Lost in translation: Should film dubbing be banned in Spain? (Video)
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| | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 15:50
Spanish to English
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| Where to begin | Apr 1, 2014 |
Although the development might not be welcomed by people working in the dubbing industry, I think one positive aspect could be an improvement in general English-language competence, which is pretty poor in Spain, compared to countries such as Argentina where many broadcasts are in the original version.
A good start would be to get the TV channels to remember to push the stereo button that allows viewers to watch films, series and documentaries in original version. When I first approached A... See more Although the development might not be welcomed by people working in the dubbing industry, I think one positive aspect could be an improvement in general English-language competence, which is pretty poor in Spain, compared to countries such as Argentina where many broadcasts are in the original version.
A good start would be to get the TV channels to remember to push the stereo button that allows viewers to watch films, series and documentaries in original version. When I first approached Antena 3 about the haphazard nature of the VO broadcasts of series like The Simpsons or Futurama, they simply banned me from their website. Some channels are worse offenders than others, for example the now-defunct Valencia local TV station Canal 9, which was prone to showing half of an episode of a series like Fringe in VO, then switching back to the dubbed-into-Spanish version only after the ad break.
Over the years I've got used to it, but it would have been much nicer if I hadn't been obliged to do so. ▲ Collapse
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Hi Neil
I have been able to watch films on my TV (ONO cable) in original version, Spanish, English or Spanish sub-titles for years. Maybe you need to upgrade your telly!?
Regards
David
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 15:50
Spanish to English
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| Not cable or satellite | Apr 1, 2014 |
David Brown wrote:
Hi Neil
I have been able to watch films on my TV (ONO cable) in original version, Spanish, English or Spanish sub-titles for years. Maybe you need to upgrade your telly!?
Regards
David
So have I - although I don't have cable - my comments were about the normal television broadcasts - and my telly is quite modern, 2 years old and I also have a laptop linked to it. The problem is that sometimes the people at the TV station - particularly Antena 3 - sometimes forget or simply can't be bothered to make sure that the progammes are being broadcast in Dual/VO. If you followed series like the ones I mentioned on non-cable TV, you would know this. For example, on Neox, the Simpsons is sometimes broadcast in VO, but other times the VO channel is used for a Spanish background commentary for the blind (which I have no problem with), and other times the Dual/VO option simply doesn't work and only the Spanish dialogue is available.
Last night, for example, on the Discovery Max channel there was a programme about UFOs, I think it's called Unsealed Alien files. It was a repeat - I saw in in VO a couple of weeks ago - but last night it was only available in Spanish, no matter how many times I clicked on the VO option. I should add I wasn't trying to watch it again, just checking to see if the VO option was working.
A couple years ago I was going to watch Desperate Housewives at a friend' place. It was usually broadcast in Dual, but on this occasion it started and it was only available in Spanish; I happened to have the e-mail of someone who worked at La 2, who I had met that same year during a simultaneous translation session at the University. I sent him an e-mail asking why the show was not being broadcast in Dual/VO as usual and about 10 min later the VO kicked in. As they say here, "querer es poder"...
PS: I just checked right now (21.39h) and the Simpsons is being broadcast but only in Spanish on TDT channel Neox. There will be back-to-back Simpsons episodes tonight, and I'll bet my bottom dollar that some of them will be broadcast in Dual/VO, while some may have the background commentary for the visually handicapped, and if I'm lucky, there might actually be one or two that are broadcast in VO.
[Edited at 2014-04-01 19:42 GMT]
[Edited at 2014-04-01 19:44 GMT]
PS: I was right. The next episode, showing now (22.11h), is one I've seen broadcast before on the same channel in VO, but now it is being shown with the voiceover for the visually impaired.
[Edited at 2014-04-01 20:12 GMT]
| | | | Neil Coffey 
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:50
French to English
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| Why not best of both worlds? | Apr 1, 2014 |
So firstly, for a throwaway Hollywood/Al Pacino film where the essential purpose of the enterprise is to Make As Much Money As Possible rather than to make any artistic or cultural statement per se, I would really be tempted to just Let The Market Decide. If it turns out that Spaniards are happy to blow 15 Euros on the latest churnbuster without caring that the same voice artist is dubbing two characters or that they miss a weather forecaster's subtle humoristic reference to the price of cocaine... See more So firstly, for a throwaway Hollywood/Al Pacino film where the essential purpose of the enterprise is to Make As Much Money As Possible rather than to make any artistic or cultural statement per se, I would really be tempted to just Let The Market Decide. If it turns out that Spaniards are happy to blow 15 Euros on the latest churnbuster without caring that the same voice artist is dubbing two characters or that they miss a weather forecaster's subtle humoristic reference to the price of cocaine, then I think there are more worthy things to get on one's high horse about.
