Discourses of Migration in Documentary Film

Translating the Real to the Reel

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by Alexandra J. Sanchez

Type: Essays
Subject: Genre > Documentary
Keywords: documentary, immigration
Publishing date: 2022
Publisher: Palgrave MacMillan
Language: English

Relative size

Physical desc.

Hardcover • 300 pages
5 ¾ x 8 ½ inches (14.5 x 21.5 cm)

ISBN

978-3-031-06538-5

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Book Presentation:
This book proposes a new approach to the study of discourse in documentary film. It considers discourse as a basic factor of translation (as well as contexts, agents, and practices) and draws on the parallels between the disciplines of translating and documentary making to perform a discourse analysis of documentaries centering on migration. By relying on the concept of translation as a heuristic tool, the author highlights the discursive mechanisms of 18 documentaries on Latin American migration shown in the United States by the Public Broadcasting Service series POV between 1996 and 2018. This interdisciplinary approach facilitates a holistic analysis of documentary film discourse, while also raising awareness of positive discourses of migration. The book will be of interest to students and scholars involved in the study of discourse, translation, documentary, television, and migration.

About the Author:
Alexandra J. Sanchez is a Research Fellow at KU Leuven, Belgium.

Press Reviews:
"This book is carefully developed and methodologically interesting effort to map the intersection of three fields: documentary studies, translation studies, and discourse analysis. It accomplishes this through the detailed examination of a corpus of eighteen documentaries on migration, belonging to the acclaimed PBS series POV. For Sanchez, the documentarist is a cultural translator negotiating the difference between the reality of migrants and migration, and the forms of representation that can be most effective in the target culture. Four aspects of translation contexts, agents, practices, and discourses guide her study in positive discourse analysis, i.e., the exploration of the fluid and potentially empowering space between the mainstream and dissenting voices."

―Juan Poblete, University of California Santa Cruz, USA

"In the era of global migration, this timely study make a significant contribution to the interdisciplinary study ofdocumentary film addressing Latinx mobilities in the US. Combining Translation Studies and Cultural Studies, the impressive volume provides insightful readings of how migrants’ lives and concerns addressing parenthood, citizenship, sexuality, and biculturality are addressed in the work of independent filmmakers. It is essential reading to both researchers and practitioners in the field."

―Jopi Nyman, University of Eastern Finland, Finland

"Both captivating and urgent, this work offers a fresh perspective on Latinx migration. It demonstrates how independent documentary films translate real-life discourses about migration, family, citizenship and culture. Beyond the rich case studies on Latinx migration in the US, Alexandra J. Sanchez provides a convincing framework for studying how (documentary) filmmakers tackle the major social issues of their time."

―Kevin Smets, Associate Professor, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium

See the publisher website: Palgrave MacMillan

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