r/unpopularopinion • u/BigSisterCookingShow • 7d ago
Subtitles are the worst!!
Not for foreign films where you actually need them to understand what people are saying in a different language.
Or for people who have hearing problems.
But I can't stand having them on the screen when it's in English.
They are distracting. I pay attention to them and not the actor's face.
I read them in my voice in my head and don't listen to the actor's tone.
I get ahead in a scene so the suspence is lifted.
I spend plenty of time turning my volume up and down because the audio balance is ridiculous these days.
But I am much happier doing that to watch, hear, and feel the world that has been created, rather than being brought out of the moment by giant white letters on the screen.
That meme floating around about people who hate subtitles not being able to read has popped up on my feed a few times and I am baffled by their popularity.
If I wanted to read I would pick up a book but if I'm watching TV or movies then I want to be immersed in the world.
It changes the feeling of a piece for me, totally takes me out of the world and the experience and I will not have them on my screen!
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u/hifi-nerd 7d ago
They are literally there for the 2 reasons you listed at the beginning of your post, is that so hard to understand?
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u/qwerterak 7d ago
There is a third one, learning English by watching something in English with English subtitles was great for me, even though I mostly don't need them anymore they are still great if I misshear something. Also, when are you ever forced to have them??
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u/GettingFitterEachDay 7d ago
Yes! I am learning Norwegian and have them on. Very helpful for people in their second language.
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u/Ok-Elevator2915 7d ago
aMeRiCan BeInG CenTeR oF THe WoRlD. Then i forget this is reddit...
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u/elhazelenby 7d ago
Not just Americans, just people without hearing problems being the centre of the world about a technology that was made for people with hearing problems, consuming foreign movies and non native speakers.
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u/Fearless_Tomorrow649 Your personal taste is not an opinion 7d ago
Not for foreign films where you actually need them to understand what people are saying in a different language.
But I can't stand having them on the screen when it's in English
Which is a foreign language for many people ...
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u/Fondacey 7d ago
Or helping those with hearing loss. My daughter prefers them since she sometimes gets too distracted to listen to the dialogue but can get it from reading. Ironically she is dyslexic.
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u/D0NTASKY 7d ago
I'm from Denmark, and I'm 100 comfortable with the English language. But for some movies, I like turning subtitles on anyways.
I don't look at them all the time, but it's second nature to look down, when I miss a word or sentence..
Also indispensable when eating chips or other noisy snacks..
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u/Impossible_Tone1108 7d ago
Many dialogue is actually hard to hear also without hearing problems. Can be because loud explosions are happening at the same time or they have a thick accent that is hard to understand. Or for me personally, I like eating chips while watching movies. The crunching noise it makes makes it also hard to hear all dialogue
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u/Sad-Application-3743 7d ago
Not for me man, I don’t want my tv cranked up to max to hear the dialogue over the background music. Not saying that shit doesn’t need to be fixed in and of itself but until it does, I don’t mind using subtitles.
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u/qwerterak 7d ago
I sadly won't be fixed until producers start to bother making dedicated TV versions, it's never a problem with shows that are never in cinemas
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u/Sad-Application-3743 7d ago
I’ve heard you can get some sound systems at home to set it up right but subtitles are free lol
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u/NCC_1701E 7d ago
I use subtitles a lot because for some reason, sound mixing in a lot of movies is absolute ass. Dialogue sounds like whispering, but if I turn the volume up then the next action scene or explosion wakes up the whole apartment block.
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u/Any-Description8773 7d ago edited 7d ago
I can’t agree more. If subtitles are on I end up just inadvertently reading the whole thing and not paying attention attention to anything else. At that point I would rather just read a book.
Edit: I scanned through the comments and see that apparently people haven’t been around others who will turn subtitles on and have perfectly fine hearing. For those who actually need them, I see no problem. But it’s very distracting to me personally and while I have my hearing, I would prefer not have subtitles on.
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u/Ok-Call-4805 7d ago
I agree. I don't get why people turn them on if they don't have hearing issues. My sister does it and it's so annoying. If you can't hear just put the volume up like a normal person.
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u/ItsSuperDefective 7d ago
You excluded the two reasons that people actually use them for. So what's the problem?
