Don't pretend you like them; we know you don't. We know that the words, "In French" or "In Italian" or "In Japanese" more often than not are heard as code for "You wouldn't like this film" and that's ok. We're just curious to know why you dislike them so strongly, and perhaps, if we're lucky, change your mind. Does the film the subtitles go under affect how you feel about them? Are there films you love that transcend the irritation of reading along while listening to another language?Is the avant garde French film by Jean-Luc Goddard, Film Socialisme more or less appealing than the Japanese samurai film, 13 Assassins or is the prospect of dealing with the subtitles equally off putting in each case?
We love you all and we want to bring you a variety of the most thrilling, entertaining, thought provoking, and generally wonderful films out there. Some of the best films being made right now are not being made in the US and therefore never find an audience here because of the subtitle issue. In an article in the New York Times recently, film reviewer A. O. Scott complained that the majority of Americans are missing out on these films because theaters are not showing them due, in part, to the perception that Americans are not interested in films with subtitles. However, there are signs that this is changing. Michael Barker, co-president of Sony Pictures Classics, gave a more hopeful take on the subject on NPR recently saying that "the younger generation does not have the same challenge to reading subtitles that the older audience has."
Are you more or less likely to watch a foreign language film than your parents? Your kids? Your brother? Your sister? Your friends? Your spouse?
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