How much are we "conditioned" by Hollywood movies?

Of course it’s always going to be more difficult; you have to actually read the material and then process what you've read.

I’ve actually got a different kind of struggle here... I’m way too hooked on dubbed movies. Seriously, the way they sync everything up in those foreign language versions—it’s gotten so bad that it feels weird watching anything in its original language now. It’s like my brain just refuses to switch gears! The other day, I finally sat down to watch *Fatherhood*—well, I watched it with the dubbed audio—and honestly? The voices just didn't fit the characters at all. It felt super off, but hey, I guess it was a new experience, even if it was a bit jarring.

I’ve always had a massive grudge against dubbing. There’s just something about hearing the actual actors' voices, no matter what language they’re speaking, that hits different. Honestly, when it comes to Germany, I’ve always wondered if anyone over there actually sits down and watches a movie with the original audio, since they seem to sync everything up as far back as I can remember.

I’ve never really understood lip-syncing issues, nor do I get people who just sit through them... maybe they're just too lazy to bother with subtitles, I don't know. though with some stuff like this, I guess I can lower my standards a bit. the absolute worst category for me has to be those remakes of Asian horror flicks—like, seriously, what is the point? besides the fact that they usually turn out laughably bad, most people watch them without even knowing an original ever existed. then you have the extremists who hold onto these weird prejudices where, even if they know there's an original, they still wait for the English remake. I honestly don't get their reasoning at all.

rustyscout34 said:I've never understood those synchronization issues, nor do I get the people who watch them... perhaps it's just lazy subtitling, who knows.

It is easy for us to say when we have grown up surrounded by such films. We have simply become accustomed to it. Personally, even when watching Hollywood movies, I prefer having English subtitles enabled just to see how certain words are spelled.

rustyscout34 said:In my opinion, the worst category has to be remakes of Asian horror films (why on earth would anyone do that?). Not only do they often turn out laughably bad, but many viewers watch them without even knowing an original exists. On the flip side, there are the extremists who hold prejudices; even when they know an original exists, they wait for the American remake—I honestly can't wrap my head around their reasoning.

This mostly applies to Americans, though. We should consider things from their perspective. They are simply used to consuming so much of their own cinema. It likely makes sense to producers too, seeing as they churn them out constantly. Perhaps with an increase in the number of nominated foreign films, interest in non-American cinema will finally grow among them. You can certainly see this trend reflected in the comments on the IMDb boards.

silentbear49 said:I actually have a different issue... I've become way too dependent on German dubbing. Because of how they sync everything up over there, the German language has just become so ingrained in my ears that it feels weird watching a movie in its original language (any language, really). I recently watched "Fatherhood," and of course, I watched it in German... which didn't quite fit the vibe, but it was a new experience nonetheless....

It’s the exact same thing for me. Whenever I'm back in the States, I find myself searching specifically for movies with German dubbing, and when I'm actually in Germany, I obviously only watch their versions. I don't know why. There have been plenty of times where I've watched a film in its original language and thought it was much better than the German version—like Kickboxer (that guy who lends his voice to Jean-Claude Van Damme is just terrible)—but I still can't simply bring myself to watch a movie unless it's in German. Even though I know English pretty well, of course, not as well as my German, I still struggle. I think it's just a matter of habit; people who grew up with one specific language and got used to it are going to find it really hard to adjust to another. Don't even get me started on Spanish, Italian, or French; I don't even watch those kinds of films. It really just comes down to habit...

David Price5 said:this mostly applies to Americans, though. I guess you have to look at it from their perspective. they’re just used to watching their own movies. maybe it’s just profitable for producers to keep churning them out constantly. if more nominated films actually come from abroad, maybe there'll finally be some interest in non-American cinema over there... you can see it on the IMDb message boards pretty clearly...

