When it comes to enjoying a movie in a theater, we do a lot of preparation. We either buy or smuggle in snacks and drinks, and dress up or down. Seats are chosen far enough away from the screen so that necks are not bent uncomfortably but what matters most is being able to understand what is happening on screen. 

The people in Hollywood are supposed to take care of this before the final product is put in front of us, but often the scenes are too dark to see or worse, dialogue can be unclear. There is a solution: subtitles. 

It is not that every single theater in North America or the world should be required to show subtitles with every feature, but they should certainly consider the option. Theaters, especially ones that boast luxurious seating such as AMC, should poll their audiences on the matter. Subtitles are not just for old people with lessened hearing or seeing ability because being confused in the theater has nothing to do with age range. We have to be honest with ourselves and admit that watching without subtitles is at least a little difficult.

Reading along does not take away from the experience nearly as much as mishearing a line does, so the pros already outweigh the cons. The only thing worse than asking “what did they say?” is having your mom ask that a million different times next to you, making you lose focus on the movie. Admittedly there is one small thing that makes subtitles undesirable, such as when the descriptions are just too much. If you watched “Stranger Things 4” when it came out and you had subtitles on, you experienced “tentacles squelching wetly” and other freakish combinations.

Nobody has any of those words on their list of favorites, but we have to remember that subtitles serve a real purpose beyond our comfort. They are for everyone but are also mainly meant to help people who cannot hear know what’s happening in a clear way. Otherwise, the tentacles of a movie monster are nothing more than extra limbs that make no sounds. 

There are of course times when subtitles can be the complete opposite and actually are hilarious. If a big explosion occurs on screen, the subtitles can simply say, “[explosion]” or “[blows up].” It adds an extra bit of humor for some of us, hearing or not. In scenes where the screen goes dark, subtitles act as the thread keeping us tied to the story. 

Another thing to consider is when movies have dialogue in languages other than English, in which case subtitles are extremely important. It is super irritating when they only say “[speaks in a foreign language],” defeating the entire purpose of subtitling at all. There is a whole sector of the movie industry dedicated to just that, but it does not always come through. 

Theaters already have to compete with home streaming services for our attention, but if they could promise their audiences this one extra comfort of home they might see an increase in customers. Patrons might be more receptive to having the option of a screening with subtitles instead of having no choice at all. 

Photo by: Tima Miroscnichenko via  Pexels