Juli-numret av brittiska Word Magazine (namnet till trots en musiktidning) har en genomgång av "Catch 22 and 77 other examples of showbiz hijacking the language". Här får man veta ursprunget till och den aktuella betydelsen av en rad fraser som tagit sig från film och tv in i vardagsspråket. Till exempel "back to square one", tillbaka på ruta ett:

"An expression which can be traced back to the early days of radio football commentary when Radio Times printeda grid of the pitch, divided into numbered squares to help listeners locate the action. Square one covered the center circle, so when the game was restarted after a goal, it was "back to square one."

eller "This time it's personal":

"Like the equally ubiquitous 'Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water' this is another tagline from a truly awful Jaws sequel (in this case Jaws: The revenge) which has gained a cultural influence far beyond its humble origins."

Nyttigt för översättare, kan jag tänka. En syster-artikel handlar om filmscenografi som enligt Christopher Bray "reshaped the world in their image" (båda på nätet tyvärr bara för prenumeranter). Bästa exemplet:

"When Ronald Reagan became President of the United States one of his first expressed wishes was to be taken to the Pentagon war-room. Once there, though, Reagan looked more confused than even his closest advisors were used to. Where, Reagan wanted to know, was the circular, felt-covered 30-foot war table? Where was the tubular ring of light that hung above the table? Where was the shiny black floor with the maps of the world reflected in it? Aw shucks, Mr president, somebody had to say. That was just a set that Ken Adams built for Dr Strangelove."

(I så fall inte första gången Reagan förväxlade film och verklighet: se Way Out There in the Blue om Wing and a prayer och Star Wars.)

Till detta borde man nog läsa Mediated : How the Media Shapes Your World and the Way You Live in It av Thomas de Zengotita. Från en recension på amazon:

"The ultimate (and often intentionally secret) goal of modernity is to get God out of the equation so man can finally become the author of his own being. The terror of arbitrariness - the accident of your race and gender - and the universal pain of anonymity, are cured, superficially, by the freedom to make choices. (...) Forget heroes and idols. You are the center of it all. (...)

In Mediated, you'll learn why storms now have names. You'll learn why people describe 9/11 as a 'surreal' event. You'll learn why George Bush assumes the postures of Texas manliness. You'll learn why it has become normal to implant fish genes in strawberries. And, of course, you'll learn why we feel compelled to put words in 'quotes'."

Nån som läst den?


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