Which is superior, subtitles or dubbing? This contentious and politically thorny question, familiar to translators and those with an interest in non-English media, has returned to prominence surrounding the Best Picture Academy Award win of the Korean film Parasite.
Defenders of both sides of the “subs or dubs” debate have recently sparred in print and social media. Dubbing advocates, including Kevin Drum of Mother Jones, have claimed that subtitles can intimidate or distract viewers, rendering subtitled material inaccessible. Those favoring subtitles argue that their approach is necessary to preserve artistic and cultural integrity. Parasite director Bong Joon-ho addressed the perceived American aversion to subtitled films directly, stating that “once you overcome the one-inch-tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films.”
The market for both subtitled and dubbed media is booming, with content providers like Netflix investing in both areas. Programs including CALA’s MS in Translation (MST) are responding to this demand with focused course offerings. At SPS, Students with an interest in translating for film can learn more about subtitling, dubbing, and other applications of translation and interpreting skills by enrolling in Translation for New Media and Audiovisual Translation. Both courses are electives open to all MST students.
Such training can help students prepare for the delicate work of film translation. In an interview with Korea.net, Parasite subtitler Darcy Paquet described the challenges of aligning punchlines and selecting comparable cultural references to create a translation that would engage the audience without altering the meaning of the original text. “The biggest challenge is writing in a very compact way,” Paquet says of subtitling. “I’d recommend reading a lot and being conscious of language as you go through life. Listen to the language that people use.”
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Interested in studying subtitling, dubbing, or script translation? Apply for CALA’s M.S. in Translation, a fully online, 36-credit graduate degree.
I’ve been teaching at NYU SCPS/SPS since 2009. I have no idea who EM4356. is. As a member of the National Writers Union since it was founded in 1981, I believe that the work of writers should always be credited. As a reader of the NYU SPS blog, I’d like to know–indeed, I believe I have a right to know–who wrote this piece on this sensitive, important subject. It’s not that I have any problem with what’s in the article; it seems excellent. One more reason why the writer deserves to have her/his/their name known.