This article has been subjected to double blind peer review

This article has been published in: Ocula 27, Flux 2023

author: Emanuela Ammendola

Translating the Pacific for children. Moana: Polynesian identity and multilingualism through Disney lens

language: english

abstract: Modern forms of communication, such as audiovisual products, are widely used for representing different cultures and lands marking the passage from the purely written form to the multimodal one. Such representations become globally accessible thanks to translation that can represent a “liminal space” (Turner, 1967) where cultural and linguistic meanings are deconstructed and re-constructed through the use of different codes and channels of communication; however, representing the Other not rarely leads to alterations of cultural and linguistic meanings. This essay focuses on the adaptation of myth, story and culture in the Disney animated movie “Moana” which offers considerable insights into the different strategies used in reproducing the multilingualism of Polynesian world. The first part of this essay will focus on the Disney adaptation to the big screen of Polynesian culture and tradition, while the second part will centre on the possibility of translating Polynesian identity and multilingualism into other languages, with particular focus on its Italian adaptation.

citation information: Emanuela Ammendola, Translating the Pacific for children. Moana: Polynesian identity and multilingualism through Disney lens, "Ocula", vol.24, n.27, pp.1-18, February 2023. DOI: 10.57576/ocula2023-1

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