A
plus rarely raised for
subtitles in the
sub vs.
dub debate, is their
reverse-
compatibility. A
subtitled film is
accessible to two languages. Films can even be
double-subbed to be accessible to
three different languages.
It feels like such a
rip-off to
flick channels and stop at
The Avengers or
Return of the Jedi, only to
realise it's
dubbed: both low
quality for the
French (since many
voice actors have the
acting ability of a
porn star)
and inaccessible to the English. I would
never have seen
More if it weren't for subtitles, since it's a
rare movie to find in
video stores and was playing on a French
channel. And,
interesting to note, I found it hard
not to
read the French subtitles, which is
contrary to many
people's
arguments
against subtitles and also served to add a little to my French
vocabulary.
Subtitles would also be
useful for films that
incorporate more than
two languages. For example, in
Seven Years in Tibet,
Brad Pitt played an
Austrian, who travelled to
Tibet with some
Germans. There seemed to be hardly any language
barriers, considering
everybody was
fluent in English. Now, were they really all
speaking
English? Or German? Or
Tibetan? Or
Chinese?
But who really cares, it's only a movie.Thanks, Gamaliel. The Red Violin is a great subtitling example.