Why do people dislike reading subtitles?

[Kenbo Slice]

I hate dubbed movies and Americanized versions of great foreign movies. What's wrong with the original version? My friend told me that it's dumb it wasn't in English in the first place...I was dumbstruck.

Soooo what's your guys's opinions on subbed/dubbed/Americanized versions of films?

 

[Vault101]

I always prefer subtitles...dubbing kills it for me

however, I am a fast reader, but it can be a bit distracting at times, and takes ones attention away from the visual. plus if you look away from the screen at all

but yeah I srill prefer subs

 

[Clive Howlitzer]

I have no problem reading subtitles. I prefer it for any live action films. However for animated features, I vastly prefer just watching a dub.
I think most people have an issue because it distracts them from watching the film itself. Oftentimes also, you can't appreciate the acting in another language because nuances of it are lost on you.

 

[Dimitriov]

I like subtitles. I'd prefer to see a movie as it was originally directed. With subs you still get the understanding of how they are saying what you are reading, but with dubs who knows how it was supposed to be?

 

[Kenbo Slice]

I hate dubbed movies and Americanized versions of great foreign movies. What's wrong with the original version? My friend told me that it's dumb it wasn't in English in the first place...I was dumbstruck.

Soooo what's your guys's opinions on subbed/dubbed/Americanized versions of films?

Before this thread gets too far...

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.319489-Poll-Subs-or-dubs?page=3#13040028

The Search Bar is your friend. It won't hurt you.

OT: I prefer anime in dub unless its by 4kids. Most of the time, the English VAs do a wonderful job. Also, I'd rather be able to multi-task, and its easier for me to comprehend through audio instead of audio+video.

The crappy early dub work does not mean that EVERY dub job is bad.

Not talking about anime, I'm talking about actual movies.

 

[SirDeadly]

I often look away from the screen so I miss parts if it is subbed. It also gets distracting and can draw attention away from the actual show/movie.

 

[thespyisdead]

i am ok with subs, but i found the subs, for me, take the whole point of watching the movie/anime away: immersion

i also found that you have to be glued to the monitor/TV if you want to watch subs, which isn't nice, especially if you are making food, and waching a sub at the same time

besides... not all dubs are bad, with the exception of those 70s-80s kung-fu dubs... they tend to be dreadful, but still are enjoyable to watch

 

[b3nn3tt]

I think that they distract from the actual watching of the film. It's a lot harder to concentrate on the acting if you're reading subtitles throughtout the film. That being said, I do tend to use subtitles when watching foreign films. But I can understand why people may not like them.

 

[Nibblitman]

The issue with subtitles is that I dont really understand how different cultures express things with tone and word play. If though a good VA has done a dub of it, it can make it a much better experience where I understand what is going on on a deeper level.

 

[JemothSkarii]

Never quite understood why sooo many people hate dubs of anime; I've only heard one Dub that I disliked and that's because they got the COMPLETELY wrong kind of voice for the Millenium Earl.

Anyways...

For live action movies, I prefer subs, unless it's like Kung Pow, which is horrible on purpose.

 

[trollnystan]

I'm Swedish. Subtitles are AWESOME =D

We subtitle everything here unless it's geared toward kids under 8. Of course I now have the opposite problem of almost NEEDING subtitles or I don't hear what they say. So if the choice is there I will put subtitles on even if the film/show in question is in English or Swedish.

But I suppose I understand why people might not like them.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I strongly prefer watching movies with the original audio. When a film is dubbed over for another language, it's uncommon for the voice actors/ actresses to convey the same emotion given in the original performance. It's not nearly as organic and takes me out of the experience. Unless of course it's one of the dubs that are so terrible they're funny, like with many kung-fu movies of the 70's.

Of course there are exceptions. Some of the Spanish dubs I've seen have been filled with passion...and a lot of those were also hilarious.

To answer the question presented in the title of the thread though, I assume people don't like reading subs because they just want to pop in a movie and shut off their brain. They want the background noise, the explosions, the sex, etc but the subtitles takes away for those who just want to sit back and enjoy a nice stupor.

 

[Suijen]

If the English dubbing is done well, than I would prefer that. Keep in mind that reading subtitles can distract you from what's going on in screen. It's usually not a deal-killer for me, but I can understand how some people would be upset.

 

[Bucht]

In Belgium all movies get subtitles (Children's movies get a dubbed version too) so we're used to reading them, though most of the time if I watch movies in English i'll turn them off.

 

[Sectan]

Usually foreign languages have different mannerisms and when that translates into English it sounds so forced and so weird. I like subtitles, but I notice that I have to re-watch the episode to understand what happened.