{"id":283,"date":"2021-07-26T23:05:42","date_gmt":"2021-07-26T23:05:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/understanding-literacy-in-our-lives\/?post_type=chapter&p=283"},"modified":"2021-08-09T16:14:34","modified_gmt":"2021-08-09T16:14:34","slug":"7-3-1-reading-subtitles-argument-from-experience","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/understanding-literacy-in-our-lives\/chapter\/7-3-1-reading-subtitles-argument-from-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"7.3.1 Reading subtitles (argument from experience)"},"content":{"raw":"

English 102, January 2021<\/h3>\r\nGrowing up, my family and I would watch movies or TV shows every night. There were some occasions when the movie or show we were watching seemed off. The sounds seemed dull, and the lips were out of sync with the dialogue.\u00a0One\u00a0such\u00a0movie\u00a0that\u00a0we watched was\u00a0Akira<\/em>.\u00a0I didn\u2019t realize how\u00a0complex\u00a0and captivating the movie was at the time, but I still tried to enjoy it.\u00a0Despite all the beautiful\u00a0animation and scenes,\u00a0awesome action, and\u00a0interesting\u00a0story,\u00a0the sound and dialogue did\u00a0not\u00a0fit the atmosphere.\u00a0Even after I asked my parents, I still did\u00a0not\u00a0entirely understand what was wrong with what we were watching.\u00a0All their explaining went in one ear, and out the other.\u00a0It took a lot of questioning on my part,\u00a0and patience on my parents,\u00a0to help me comprehend\u00a0it.\u00a0Eventually, I understood the\u00a0reason\u00a0that\u00a0everything seemed choppy was because the content we were watching was in a different language.\u00a0Since the movie is in a different language, there must be an overdub\u00a0so people can enjoy it in any language they want.\u00a0I just assumed for\u00a0the longest time\u00a0that the only way to watch movies and shows that were\u00a0not\u00a0in English was to\u00a0have the overdub on,\u00a0and deal with the\u00a0sloppy soundscape.\u00a0Oh\u00a0boy\u00a0was I wrong.\r\n\r\nMy entire life turned upside down when I was at my\u00a0friend's\u00a0house one night. He put\u00a0on a\u00a0Japanese\u00a0movie\u00a0about samurais,\u00a0and\u00a0the\u00a0dark powers that tempt and consume\u00a0them.\u00a0I wish I remembered the name of it, because I would love to watch it again.\u00a0Within seconds of watching, I realized that the audio was brighter, the foley\u00a0fit the atmosphere, and the\u00a0dialogue\u00a0was in the\u00a0original language that it was made in.\u00a0The\u00a0part that stood out the most\u00a0to\u00a0me, however, were the subtitles that accompanied every line.\u00a0No\u00a0more\u00a0were the days of me having to sit through\u00a0a\u00a0movie with a\u00a0poorly put together\u00a0soundboard and voice actors that didn\u2019t\u00a0get paid enough to\u00a0have\u00a0any\u00a0emotion or passion behind their words. My eyes, and especially ears,\u00a0were opened.\r\n\r\nFollowing that fateful day, I decided to rewatch some of the movies and shows that I was previously uninterested in.\u00a0Movies that I had thought to be bland and grey,\u00a0became\u00a0diverse\u00a0and colorful. It\u00a0is\u00a0almost unreal how big a difference\u00a0something as basic as\u00a0the audio can have on the quality\u00a0of\u00a0a movie or show.\u00a0Everything fits together much nicer\u00a0when the audio\u00a0is\u00a0designed to\u00a0match\u00a0the visual aspect.\u00a0Prisoners of\u00a0War<\/em>, which ended up being one of my favorite shows,\u00a0was\u00a0disappointing and flat-out bad\u00a0until I turned\u00a0the\u00a0subtitles on and used the original audio.\u00a0Prior to my discovery\u00a0and use\u00a0of subtitles, these movies and shows\u00a0were like\u00a01,000-piece\u00a0puzzles with\u00a0gray\u00a0pieces that all looked the same.\u00a0However,\u00a0the moment I flipped the subtitles on, the\u00a0puzzle\u00a0pieces began to look\u00a0more clear\u00a0and\u00a0they took definitive\u00a0forms.\u00a0The colors they absorbed\u00a0made everything clear and organized, so that I could really see it the way it\u00a0was\u00a0supposed to be\u00a0seen.\u00a0The depth that a show or movie has when watching with the original audio and subtitles\u00a0on\u00a0compared to an overdub\u00a0is monumental. It\u00a0is hard to believe that there are people who prefer the latter, when\u00a0they\u00a0are\u00a0capable of enjoying\u00a0it\u00a0at a much\u00a0higher level.