Mononoke Hime English srt HJv1.0 README

Princess Mononoke English subtitles
for use with the original Japanese soundtrack
v1.0
by HarkJohnson <HarkJohnson@aol.com>

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These subtitles are synched to the following file:

Mononoke.hime.1997.HDTV.720p.2xAC3.x264.mkv
(4.29 GB, 1280x720, dual AC-3 audio)

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REVISION HISTORY:

v1.0 (2013-03-04)
- First public release.

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HOW TO INJECT SUBTITLES INTO AN EXISTING MKV:

Windows (should be similar on Mac and *nix):
- Procure and install MKVToolNix.
- Run 'mkvmerge GUI' (on Windows, this is 'mmg.exe').
- Open the original mkv as the input file.
- Uncheck any subtitle and audio tracks you don't care about.
- Click the "add" button and select the .srt file that came along with this readme.
- Optionally change which audio and/or subtitles you want to be on by default via the "Default track flag" field.
- Choose your output path/filename.
- Click "Start muxing".

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DISCLAIMER:

I'm sure there is some permission somewhere that I don't have to release these subtitles.  I did this project on a lark, and it is just meant to be for fun, like a remix.  This isn't intended to ever be sold or distributed or anything like that.

And if you created any of the source material I pulled from, and aren't happy with me, feel free to drop me an e-mail and vent.  I can't promise I can do anything about it, though, other than to stop making new versions.

Also, I'm just one person, and I'm sure there are msitakes and areas that could use more work.  If you see anything like that, or just have more general comments, please drop me an e-mail!

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SOURCES:

I used the embedded subtitles from the above-mentioned mkv as a starting point, and the timings in those were great, so I often left those unchanged.  As to the words, I often modified those, quite drastically in some instances, but not at all in others.  Sometimes I used words and phrasings from other scripts that I found online.

Here are links to English scripts that I consulted:
http://www.mv.com/users/ctwilkes/MH-text-j/index.html
http://www.oomu.org/documents/mhsp.html
http://animetranscripts.wikispaces.com/Princess+Mononoke

Also this one, which may just be a dup of the wikispaces one, but with crappier formatting:
http://www.script-o-rama.com/movie_scripts/p/princess-mononoke-script-transcript-hayao.html

Here is a link to a Japanese script that I consulted:
http://el.mdu.edu.tw/datacos/09522162033A/mononoke-princess.pdf

And finally, I occasionally opened up the DVD, both for the dub and the subs.

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MY THOUGHTS:

I think subtitles are awkward, as they continually force the audience's eyes down to the bottom of the screen, and generally this isn't where the film makers wanted you to be looking.

I think dubs are also awkward (regardless of the quality of the script and acting) as they mask an important element of foreignness in a foreign film, and at the same time force one language's cadence and pacing to be stuffed inside the carcass of another's.

Either way, you have to make some tough choices, as few words, let alone entire sentences, will carry exactly the same connotations and denotations in both languages.

Along these lines, I think it is sometimes important to remind the audience that they may not have the right set of cultural references available to them.  For this reason, I've often used the Japanese names for people or creatures in my subtitles, because I didn't think it was fair to use English words that could bring their own English/American/European/Judeo-Christian hidden meanings and prejudices.

For example, instead of "Great Spirit" or "Forest Spirit", like the English dub, or the awkward "Deer God" of the official subs, I just used the Japanese name, "Shishi-Gami".  Sure, "shishi" literally means deer, and "gami" literally means god, and even the Native American style notion of a "Great Spirit" might be similar enough to act as a starting point for English speakers.  But, if I'm honest with myself, "Great Spirit" and "Forest Spirit" evoke new-age/hippy prejudices in my mind, and I take those with me as I begin to try to understand the character of the Shishi-gami as represented in this movie.  And I don't want an English speaking audience to have to start from loaded words and concepts, and then work backwards to unload those connotations, in order to then make room for what the film makers actually intended.

And maybe I'm wrong, and I've only made this movie less approachable rather than more.

Either way, I won't know if I don't hear from you about it, so feel free to e-mail me what you think.

 - HarkJohnson <HarkJohnson@aol.com>

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