I agree. if it wasn't making money, they wouldn't be pumping out remakes this much. it feels like things might be heading in a better direction regarding interest in original stories. you see it not just on the IMDb boards, but everywhere. the internet really helped that, since everyone has fast, free access to information now. eh, if only they'd stop cranking out all those useless remakes.

rustyscout34 said:I agree. If there wasn't money in it, they wouldn't be churning them out so aggressively. It feels like interest in original stories is actually picking up lately. You can see it everywhere, from the IMDb message boards to general discussions online. The internet really changed the game by making information so accessible and instant. Now, if only they would stop flooding the market with those unnecessary remakes.

If high-speed broadband hadn't become standard in the States, we probably wouldn't have even discovered the greatness of Asian cinema...

silentpilot6 said:Just how much have we been "conditioned" by Hollywood movies...

Like everything else, I suppose—it varies.
As far as I'm concerned, I haven't been.

David Price5 said:if high-speed internet hadn't finally hit the States, we wouldn't be getting any chance to enjoy all this Asian cinema...

--or if Amazon, Netflix, and everyone else didn't ship movies right here to the US!

In most cases, people just download those movies online first, and only once they're sure the quality is actually decent do they go ahead and order them from a site...

I've been wondering whether Germans have 😁 always dubbed their films?
Sure, I think it’s easier to follow a dubbed movie. 😁 But on the flip side, you never actually get to hear the actor's original voice. 🤔

I honestly struggle so much with subtitles whenever I’m watching foreign films.
My English is great, so seeing those terrible translations just drives me crazy—sometimes they completely miss the entire point of a scene! It makes me wonder, though, when I’m watching something in a language I don't speak, how much of the actual soul of the movie am I losing? You're basically just left at the mercy of whoever decided to translate it.

The truth is plain to see... even if people miss the point entirely 😁... though I suppose some folks just aren't wired to get it 😁

Kate Wilson said:I really struggle with subtitles when I watch foreign films.
My English is great, so I get absolutely horrified by terrible translations—sometimes they even miss the entire point of a scene. When I'm watching a movie in a language I don't speak, I can't help but wonder how much nuance I'm losing by being at the mercy of the translator.

That is why I usually wait for a second viewing. Once you already know the plot, you can focus more closely on the actual dialogue.

Morgan Rodriguez57 said:I'm pretty much...

For some reason, I find Western European cinema—specifically French and Italian films—to be the most difficult to sit through... Spanish movies are just okay...

Chinese films seem incapable of existing without those martial arts tropes, even when the plot and emotional beats actually catch you off guard... honestly, I really enjoyed "In the Mood for Love"...

I checked out "Elite Squad" mainly because I find Portuguese to be such a charming language... 🙂

Well, damn, what *have* you been watching then? That’s actually a minority—the stuff with fighting skills... but yeah, looking at what hits our streaming services and theaters these days, it’s no wonder people react that way... there isn't much to see unless you're hunting things down online... and even then, you have to actually know what to look for... and where do you even find the right info on what's worth downloading? It's a freaking loop. Personally, I don't mind—I'm an older guy compared to a 25-year-old watching this stuff—but today, man, for people who are genuinely interested but have no clue where to start... they're really stuck.

So, this is the first one in the trilogy—though if you want to be technical, it’s actually part of a revenge tetralogy 🙂
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0420906/

Personally, I can't stand dubbing. I prefer hearing the original voice acting. It’s not that a different language bothers me, it just gets on my nerves so much that I lose interest in the movie entirely.

On a separate note, I struggle with East Asian films because everyone looks identical to me; I can never keep track of which character is which.

David Price5 said:That’s why you always end up watching things twice. Once you already know how the plot unfolds, you can really focus on the dialogue and the delivery...

Look, I could sit there analyzing every single syllable until next Tuesday, but what's the point if I can't even make out half the words? It's like trying to follow a movie in French when you haven't even mastered high school Spanish!😬

Sabaa As follows:
I can certainly focus on studying my speech before tomorrow, even if I don't understand a single word of French!😬

I didn't mean it that way. I was actually referring to the potential depth of the dialogue—specifically how much more meaningful the characters' conversations could be once you already know the plot.