\r\n\r\nOver time, I\u2019ve realized that there are certain\u00a0aspects\u00a0of watching these foreign productions with subtitles that I enjoy so\u00a0much and\u00a0have come to rely on.\u00a0Whenever I have\u00a0the subtitles on, I always seem to focus more on what\u2019s being said, and how it\u2019s\u00a0being\u00a0delivered.\u00a0It gives\u00a0all\u00a0the characters more life and the entire picture more depth\u00a0because it\u2019s being heard the way it was meant to be.\u00a0The personalities they have become apparent and intriguing.\u00a0I think that\u00a0due\u00a0to the fact\u00a0I\u00a0have to\u00a0read\u00a0the dialogue\u00a0and watch\u00a0the action\u00a0at the same time,\u00a0my brain\u00a0becomes and stays\u00a0more\u00a0active,\u00a0which\u00a0helps me to capture the themes and meanings much easier.\u00a0It is unfortunate that overdubs\u00a0are unable to\u00a0provide\u00a0the same effect, because\u00a0it can give the viewer a\u00a0less gripping experience.\u00a0Subtitles are like contacts\u00a0for shows. They make everything\u00a0clearer and more attainable.\u00a0Comparing my experiences\u00a0of\u00a0watching with subtitles versus without, I always enjoy the version\u00a0that has the subtitles\u00a0more.\r\n\r\nAnother particularly important thing that comes to mind when writing about reading subtitles is the accuracy of it. Overdubs always\u00a0cut corners and use language that is less powerful than the original.\u00a0They change\u00a0the script\u00a0as a whole sometimes\u00a0and the translation is\u00a0sub-par at best.\u00a0A perfect example of this is in the show\u00a0Money\u00a0Heist.\u00a0<\/em>I watched the first few episodes when they came out\u00a0in 2017\u00a0and was\u00a0instantly hooked. As a little experiment, because I\u00a0was quite curious\u00a0about it, I decided\u00a0to\u00a0rewatch\u00a0the\u00a0first\u00a0episode I had just finished from the\u00a0beginning. The difference was that I turned off the\u00a0subtitles and\u00a0switched to\u00a0the\u00a0English audio overdub. Five minutes in and I stopped.\u00a0Literal garbage. Nothing was the same, or even resembled it whatsoever. Entire interactions had different\u00a0words and phrases being used that took away from and changed the emotion of the scene.\u00a0The part that upset me the most and caused me to turn it off after a little\u00a0was the voices. Obviously, I understand that they won\u2019t have the same voice actor for the overdub and that it\u2019s bound to sound different.\u00a0That doesn\u2019t change the fact that the difference was so immense and gross that I had\u00a0to shower after I turned my TV off because I felt dirty.\u00a0The most aggravating scene took place\u00a0early on in the\u00a0classroom. The characters were being introduced to the plan, the team, and the rules. One of the rules was that they had to use fake names. Although they kept the same name, it\u00a0did not have the same effect. When each character picked their new name for the heist, it became their new identity.\u00a0In the overdub version, they simply said the name like they would any other word.\u00a0It was like listening to Darth\u00a0Vader\u00a0sing\u00a0a song by\u00a0Dolly\u00a0Parton.\u00a0It went from birds whistling to nails on a chalkboard, and I wasn\u2019t having it.\r\n\r\nThe last thing I believe\u00a0to be\u00a0worthy of being mentioned\u00a0here\u00a0is the other side of the coin. While overdubs for foreign productions are\u00a0mainly for the \u201cease of viewing,\u201d I still do\u00a0not\u00a0see\u00a0why someone would\u00a0willingly\u00a0sacrifice\u00a0such an important aspect of a show for\u00a0a\u00a0silly\u00a0version that does\u00a0not capture the story at all. If someone prefers an easy viewing experience that\u00a0does not\u00a0require any thought or focus, watch\u00a0Brickleberry\u00a0or Adventure Time.\r\n\r\nAfter all is said and done, I\u00a0believe that subtitles provide a more captivating experience\u00a0as opposed to\u00a0overdubs.\u00a0Watching it\u00a0with subtitles keeps you focused on the interactions between characters and their environments. Watching with subtitles teaches you to multitask and\u00a0keep your eyes open to everything in front of them. Watching with subtitles keeps the original intent and vibe\u00a0intact\u00a0that the creators and actors wanted to\u00a0have\u00a0their viewer's experience. Watching with subtitles, simply put, is better.","rendered":"

