The Non-Art of Subtitling and the Reductionist Use of Humour within Critical and Artistic Elements of the New Media Artwork
by Pete Hindle
On Friday, I left the house for Datarama, Newcastle’s software version of Dorkbot. Well, maybe it’s a more artistic, friendly version of Dorkbot, without all the posturing that can be seen at the Limehouse. That’s not strictly important.
What is important is that, whilst there, I presented my resubtitled version of Gran Torismo.
Gran.Torino.subtitles (that’s the subtitle file, you’ll need your own copy of the film to watch it with)
Now, I have a deep problem with this work. Born out of my constant need for procrastination, whilst trying to work on a thesis-like document for my Masters degree in Digital Media, it is a collection of bad jokes that destroy whatever craft has been put into play in the creation of Eastwood’s Gran Torino. Torino might be a very good film; I have no idea. Almost immediately, rather than watch it, I began subtitling it using the cultural reference points of Clint Eastwood as a famous person.
I’m making it available as a file for others to look at and use, if they want to. The humour is crude and full of swearing, so don’t expect many shining examples of wit, and I only did the first ten minutes or so of the film. It is not, however, an exercise in art – it is an exercise in ill-placed mockery, and should be seen as something crude.
[...] I was emboldened to attempt to develop my own subtitle file following a presentation given by Pete Hindle at the Datarama event in October. He had taken the Clint Eastwood film ‘Gran Torino’ and embedded a hacked subtitle file which imposed his own sarcastic dialogue onto the film. You can read all about it here. [...]