A lot of people in North America avoid foreign language films. Although I’ve not researched that choice and don’t plan to, my anecdotal experience suggests that many viewers are distracted by subtitles. That being said, there is a growing genre within television where subtitles are remarkably common:  reality TV, where English speaking audiences watch English speaking people with subtitles added so those on screen can be commonly understood.

I understand the need for using subtitles when, for instance, potentially inaudible radio transmissions are aired, say from radio transmissions between a pilot and air traffic controllers. Similarly, when shows like The First 48 show suspects and witnesses being interviewed, it helps to see subtitles for words spoken softly. Some of those people are traumatized family members who just lost someone, stressed witnesses, or soon-to-be-stressed suspects. In the case of witnesses and suspects, though, The First 48 shows many who appear to be only partially intelligible when they speak at any time. That suggests these people have not been afforded the opportunity to own their own language enough to speak clearly. That isn’t necessarily a criticism of the people themselves as much as their opportunities at home and at school.

How much chance do such people have to learn higher order skills, such as responsible decision making? Don’t hang out with gun-toting people if you don’t want to see one used. Find a better means of money than robbing a cabbie. Don’t get involved with drug deals, many of which can go bad in a heartbeat. It’s all very well and good to say that everyone knows these simple guidelines but history shows they don’t, not everyone. Since some of these people haven’t yet learned to speak clearly and many have not had a fair chance to do that, it may be almost unfair for us to expect more. Perhaps that can be an indicator to educators of trouble brewing. Perhaps it already is.

Shows like Here Comes Honey Boo Boo also use a lot of subtitles. Thankfully, the folks on that show don’t seem to be in any legal trouble or danger of impending homicide. The featured Thompson family probably isn’t hurting financially now. Hopefully, most of their viewers are laughing with them instead of at them.

I wonder if viewers who watch a lot of reality shows, the ones where English subtitles are required to understand people who are speaking English, also watch foreign-language films with subtitles. I doubt it.