In Japanese, the word “komorebi” means the light that filters through leaves. “Ikigai” means a reason to exist. “Boketto” means to stare into the distance. Like these words, there are many words or phrases in foreign languages that have no direct translation to English, with potentially altered meanings when roughly translated. Sometimes, foreign languages have a way of expressing things and ideas that are unique to their culture. This creates an appeal that entertainment found in one’s own country simply doesn’t posses.
Some, like drama and Cinema and Society teacher Shane Smuin, enjoy observing cultural differences in film in media.
“Whatever the cultural aspect of that movie is … you’re going to learn something,” Smuin said. “Whoever you are, wherever you are, you’re obligated to explore the world however you can … There’s only so much American culture you can take [until] you want to see other things.”
Smuin described his experience in a movie theater in France once, where he watched an American movie with French subtitles.
“[The audience members] were reading the subtitles,” Smuin said. “There’s something about the subtitles they got, right, because they laughed.
One of the largest and most popular instances of foreign entertainment being consumed especially in the U.S. is Japanese anime. The countless fans create a constant need for subtitles in the industry. Junior Caitlin Woo is one such fan who enjoys the cultural differences found in anime.
“I think it’s really interesting to see how an example of a Japanese school would work,” said Woo, citing one benefit of watching an anime about superheroes in high school. “I mean, it’s not a typical Japanese school because everyone has superpowers,” said Woo, “but … it still has [that] cultural aspect.”
Even if moments like a character telling off another student for sitting on a desk take a backseat to the main story, they add a unique flavoring to the story that American media does not provide.
Sixty percent of all cartoons in the world originate from Japan, and one factor largely outweighs others in popularity: its creators’ willingness to let fans be creative with their content. By acting on what fans respond positively to and creating loose licensing with their content, anime shows build strong and loyal fanbases, and it helps keep studios afloat.
Even for people who speak a foreign language and can understand the show or movie, subtitles provide a unique experience. Senior Mayuko Boffelli watches an Italian police drama, one that she doesn’t need the subtitles for, but they are present nonetheless. This gives her an opportunity to see how they differ from the Italian writing itself, and the subtitles are often different.
“The audio will just be more funny,” Boffelli said. “It’ll achieve the comedic effect that the Italian producers wanted, [one that] English viewers can’t understand that unless they learn Italian.”
Dubbing, providing audio in another language, is another matter entirely, typically receiving more criticism for being inaccurate.
“Some things can be mistranslated or [the] connotation or the shades of meaning can be different,” Woo said. Furthermore, dubbing can end up portraying characters, in essence, less accurately than a character with subtitles.
“It was written for that language [and] the [foreign] actors created those characters, and part of that is their voices,” said Smuin.
However, it seems that Americans are becoming less and less interested in foreign films.
According to an article by IndieWire, from 2007 to 2015, the box office earnings for foreign films more than halved. However, all hope may not be lost for those who love foreign entertainment. For instance, MIT News tells a story of one of the earliest anime released in the US: Mobile Suit Gundam; it was considered a complete failure and cut short. However, loyal fans were always thinking of ways to improve the anime and were able to help revive it, creating comics, toys, and more in its wake.
