AN ANALYSIS OF SUBTITLING STRATEGIES USED IN DAVID FINCHER’S “THE SOCIAL NETWORK” MOVIE

Abstract

Subtitling or audiovisual translation is a specialized form of translation that took the stage in the realm of entertainment. In the context of movies, subtitling is an element in ensuring global audiences can access and appreciate cinematic creations across linguistic boundaries. The objective of this study is to identify types of subtitling strategies used in David Fincher's "The Social Network" Movie and develop a model of effective English to Indonesian subtitling strategies. This study employed a descriptive qualitative approach and case study as the research design. The data collection methods were content analysis and questionnaire. The researchers used the movie script and the transcriptions of the subtitles. Gottlieb’s subtitling theory (1992) was adopted in the data analysis process. The findings showed there were seven strategies employed in the subtitling process, namely expansion (4.90%), paraphrase (21.79%), transfer (76.36%), imitation (22.43%), condensation (6.55%), decimation (1.66%), and deletion (2.03%). Each strategy served distinct purposes, such as expanding dialogue, condensing information, or emphasizing key elements of the narrative. Furthermore, the most frequently used strategy was transfer (76.36%) as the strategy emphasized on clarity and contextually accurate to the original dialogue, followed by imitation (22.43%) and paraphrase (21.79%) since the movie was filled with culturally specific references and technical jargons that could potentially confuse the target audience. Only two of Gottlieb's ten subtitling strategies, Transfer and Paraphrase, stand independently. The remaining strategies are dependent on the two strategies. The strategies??? needs to be modified or given more context in order to properly communicate the intended meaning.