English 102, January 2021<\/h3>\n

Growing up, my family and I would watch movies or TV shows every night. There were some occasions when the movie or show we were watching seemed off. The sounds seemed dull, and the lips were out of sync with the dialogue.\u00a0One\u00a0such\u00a0movie\u00a0that\u00a0we watched was\u00a0Akira<\/em>.\u00a0I didn\u2019t realize how\u00a0complex\u00a0and captivating the movie was at the time, but I still tried to enjoy it.\u00a0Despite all the beautiful\u00a0animation and scenes,\u00a0awesome action, and\u00a0interesting\u00a0story,\u00a0the sound and dialogue did\u00a0not\u00a0fit the atmosphere.\u00a0Even after I asked my parents, I still did\u00a0not\u00a0entirely understand what was wrong with what we were watching.\u00a0All their explaining went in one ear, and out the other.\u00a0It took a lot of questioning on my part,\u00a0and patience on my parents,\u00a0to help me comprehend\u00a0it.\u00a0Eventually, I understood the\u00a0reason\u00a0that\u00a0everything seemed choppy was because the content we were watching was in a different language.\u00a0Since the movie is in a different language, there must be an overdub\u00a0so people can enjoy it in any language they want.\u00a0I just assumed for\u00a0the longest time\u00a0that the only way to watch movies and shows that were\u00a0not\u00a0in English was to\u00a0have the overdub on,\u00a0and deal with the\u00a0sloppy soundscape.\u00a0Oh\u00a0boy\u00a0was I wrong.<\/p>\n

My entire life turned upside down when I was at my\u00a0friend’s\u00a0house one night. He put\u00a0on a\u00a0Japanese\u00a0movie\u00a0about samurais,\u00a0and\u00a0the\u00a0dark powers that tempt and consume\u00a0them.\u00a0I wish I remembered the name of it, because I would love to watch it again.\u00a0Within seconds of watching, I realized that the audio was brighter, the foley\u00a0fit the atmosphere, and the\u00a0dialogue\u00a0was in the\u00a0original language that it was made in.\u00a0The\u00a0part that stood out the most\u00a0to\u00a0me, however, were the subtitles that accompanied every line.\u00a0No\u00a0more\u00a0were the days of me having to sit through\u00a0a\u00a0movie with a\u00a0poorly put together\u00a0soundboard and voice actors that didn\u2019t\u00a0get paid enough to\u00a0have\u00a0any\u00a0emotion or passion behind their words. My eyes, and especially ears,\u00a0were opened.<\/p>\n

Following that fateful day, I decided to rewatch some of the movies and shows that I was previously uninterested in.\u00a0Movies that I had thought to be bland and grey,\u00a0became\u00a0diverse\u00a0and colorful. It\u00a0is\u00a0almost unreal how big a difference\u00a0something as basic as\u00a0the audio can have on the quality\u00a0of\u00a0a movie or show.\u00a0Everything fits together much nicer\u00a0when the audio\u00a0is\u00a0designed to\u00a0match\u00a0the visual aspect.\u00a0Prisoners of\u00a0War<\/em>, which ended up being one of my favorite shows,\u00a0was\u00a0disappointing and flat-out bad\u00a0until I turned\u00a0the\u00a0subtitles on and used the original audio.\u00a0Prior to my discovery\u00a0and use\u00a0of subtitles, these movies and shows\u00a0were like\u00a01,000-piece\u00a0puzzles with\u00a0gray\u00a0pieces that all looked the same.\u00a0However,\u00a0the moment I flipped the subtitles on, the\u00a0puzzle\u00a0pieces began to look\u00a0more clear\u00a0and\u00a0they took definitive\u00a0forms.\u00a0The colors they absorbed\u00a0made everything clear and organized, so that I could really see it the way it\u00a0was\u00a0supposed to be\u00a0seen.\u00a0The depth that a show or movie has when watching with the original audio and subtitles\u00a0on\u00a0compared to an overdub\u00a0is monumental. It\u00a0is hard to believe that there are people who prefer the latter, when\u00a0they\u00a0are\u00a0capable of enjoying\u00a0it\u00a0at a much\u00a0higher level.<\/p>\n

