The sexist translator and the feminist heroine. Politically incorrect language in films and TV

Some of the films and TV series which have attracted the general public and the more sophisticated viewers in the past and even in our age of supposed political correctness are notable for their sexist language at the expense of women characters. This chapter argues that a great part of the pleasure felt by audiences and authors alike is due to the temporary relief from the constraints of politically correct language even when the presence of strong and independent female characters seems to problematize this view. When the translation process is brought into the equation, it adds further layers of nuance to already charged texts. After an introduction devoted to the intersections between audiovisual translation and gender studies, the notion of the audiovisual translator as sexist manipulator is introduced through the discussion of some Italian adaptations for dubbing. The focus is on how these translated texts, especially those from pre-politically correct eras, filter narratives in which women attempt to come into their own by following a precise ideological pattern which models characterisations into new and sometimes dubious forms.