Entry No. 9:

 Subtitles vs. English Dubbings

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The first international film I ever watched was Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai (1957), with my grandfather. I was a young teenager, and I wasn't looking forward to it. A black-and-white film that's not even in English? Ugh. Guess I was stuck reading grainy closed captioning on the bottom of the tiny screen at my grandparent's house. 

But then, I heard something terrible. The most bland, tired voice. It was an English-dubbed recording of the film, and it was miserable. Now, I understand the necessity for English-dubbed films. However, unless you don't absolutely need it, I don't know why you'd submit yourself to watch a film like this. Every time I've heard an English dubbing, the dub has been less than stellar. Actors are either too tired and are too focused on the translation to bring any aspect of the character's emotions to life so they sound like robots OR are too over-the-top on the delivery that it's comical. 

I mean, just watch this video for a ton of examples

Unfortunately, the other option kinda sucks too. It just sucks less. If you're a good/quick reader. Yes, reading English translations on the bottom of the screen means you're stuck reading text and missing action on other parts of the screen. However, you get the raw emotion behind the performances. If you can read quick, you're fine. Just glance back and forth. 

At the end of the day, we should try to learn the language and culture from foreign films, but for now, subtitles are a better option than dubbings.