When You Need DVD Subtitles
DVD subtitles: yay or nay? You are likely to discover movie viewers on both sides of this debate. The choice always exists in DVD features to include or exclude captions, but if it’s a mixed bag in the audience, you might have to have two separate screenings.
Let’s start with why DVD subtitles can be handy. Maybe you are watching the movie in a public place like the gym, where silence is needed but TV screens are provided for visual stimulation. Alternatively, occasionally we are unable to understand all the dialogue going on in a film, whether it’s because there are several lines coming up at once, or an actor is speaking with a strange accent, or sometimes we just don’t catch it. Hey, we’re just human.
On the other hand, perhaps we’re trying to watch a completely foreign film, in which we don’t understand anything. In this case, DVD subtitles are convenient and in reality kind of necessary.
However, sometimes, captions can be a pain. As a whole, the rapid words accompanying a film can be distracting. In the worst cases, they can ruin the dramatic effect of a scene by spelling out all the dialogue before it even comes out of the actor’s mouth. Alternatively, sometimes the words float around and block essential elements of the scene. And DVD subtitles at times can be superfluous. Is it really necessary to caption a pause with the words, “brief silence”?
And here’s a gray issue for good measure—DVD subtitles can present an interesting conundrum to bilingual viewers who are watching a movie speaking one language, but presenting captions in another. Bilingual viewers have noted that at times the subtitles doesn’t accurately translate what is being said. This inaccuracy can range from blatant mistranslation to a slight loss in meaning due to the difference between the languages. Sometimes it’s impossible to express an idea of one language in another due to the lack of suitable words and nuances.
Obviously, it appears that DVD subtitles is not always fulfilling their intended purpose of making movies clearer and easier to watch. Sometimes they create confusion and annoyance, albeit accidentally. However, viewers may depend on them to fully appreciate a film. Finally, captions remain an optional feature of DVD viewing, and you can always decide whether or not to include them. Perhaps the real question is whether a caption- hating viewers can choose to ignore them while watching with pro-caption colleagues, or whether the latter can manage without them. After all, movie watching is a mostly social experience, and even better than a good movie is a good company.
