Trends in translation

Trends are difficult to track with any real authority, and they become especially difficult to explain to an audience that has not experienced the trend themselves. A few articles today try to explain cultural differences and the trends that spring from them, with varying degrees of success.

Quirky does not begin to describe a New York Times article today on Japanese fashions meant to prevent crime. The article discusses novelty clothing items and accessories that unfold to offer camouflage to the wearer who fears street crime. I had a very hard time wrapping my mind around how they actually worked until I saw the accompanying slide show; these inventions do not lend themselves to easy description, but the author tries his best to explain them. The article's greatest lack, though, was of customers' opinions of the items. Apparently, about 20 people have bought skirts that unfold to disguise the wearer as a vending machine, and I would love to ask them: why? Why on earth would you find this useful enough to spend $800 on it? The topic is undoubtedly novel, but in trying to convey the reasoning behind it, something has definitely been lost in translation.

A Washington Post article on the return of the noose as a symbol of intimidation much more clearly conveys the reasons it inspires fear in a marginalized part of society and would leave an impression even on those unfamiliar with American culture and racial attitudes. The article tracks the recent appearance of nooses as a form of racism and hatred expressed towards African-Americans, following the controversial situation in Jena, La., that brought national attention to lingering racist attitudes. Even if the initial image in the lede lacks significance to unfamiliar readers, later in the article the history of the noose as a symbol of hatred makes the article's point more explicitly. This article also takes the pulse of those affected by the issue, including quotes from members of the communities in which nooses have appeared.

A somewhat less curious trend than vending-machine-skirts appears in a Boston Globe article on the increased popularity of "Boston" as a baby name. The article tries to capture the culture of Red Sox Nation by suggesting that the increase in the popularity of this name followed the Red Sox 2004 World Series victory. While it does share the impressions of the city among parents from outside Massachusetts who are choosing this name for their sons, it fails to tap into the associations naming one's children after the Red Sox would have in the local area. Since much of the Globe's readership is local, it doesn't really have to explain the culture in a way that would be accessible to outsiders, but it still would have been interesting for the article to show the connection between these outsiders naming their sons "Boston" and the Boston natives who obsessively name pets and children after Red Sox players.