(Inter/Cross/Trans)Mediality, appropriation and subjectivity: translational approaches to transmedia storytelling

Abstract

In transmedia storytelling, media-content providers develop texts across several technological platforms, thus taking advantage of each platform’s specific qualities and abilities. According to Jenkins (2006, p. 21), transmedia storytelling is “the art of world making”. This article explores the translation of transmedia products in multilingual and multicultural contexts in an attempt to contextualize the complex network of linguistic, sociolinguistic and sociocultural factors that may play a dominant role during the translation process. Particular attention is given to examine the phenomenon of agency to explore critically the challenges posed by user engagement and alternative practices of translation, using as illustrations particular examples of contemporary transmedia franchises in the United States and Spain. The interdependent relations between source and target texts will be analyzed to investigate how translation choices subtly convey different epistemological positions or ideological sympathies in an attempt to shed light on the underlying dynamics of dissemination and influence of ideas through transmedia storytelling.