We live in the age of far out globalisation of the film industry. No matter if we live in Poland, Panama, the Philippines, Pakistan, Palau or the Pitcairns, we all probably watch more or less the same movies and the same TV series. However, because we all speak different languages, there is a big difference in how these films are made linguistically accessible to us – we want you to share your experiences with us!
We want to know because these differences heavily change our perception of the films we watch, of the actors in these films, and at the end of the day, they become very individual features of our culture. Moreover, as we become heavily used to watching the films adapted in a specific way, we may find other solutions quite surprising.
What are the differences we’re talking about? There are three options:
- Original audio with subtitles
- Hushed original audio with a voice-over translation
- Dubbing
In Polish cinemas, films are usually screened with subtitles and only children’s movies (and movies kids are likely to watch, like Star Wars or Lord of the Rings) are dubbed. But (here comes the strangest thing for a non-Pole) all Polish TV stations, including non-public ones, broadcast films with a voice over translation! As far as we know, it’s a rarity to find films on TV here that are either dubbed (like in Spain, Italy, France) or subtitled (like in Finland).
Here’s a little sample of what a typical voice-over translation is like: this clips shows some of the best-known Polish voice-over artists read the same line from Enter the Dragon… in their own individual way.
So, our questions to you:
How do you watch movies back in your country? How would you like them to be screened or broadcasted? Are there any other ways of linguistic adaptation we haven’t mentioned?
Let us know on Facebook!
All the best,
The Culture.pl team