From deep state to deep translation: the Inside Job of translating humor, culture, and taboos in audiovisual products

This thesis explores the complexities of Audiovisual Translation (AVT), with a focus on cultural, humorous, and taboo elements. After presenting a theoretical framework of Audiovisual Translation and emphasizing the strategies and constraints of dubbing and subtitling, this thesis goes on to examine the types of cultural references, humorous elements, and taboo language in audiovisual products, identifying the key strategies used by translators and the main challenges these elements constitute in AVT. The second and more practical half of this thesis focuses on the Netflix TV series Inside Job and offers an in-depth analysis of some of the most significant instances of cultural, humorous, and/or taboo elements and of their translation in the Italian adaptations. The findings of the analysis reveal issues with literal translations and cultural localization in both the Italian subtitles and dubbed adaptation and highlight the need for better cultural training and unified strategies in AVT to ensure translations that are able to preserve the original script’s intent, meaning, and effect. The purpose of this thesis is to offer insights into the complexities of translating audiovisual products and to shed light on the issues that arise when translating cultural, humorous, and taboo elements from English into Italian.