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Comment by viraptor | Hacker News Reader

> I'm forced to watch every movie with subtitles

The silver lining here may be that people stop treating subtitles as torture and see some non-English titles more often. There are some fun movie cultures out there beyond Hollywood, but I've found the "ugh, I've got to read‽" response common.

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I've always found that subtitles for a non english movie actually results in me watching the move an walking away with a more memorable experience than if I'd just been listening. I'm not sure if that's a common experience but it's mine at least.

In the UK people prefer subtitles to dubbing, although that is different across parts of Europe. Foreign language programmes are quite popular.

I do love watching foreign shows on their original audio track. Korean especially has an awesome sound! For example right in the first ep of Squid Games, protagonist talking with his elderly mom, lines where he is disagreeing or making excuses end with this long up-and-down "huuuuuuuuuh!" sound that is the coolest thing ever :-)

I appreciate your inclusion of an interrobang here, which, like non-English movies, is too often overlooked.

I definitely watch all movies, English and foreign, with subtitles, and can't stand dubbed movies. I've found an amusing effect of well subtitled movies is that sometimes I forget that they're on, and, if I walk away and can only hear the dialogue but not see the subtitles, then I have to take a minute to process why I can no longer understand it ….

I have the opposite problem. Subtitles draw my attention, even when I understand what's said just fine. And then it's extra distracting when the subtitles change the meaning of what is said (which happens both when watching Japanese movies with English or French subtitles, or English or French movies with Japanese subtitles)

> which happens both when watching Japanese movies with English or French subtitles, or English or French movies with Japanese subtitles.

Also, though with less frequency, sometimes when the subtitles are in the same language as the speech, which I agree is distracting. (I am monolingual, so do not experience it otherwise.) But I had rather experience that dislocation than dubbing, which to me reliably ruins even a beautiful movie. Of course à chacun son goût!

As it happens, I was watching a foreign film (Italian) last night with english subtitles but the dialogue was also muffled and I found it just as difficult to watch.

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