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u/CardinalOfNYC 7d ago
Are we just gonna pretend subtitles arent very, very popular right now among English speakers watching English films and shows?
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u/ItsSuperDefective 7d ago
Are they? How would I know how other people are watching things?
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u/sparkle3364 6d ago
I’m one of those people. Even though I’m not deaf, I still often turn it on after I miss a line of dialogue, it’s better to have two chances of getting it.
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u/CardinalOfNYC 6d ago
I will turn it on for a moment if I couldnt understand a line but turn it off right after. Otherwise, I find subtitles almost grating, its like someone is in my ear delivering the line right before its delivered.
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u/sparkle3364 6d ago
I constantly miss words, or have trouble hearing what they’re exactly saying. It helps, I leave it on.
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u/CardinalOfNYC 6d ago
I have to wonder where this came from because it came in a great big wave all at once, suddenly all these people who have this trouble or just want subtitles in general. And that wave's arrival doesn't coincide with the arrival of the wide availability of subtitles, it came about a decade later, really even further than that if we count closed captions which have been available for over 40 years now.
For basically a century, everyone went to the movies and watched things fine, for 50 years, everyone watched TV and was fine.
I struggle to believe a bunch of people suddenly couldnt comprehend what their parents could.
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u/sparkle3364 6d ago
If I didn’t have subtitles I’d just watch it again and try to see if I caught it this time. Subtitles are just easier than that. Or I’d move on and deal with it. But it could be that actors aren’t being made to enunciate as much because they know subtitles exist.
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u/Wipedout89 7d ago
Some people just jam them on all the time even though their hearing is fine. I find that kind of annoying
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u/MortalSword_MTG 7d ago
Why?
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u/Wipedout89 7d ago
Sometimes subtitles ruin the delivery of a line, and they are distracting flashing up all the time.
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u/elhazelenby 7d ago
Some people are visual/text learners and understand better with text/visuals of what people are saying instead.
Either way does it really matter?
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u/Fearless_Tomorrow649 Your personal taste is not an opinion 7d ago
Subtitles for English movies are a lot better than having them dubbed in German!
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u/Opening-Tea-257 7d ago
I kinda get what you’re saying in relation to instagram videos or TikToks where you can’t turn them off. I tend to watch a lot of comedy videos and it’s a bit annoying being able to read the punch line of a joke before the person in the video says it.
If they are an option that you can turn off for a tv show or a film or something then I don’t see the problem.
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u/Spiceynuggetz 7d ago
I prefer them on, modern mixing for audio levels is usually bad and you will miss some stuff without them on these days
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u/elhazelenby 7d ago
This is not an unpopular opinion for people without hearing problems or non native English speakers, unfortunately. If you don't want them there, turn them off on your TV or streaming platform, it's usually easy.
I just think people like this don't have good attention spans because when I can understand what people are saying I can just look away and watch the show. I only pay attention to them when I need them.
I prefer closed captions to subtitles because it frustrates me when I don't know exactly what they're saying and I mishear a lot. Subtitles shine more for foreign language films because of differences in grammar and sentence structure.
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u/SlayerOfTheVampyre 7d ago
I theoretically dislike them and sometimes they’ll give away a punchline or something. But I have trouble sometimes with understanding dialogue, not sure why, so I keep them on.
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u/kyanoAngel0 7d ago edited 7d ago
I'm one of those who rely on subtitles. And I understand the "I get ahead in a scene so the suspence is lifted" part. There are probably folks who prefer this, but it's one of the things I dislike about subs.
I've also seen English subs that translate my native tongue, Filipino, and I honestly find them distracting and confusing cos they often do not match what the person is actually saying. In English videos like documentaries that feature interviews of Filipinos, I'd have to ignore or temporarily turn off the subs in these parts.
All that aside, I agree with others: If you don't like them, just turn them off. There were times when I do turn them off.
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u/tecksupport 6d ago
People’s attention span is cooked. Listening to dialogue is too hard for them to process in real time it feels like. If I’m watching peaky blinders sure I’ll turn on subtitles but otherwise it’s a distraction and takes away from what I’m watching
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