• Gloomy
    link
    fedilink
    English
    49 days ago

    So people watch movies with the subtitles on? Like, is that a thing? Might be cultural thing, but I’ve almost never encountered that.

    • Jeffool
      link
      English
      1
      edit-2
      9 days ago

      It’s incredibly common in the US, especially among younger people. This was just on the first page of my search but I’m sure you can find tons of similar stories over the years: https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/more-americans-prefer-watching-shows-with-subtitles-study-finds/ar-AA1rj48O

      Overall, half of respondents said they use subtitles regularly.

      Personally I’ve always done it since my youth as well (around '96.) Admittedly that was mostly because I mostly used my TV to watch late at night instead of sleep… But it wasn’t even unheard of then to prefer subtitles. And it was pretty common at the HD switch over, often citing bad speakers (both quality and physical design.)

      • Gloomy
        link
        fedilink
        English
        28 days ago

        Thanks for that and quite interesting. Then it is indead cultural thing, or a generational one.

      • @Akagigahara
        link
        English
        39 days ago

        Must be a subset then. Any special symptoms why you prefer subtitles?

        Usually, for me Subtitles detract from my watching experience as I focus on reading them rather than watching the movie.

        • @Taalen
          link
          English
          1
          edit-2
          9 days ago

          Coming from a not English speaking country where subtitles instead of dubbing is the rule, it’s kinda the opposite for me. Subtitles allow me to see at a glance what to expect, so I’ll have an easier time focusing on the dialogue. I have some kind of hearing impairment, so that while my hearing is very good, it only takes a little bit of noise to muddy speech so that I really struggle to make out words. That said, subtitle translation quality has been going downhill fast for the past 15+, and that has made them a lot less useful. Especially with companies like Disney and Netflix not caring one bit about translation quality, only how much they cost to make. When you’re watching Star Wars and they start talking about attack helicopters, it’s time to switch off the subtitles.

          Anyway, I’m sure it’s largely down to habit. If you’ve grown up reading subtitles and it’s perfectly normal to you, they’re not distracting and you don’t spend a lot of time on them. I can easily see how it could be a completely different experience when it’s an exception and not the rule.