Over time, I\u2019ve realized that there are certain\u00a0aspects\u00a0of watching these foreign productions with subtitles that I enjoy so\u00a0much and\u00a0have come to rely on.\u00a0Whenever I have\u00a0the subtitles on, I always seem to focus more on what\u2019s being said, and how it\u2019s\u00a0being\u00a0delivered.\u00a0It gives\u00a0all\u00a0the characters more life and the entire picture more depth\u00a0because it\u2019s being heard the way it was meant to be.\u00a0The personalities they have become apparent and intriguing.\u00a0I think that\u00a0due\u00a0to the fact\u00a0I\u00a0have to\u00a0read\u00a0the dialogue\u00a0and watch\u00a0the action\u00a0at the same time,\u00a0my brain\u00a0becomes and stays\u00a0more\u00a0active,\u00a0which\u00a0helps me to capture the themes and meanings much easier.\u00a0It is unfortunate that overdubs\u00a0are unable to\u00a0provide\u00a0the same effect, because\u00a0it can give the viewer a\u00a0less gripping experience.\u00a0Subtitles are like contacts\u00a0for shows. They make everything\u00a0clearer and more attainable.\u00a0Comparing my experiences\u00a0of\u00a0watching with subtitles versus without, I always enjoy the version\u00a0that has the subtitles\u00a0more.<\/p>\n

Another particularly important thing that comes to mind when writing about reading subtitles is the accuracy of it. Overdubs always\u00a0cut corners and use language that is less powerful than the original.\u00a0They change\u00a0the script\u00a0as a whole sometimes\u00a0and the translation is\u00a0sub-par at best.\u00a0A perfect example of this is in the show\u00a0Money\u00a0Heist.\u00a0<\/em>I watched the first few episodes when they came out\u00a0in 2017\u00a0and was\u00a0instantly hooked. As a little experiment, because I\u00a0was quite curious\u00a0about it, I decided\u00a0to\u00a0rewatch\u00a0the\u00a0first\u00a0episode I had just finished from the\u00a0beginning. The difference was that I turned off the\u00a0subtitles and\u00a0switched to\u00a0the\u00a0English audio overdub. Five minutes in and I stopped.\u00a0Literal garbage. Nothing was the same, or even resembled it whatsoever. Entire interactions had different\u00a0words and phrases being used that took away from and changed the emotion of the scene.\u00a0The part that upset me the most and caused me to turn it off after a little\u00a0was the voices. Obviously, I understand that they won\u2019t have the same voice actor for the overdub and that it\u2019s bound to sound different.\u00a0That doesn\u2019t change the fact that the difference was so immense and gross that I had\u00a0to shower after I turned my TV off because I felt dirty.\u00a0The most aggravating scene took place\u00a0early on in the\u00a0classroom. The characters were being introduced to the plan, the team, and the rules. One of the rules was that they had to use fake names. Although they kept the same name, it\u00a0did not have the same effect. When each character picked their new name for the heist, it became their new identity.\u00a0In the overdub version, they simply said the name like they would any other word.\u00a0It was like listening to Darth\u00a0Vader\u00a0sing\u00a0a song by\u00a0Dolly\u00a0Parton.\u00a0It went from birds whistling to nails on a chalkboard, and I wasn\u2019t having it.<\/p>\n

The last thing I believe\u00a0to be\u00a0worthy of being mentioned\u00a0here\u00a0is the other side of the coin. While overdubs for foreign productions are\u00a0mainly for the \u201cease of viewing,\u201d I still do\u00a0not\u00a0see\u00a0why someone would\u00a0willingly\u00a0sacrifice\u00a0such an important aspect of a show for\u00a0a\u00a0silly\u00a0version that does\u00a0not capture the story at all. If someone prefers an easy viewing experience that\u00a0does not\u00a0require any thought or focus, watch\u00a0Brickleberry\u00a0or Adventure Time.<\/p>\n

After all is said and done, I\u00a0believe that subtitles provide a more captivating experience\u00a0as opposed to\u00a0overdubs.\u00a0Watching it\u00a0with subtitles keeps you focused on the interactions between characters and their environments. Watching with subtitles teaches you to multitask and\u00a0keep your eyes open to everything in front of them. Watching with subtitles keeps the original intent and vibe\u00a0intact\u00a0that the creators and actors wanted to\u00a0have\u00a0their viewer’s experience. Watching with subtitles, simply put, is better.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":253,"menu_order":5,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":["tzeman"],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[74],"license":[],"class_list":["post-283","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry","contributor-tzeman"],"part":260,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/understanding-literacy-in-our-lives\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/283","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/understanding-literacy-in-our-lives\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/understanding-literacy-in-our-lives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/understanding-literacy-in-our-lives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/253"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/understanding-literacy-in-our-lives\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/283\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":580,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/understanding-literacy-in-our-lives\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/283\/revisions\/580"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/understanding-literacy-in-our-lives\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/260"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/understanding-literacy-in-our-lives\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/283\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/understanding-literacy-in-our-lives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/understanding-literacy-in-our-lives\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=283"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/understanding-literacy-in-our-lives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=283"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/understanding-literacy-in-our-lives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}