Glossary entry

Spanish term or phrase:

le tocaba ahora transformarlo

English translation:

it was up to him to transform it

Added to glossary by Lisa McCarthy
Jan 28, 2009 23:24
15 yrs ago
Spanish term

le tocaba ahora transformarlo

Spanish to English Art/Literary Cinema, Film, TV, Drama
En el año 1952, el joven Guy Debord, que se iba a convertir en el principal teórico de la Internacional Situacionista, presentaba en el Musée de l’homme de París la película ‘Hurlements en faveur de Sade” (Lamentos en favor de Sade), ochenta minutos de pantalla en blanco con voz en off, reproduciendo discursos letristas o pos-surrealistas. Además de pretender crear situaciones, Debord transmitía esa negación absoluta del cine: ya que el mundo había sido filmado, **le tocaba ahora transformarlo**.

Proposed translations

+5
2 mins
Selected

now he had to transform it/it was up to him to transform it

since the world had already been filmed, it was up to him to/ now he had to change/transform it.

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Note added at 4 mins (2009-01-28 23:29:19 GMT)
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I think he might mean the world, in a kind of "guffy" way, as in, he would change the way we saw the world with his cinema, perhaps... The world we would see would be transformed...
Perhaps. Does that help?

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Note added at 9 mins (2009-01-28 23:33:42 GMT)
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Although, using "it" you can leave the ambiguity where it is anyway...
he's certainly turning the world of cinema on it's head, negating it... I'm a huge Dada fan so good on him, I say. Good luck Lisa.

PS just seen Robert's post: another option. I'd still take the easy route and use "it", or flag it to the client...
Peer comment(s):

agree De Novi
42 mins
Thank you Zanne! :)
agree Jill Ananyi : Kate, I started writing a different answer after looking at your first answer, but in the end I edited it and ended up with one that is the same as your second option. Sorry — you deserve the credit.
1 hr
No worries I'm sure I have done the same or worse, quite by accident... Thanks for the agree, most kind...
agree Catherine Gilsenan
1 hr
Thanks Catherine! :)
agree Owen Munday
9 hrs
Thank you Owen! :)
agree Gabriel Bustos
14 hrs
Gracias Gabriel! :)
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Cheers Kate - Happy Monday!"
10 mins

now he had to go one better

Language borrowed from the rugby field.

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Note added at 14 mins (2009-01-28 23:39:18 GMT)
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After scoring a 'try' (i.e. the 'blank screen' exercise) he had to make a 'conversion' (= transformación) to win extra 'brownie points':

http://www.wordreference.com/es/translation.asp?tranword=con...
(in rugby) transformar, convertir(conj.⇒)
Something went wrong...
+1
15 mins

now it was up to him to transform it

This is idiomatic English and also leaves the ambiguity about whether he must transform the medium or the world.
Peer comment(s):

agree Jessica Agullo (X) : yes I think so
11 mins
Thanks, Jessica, but it appears that Kate posted this answer first.
neutral Kate Major Patience : I have already posted this option above!!!
31 mins
Something went wrong...
4 mins

the time had come for him to transform the medium

I don't think that using the impersonal pronoun "it" will work so well in English.

Suerte.

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Note added at 17 hrs (2009-01-29 16:40:06 GMT)
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One of the problems with using the pronoun "it" here is that it might leave the reader wondering whether Debord felt the time had come to transform "the world," or the medium of cinema.
Something went wrong...
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