilization of American culture also differs from the manner it is consumed domestically; Disneys comics remain among the best-selling worldwide, instead of the niche products that they are in the American market. The success of Disney is not built on enforcing a march towards homogeneity; rather, the intellectual properties are adapted by translators, writers, artists, and consumers to take on new, relevant meanings within Germany in particular, where the properties have grown beyond their American origins. Three creators in particular stand out: Carl Barks, Erika Fuchs, and Don Rosa. Barks provides original context in both America and Germany, Fuchs and her translations offer clues into why the comics became popular, and Rosa works towards of an understanding of how the comics continued after the retirements of Barks and Fuchs. These three creators were crucial to the development of the fan communities around the comics, and the impact is still felt within the larger German society. American Studies has many blind spots; it is apt to ignore things which have already been "definitively" examined. I seek to examine Disney comics, particularly in a transnational context. However, the final word on this scholarship is Dorfman and Mattelart's Marxist reading of the comics How To Read Donald Duck, originally published in 1973 in the shadow of Pinochet's coup in Chile. It is a key work of scholarship on the power of the comic book, yet has effectively served as the last word on the Disney comic since. My endeavors to apply new theories to more fully examine the worldwide popularity of Disney's character have consistently faced the presumption that I am approaching the works from the same angle, just updated to current theory. This presumption of the work being couched within the post-colonial theory has created expectations with what the work should be. I believe that Disney's influence is different than is immediately apparent, and that the criticism of How To Read Donald Duck is not entirely unwarranted, but becomes overly simplistic when applied to the broader spectrum of Disney media worldwide. There is a tendency in academia to posit Disney as a harbinger of American imperialism and a fixture of neoliberal values, but I contend that their comics are not being read by the populace in the manner put forth. What I would do is in the same vein as Dorfman and Mattelart: reconsidering how these comics are received by their readers, and how that impacts the culture around them. Consensus among the fan community places Carl Barks as the most significant creator of Donald Duck comics, a paragon that enshrined the character and his supporting in the public consciousness the world over. The art and stories of Barks were the foundation upon which fandoms were built, and the subject of opposition from certain intellectual circles, but this view fails to consider the contribution of others in the development of this readership. The editor Erika Fuchs was single-handedly responsible for the written content of these comics in Germany for several decades, allowing her readers to consume them not as exotic foreign media but as familiar storybooks. Her translations are especially notable for subtly shifting and changing the written words to suit the German audience, and reflects a significant case for the consideration of translation studies. Fuchs's work allowed these comics on a position similar to that of superhero comics in America, inspiring a continuous run of comic books, collected volumes, fan conventions, and even a traveling art exhibit. The modern state of Donald Duck fandom in Germany reflects the end result of a process of negotiation that reconsiders cultural imports within an existing cultural context.