Lost in Univision Translation

Following Monday’s record-breaking ratings for the first season 9 p.m. finale of telenovela Soy Tu Dueňa, broadcaster Univision rightly crowed about the show’s 9.4 million viewers and across-the-board claim to the prized 18-to-49 viewer demo.

But as reports in the L.A. Times and Variety have separately pointed out, the literal translation of the show’s title has been greatly softened for English language consumption. Instead of the diccionario-correct I’m Your Owner, we get Women of Steel.

Based on the show’s plot line – a woman abandoned at the altar vows to never love again until she can fall once more for the man she shot – a better translation might be Women of the Mental Ward. As Pedro Almodóvar once proved on the big screen, the titular mention of nervous breakdown possibilities does not necessarily hurt a property’s public adoption chances.

There is speculation that the English language softening has something to do the forward-thinking possibility of an American remake. Which leaves the reality TV folks to fight over the non-pc possibilities of I’m Your Owner.

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