Watching TV programmes from
foreign countries is becoming a nightmare with the use of subtitles. A
recent programme from BBC Wales, not really a foreign country, " Hidden" has people talking to each other in English and then for some inexplicable
reason the same two characters speaking in Welsh with English subtitles. What is the point? Apart from ticking a box saying
we support the Welsh language it just creates issues with having to read them
and taking your eye of the characters.
The fascination with Scandinavian crime dramas results
in subtitles all the time which means that the story line, visually, is
lost. I might as well be reading a book. What’s happened to dubbing apart form the
cost. Let’s give work to British actors
allowing them to bring clarity to the story.
Other countries do it to English dramas.
Why am I paying to watch foreign films with subtitles on a British TV system?
While I’m talking about subtitles what about the issue
of having to turn them on to understand what actors are saying. I know we have a problem with actors who have
trained without having worked in the theatre where clarity of speech is vital. You think these professionals would know that
microphones can’t amplify nothing or that strong accents make it difficult to
hear what they are saying. Poor sound engineers who don’t seem to
understand what they are there for don’t seem to be telling directors that the
actor is not being heard. It’s one thing
listening with a pair of headphones on but most people don’t watch TV in this
way.
Let’s return to English speaking programmes – we live
in an English speaking country.
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