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Subtitles

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Spencer Hawken makes a good point about the audience supporting movies that keep their identity. I most definitely agree. Although dubbing does have its benefits, it seems like an imposition of the English language over all others. I personally hate dubbing because of how fake and horribly acted it sounds. While Hawken gave Italian horror films as his example, I will use Asian films.

For a long time people have made fun of the old Jackie Chan or Bruce Lee movies that used dubbing. The English dubbing was not only poorly acted, but completely inaccurate. Often times the mouths of the actors would still be moving even after the supposed "translation" was over. Poor dubbing makes these classic movies seem ridiculous when in actuality they should be appreciated as good movies. Recent films like Kung Pow effectively make fun of the poor dubbing done in these older movies.

Although dubbing has improved, it will never equal the authenticity of the actual voices of the actors in the movies. The actors take much time and effort to learn their lines. It is not only about what is said, but obviously how it is said. They infuse their feelings into the words, emphasizing one thing or ignoring another. As an English major I'd rather read the subtitles so that I can appreciate the language being used. Take, for example, Dragon Tiger Gate (wonderful Kung Fu film with Donnie Yen). I saw it first in subtitles and had no trouble reading it and I could appreciate the authentic acting from those involved. I saw it again with English dubbing because of my brother and I hated it. The dubbing did not match what was being said in the subtitles, the dubbing voices were nothing like the actual actors' voices, and it just seemed ridiculous to have Asian actors with British and American accents. I don't know if it would bother any of you, but it sure did bother me.

To conclude, I enjoy subtitles better because it keeps the authenticity of the film and the language used by the actors. Also, if the audience member happens to speak the language they don't have to endure horribly fake and poorly acted dubbing. On the bright side, there is a compromise because DVD films now bring choices. You can choose to watch the movie with or without subtitles or without or without dubbing. So, there is the silver lining to this argument.

Learn more about this author, Anna Yaguexta.
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