Cultura Americana

Prof. Stephen Wilson

Second semester – A.Y. 2018/2019

Giulia-Nemeye Giubertoni
2018253536
March 15, 2019

The Girl Can’t Help It (1956)

The title

As a language student, I personally enjoy translating titles of movies,

books but also sayings and proverbs from one language to the other.

It is therefore interesting to me the fact that the original title The Girl Can’t
Help It has been re-interpreted and translated into the Italian title Gangster
Cerca Moglie, which basically means “Gangster looking for wife”; on the other
hand it would change and becomes respectively Sabes o que Quero and Tu
Sabes lo que Quiero sentences meaning “you know what I want” in
respectively Portuguese and Spanish.

The question is “The Girl Can’t Translate It, …can she?”.

Of course, one may claim that titles change such as specific cultural
references vary from country to country. The reason one should adjust a
sentence or a structure is to get the best and most effective impact on the
public, also possibly to go over people’s heads for some time. Furthermore, the
more striking the title is, the more people will remember it and consequently
feel like going to the movies.

Regardless all the reasons why translators would play around and differently
with the words and expressions they can take advantage of, all these three
variants I have found have in common a pretty standardized and denigrating
way of seeing ‘women’. A specifically plain idea and interpretation of female
figure transpires, as if they are not too much of round characters, but rather flat
characters.

As a matter of fact, a title such as The Girl Can’t Help It takes up the idea that a woman is
not a rational being, and may consequently act in childlike and silly way: she can not help certain
behaviors.

Regarding the Italian choice of words for the title, Gangster Cerca
Moglie – “gangster looking for wife”, this second option of title
seems instead to take up the idea that the woman is an object to
show off, and therefore rather something to look for than someone
looking for a partner. The active “hunter” is foreseen and quite
unquestionably assigned to a male counterpart, resulting in an
objectification of the woman. Women also were supposed to be
following a specific idea of beauty*.
 Giulia-Nemeye Giubertoni
2018253536

To conclude, the Portuguese and Spanish version Sabes o que Quer and Tu Saber lo que Quiero -
translations of “you know what I want” denotes another typical stereotype according to which
women are complicated, do not express themselves clearly and directly, and assume that it is
telepathically known “what they want”.

Brief comment on the movie The Girl Can't Help It

I believe that it comes now without saying that a girl is involved in the plot of movie The
Girl Can’t Help It. She is a talentless and beautiful Jerri Jordan, played by Jayne Mansfield, sex
symbol during the 50s and 60s. She cannot sing but despite this, and thanks to her protector and her
striking figure, she would succeed in becoming a star.

Overall, it seems to me that the movie was worth the 3-hours length thanks to the presence of early
rockers such as Little Richard, and Gene Vincent.

In the plot, two men are present too: a musical agent (Tom Miller), and a gangster
(Murdock), who wants Jerri to be helped by the former in order to become a star.
Everything seems to be working out, also thanks to Jerri’s beautiful appearance and charm, and of
course her following Miller’s rules such as answering to any question with the sentence “ask my
agent”.

Her future as a star seems to have been plannified, without leaving her time to reflect and
ponder it: at the end it becomes clear that what the woman wants is a life as housewife.

Not only does she want a quiet and normal life, the girl does not seem to be ready for success in the
music scenario because… she cannot even sing in tune.

Miller will inform about this his boss, who eventually manages to impose Jerri’s
(weird, unusual) screamed and innovative song thanks to his old gangster’s manner.
This is peculiar because, the movie somehow shows us a morale which is also
extremely modern and applicable to our nowadays: whoever can be a star and
become famous.

*As previously mentioned, and to conclude, it was during these years (50s)
that the hourglass body type was highly desired. Curvaceous movie stars’ bodies
were models to aim to.

In fact, the expression “wasp’s waist” originated back in this period. Women
suffered, striving to satisfy such expectations, for instance their hair was styled, and
sprayed until desirable wavy style was attained. Women should also wear make up,
as Jerri would once say:

Pretty is just how good you apply your base.