Dissociative identity disorder (DID) is one of the most controversial scientifically approved mental disorders in the United States, for it is surrounded by a number of ever-changing medical and non-medical perceptions due to change of time. The present study aims to undertake a dynamic intersemiotic translation process of DID in Hollywood films, which takes time into consideration, in relation to American society and culture. To undertake this process, the study first applies Marais’s (2019a, 2019b, 2020, 2023) and Aguiar and Queiroz’s models (2009, 2013) to investigate, on a “macro” level, the semiotic process of translating DID in films constrained by the ever-changing socio-cultural perceptions to produce ever-changing interpretations of DID. This hybrid model enables the discussion to conduct a translation process of DID in the form of a governing Peircean triadic semiotic relation, where DID acts as the “Object”, ever-changing socio-cultural beliefs and attitudes as a source sign system (Representamen), and films as a target sign system (Interpretant). Moreover, by applying O’Halloran et al.’s (2016) Systemic Functional Multimodal Discourse Analysis (SF-MDA) to intersemiotic translation, the study also examines the effect of source texts, such as screenplays, as a “micro” constraint to shape the translation process of DID in films. The study selects Laeta Kalogridis’ screenplay of Shutter Island (2010) and the film directed by Scorsese (2010) to examine the dynamic resemiotisation process of 1950s-DID translation in terms of causes, symptoms, and treatment, from the textual level into the visual level. The study concludes the existence of a relation of “Semiotic Repetition” between the two modes as well as the richness of the filmic language, which overpowers the linguistic resources used in the screenplay. |
