Dang Subtitles!

The clock struck eight. The girl has been looking forward to the exact hour for one reason. She grabs the gray Direct T.V. remote control and with her thumb on her left hand, she presses the “ON” button and turns to channel 360, just in time to watch the news. Fifteen minutes into the program though, frustration swells within her. Not because of the particular segment or a difference of opinion. She simply can not concentrate on the program at all; she is too distracted reading the news ticker that scrolls along the bottom of the screen. Like the girl reading the ticker and not being able to concentrate on the actual show, a person viewing 12 would experience a similar sensation. It would be difficult to concentrate on the show.

12 is a show shot in Russian. One not able to speak Russian is left to guess on what the characters are talking about or resort to reading the subtitles at the bottom of the screen. However, while reading the words, the full scene development and cinematography cannot be fully appreciated. One has to choose between the storyline and the scene. It is a conundrum picking up on the metaphor of the bird flying in right when a discussion breaks out about the son’s sentence, then is set free when the discussion ends. One would be challenged to realize that there is no antagonist at all in the movie. Also, the repetition of certain shots is common in 12 such as the shot of the dead man on the car; it would be easy to miss that scene while concentrating on the words. The real frustration comes into play when a person sitting directly in front blocks the words on the bottom of the screen. The majority of the film is a constant fidgeting in the seat trying to find a sightline to read the subtitles. The overall experience is summed up in one word, uncomfortable.

Compromising the picture or storyline should not happen, but it becomes inevitable while watching a movie with subtitles or any program with words at all scrolling across the bottom. For this reason, although an invigorating cultural experience, movies with foreign languages cannot beat those produced in one’s native tongue…without subtitles.