ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the complex processes of cultural translation in the 2016 superhero film Doctor Strange. It analyses the interrelationship between the economics of the global film market and narrative conventions, as well as political and cultural aspects of the superhero genre. The chapter sheds light on the multiple layers of translation that are involved, arguing that the film’s main protagonist, ‘the Ancient One,’ which is played by the white British actress Tilda Swinton, reflects attempts to ‘Easternize’ rather than ‘Westernize’ this particular hero story. The case of Doctor Strange calls attention to the challenge that an emerging shift in global power relations and the dynamics of global capitalism poses to the dominance of pop-heroes of American origin. Against the backdrop of twenty-first-century globalization, the film reveals that notions of authenticity, borders, and identity are increasingly challenged and revised in popular culture.
