The barriers of subtitles are insurmountable for some people, but a change of habit in what we see in the cinema may allow us more options to explore. Foreign films still find it difficult to reach English-speaking audiences, but gradually the movies have been introduced and the audience’s perspective has begun to change.
Parasite made history in 2020 by winning Best Film at the Oscars, an award that had never been received by a foreign film. In addition to the awards received by Parasite, the high box-office results show that a new trend may be emerging, in which non-English speaking productions are better received.
Roma is another film that in 2019 managed to move a large audience in Hollywood and gained many positive reviews. Alfonso Cuaron’s Mexican film was also nominated and received many important awards from the film industry. In 2020, a film that has been highly mentioned by critics and in the awards is Dolor y Gloria, which earned Antonio Banderas an Oscar nomination for his impressive and solid performance.
Probably, despite these improvements, the box office figures for foreign films are still not in a great position, but change is happening and that is important. Streaming services are also helping, offering a large variety of productions from all over the world. In this way, audiences can begin to become familiar with non-English speaking work.
Audiences have many preconceived ideas about subtitled films, such as expecting lower quality or worrying about not understanding the plot if they get lost in the reading. These barriers can be broken down when the audience realizes that they have more options to choose from and that it is not really difficult to understand a film from another country.
Anglo audiences seem to be more comfortable with the idea of watching films with subtitles and, perhaps for that reason, some production companies have chosen to introduce dialogues in other languages to certain stories, when it gives value to the plot. These changes also allow an audience that is not very committed to less popular films to get used to the idea of not hearing all the dialogue in English.
International films also open a debate about whether subtitles or dubbing are better. In Hispanic countries, for example, there are both options for films that arrive in English, French or some other language. Cinema in Spain favors dubbing and most Latin American countries prefer subtitles, although there are exceptions for children’s films that are shown almost exclusively in the local language.
National television in each country tends towards dubbing and cable channels offer options to adjust audio or subtitles. I grew up in a country with little national film production and a lot of foreign films, especially from Hollywood, and it’s quite normal for us to consume products with subtitles, although dubbing is on the rise.
Being in contact with subtitles from an early age allowed me to open my options to other markets, without discriminating by the language in which it was done. Thus, I have been able to enjoy films from all over the world, although they are not usually presented in commercial cinemas, but in university or independent cinemas.
Dubbing, though it can be easier when watching a film, can also make the content of the production get lost. Dubbing actors can be very good, but the main intention of the work often cannot be reached by a person who is not experiencing the events at the time of the filming. This means that the movie will be perceived differently and in many cases the spectators subtract points for quality.
Getting emotionally involved with a production depends on several factors and one of them is the sound, which is why many cinema fans defend subtitles over dubbing. In addition, the viewer can become even more involved by having to read, be attentive to body language and the action of what is happening.
Trends also point to foreign filmmakers who want to bring different proposals to Hollywood, such is the case of Guillermo del Toro, Alfonso Cuarón, Bong Joon-ho, and Pedro Almodóvar, among others. These directors, who have grown up between the culture of their countries and the culture that comes from English-language films, can bring a broader global perspective, which manages to be more inclusive.
Exploring new options and stories on the big screen can allow us to break free from the labels we place on everything. Opening up to new territories through film allows us to explore different cultures. Knowing more about the world avoids the need to classify and helps to expand the boundaries of our minds to better accept the differences around us.
Image credit: Image by Andreas Glöckner