For other cases, I wonder what's wrong with the system of simply offering cinema-goers the choice: have a screening with subtitles and a screening with dubbing and let people decide which to go to. I haven't been to the cinema that much in Spain and don't just remember how things work, but I know that in Mexico, for example, that's generally the system-- offer both versions. It's not clear to me why Mexico would have some secret source of subtitled versions of films to which Spain is not party. ▲ Collapse
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neilmac
Spain
Local time: 15:50
Spanish to English
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Neil Coffey wrote:
For other cases, I wonder what's wrong with the system of simply offering cinema-goers the choice: have a screening with subtitles and a screening with dubbing and let people decide which to go to. .
I agree, and wish all cinemas had this option! In Valencia, there used to be 2 specialist cinemas (one closed a couple of years back) that showed all their movies in VO, and they tended to be from the more arty end of the spectrum rather than mainstream. However, only one of them (Babel) remains in business today, as a result of the ongoing economic slump. More recently, there is also another movie complex (Yelmo) that shows some mainstream movies in VO in one of its theatres (or "screens", as they seem to be called nowadays in multiplexes), for example Robocop was shown recently in VO, but there isn't really a big enough market (here, at any rate) to make it worthwhile as anything other than a gimmick for a limited audience.
As for dubbing in Spain, I think the best solution is to leave the situation more or less as it is now. For home viewing, the VO options are already in place, although as I tried to explain in my earlier rant, sometimes they don't work as well as they should. However, Spanish dubbing is very well done and many people are so used to hearing one dubbing artist that their enjoyment is spoiled when they change to another- this happened to a friend of mine when a different artist voiced Dustin Hoffman in one film. Another aspect is that the same voiceover artists also do commercials, so you end up with Homer Simpson's voice selling you various products during the ad breaks and I've occasionally found myself feeling well disposed towards a product because of this, and although I didn't actually run out and buy it, somebody else probably did. Another point concerns where the dubbing takes place. For example, many people here complained that the Simpsons movie was dubbed in Mexican Spanish rather than Castilian when it first came out, although I think a Castilian Spanish version was made later.
To cut a long story short, I think it would be interesting to hear some opinions from Spanish native speakers on this issue.
[Edited at 2014-04-02 06:41 GMT]
| | | | Mervyn Henderson (X)
Spain
Local time: 15:50
Spanish to English
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| Funny you should mention that ... | Apr 2, 2014 |
because after years and years of listening to Constantino Romero being Clint Eastwood etc., recently I've been feeling the call of the mother tongue, and have been watching Without a Trace, that kind of thing, in OV on Spanish TV. A couple of days ago I tried to change The Simpsons to OV. I never had much time for Homer & Co. in Spanish, perhaps because all that started on TV back home when I was out of the country for years oblivious to it all - and here it clashes with the news now - but I tho... See more because after years and years of listening to Constantino Romero being Clint Eastwood etc., recently I've been feeling the call of the mother tongue, and have been watching Without a Trace, that kind of thing, in OV on Spanish TV. A couple of days ago I tried to change The Simpsons to OV. I never had much time for Homer & Co. in Spanish, perhaps because all that started on TV back home when I was out of the country for years oblivious to it all - and here it clashes with the news now - but I thought to myself Hey, maybe it's much more enjoyable in English. No luck, though, as neilmac says. And I've now seen that another series I had been watching the day before in OV was Spanish-only the day after.
I was told once that one of the reasons the Dutch speak such good English is that TV in the Netherlands has been showing practically all films in English in OV for yonks, with Dutch subtitles, and they grow up with it from the cradle. I imagine it's the same in Scandinavia.
So come on, you Spanish government. You're always blethering about innovation and preparing young Spaniards for Europe, so take a tip from the Dutch.
(last bit tongue in cheek, in case it annoys anyone) ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Ban knives and hammers!!! | Apr 2, 2014 |
I heard some people have killed with knives and hammers, so let's ban them!
No, I do not think banning dubbing in Spain makes any sense. If anything, TV chains should get used to paying a bit more for their dubbing projects.
Having said that, I am quite OK with crappy dubbing of crappy programmes. If and when I want to punish my poor mind for a moment with a dose of unfounded documentary concoctions on matters like UFOs, ancient mysteries, or conspiracy theories, crappy... See more I heard some people have killed with knives and hammers, so let's ban them!
No, I do not think banning dubbing in Spain makes any sense. If anything, TV chains should get used to paying a bit more for their dubbing projects.
Having said that, I am quite OK with crappy dubbing of crappy programmes. If and when I want to punish my poor mind for a moment with a dose of unfounded documentary concoctions on matters like UFOs, ancient mysteries, or conspiracy theories, crappy dubbing helps me switch to VO.
[Edited at 2014-04-02 10:53 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | jorvaor
Spain
Local time: 15:50
English to Spanish
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| We could start banning dubbing... | Apr 3, 2014 |
...and then continue with banning the translation of books, tech manuals and program interfaces.
I am from Spain and, while I enjoy watching movies in OV with subtitles, most people here despise them. They just don't want to read the subtitles and they feel that it spoils the experience for them.
The banning of dubbing could benefit the local cinema industry, though.
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neilmac
Spain
Local time: 15:50
Spanish to English
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jorvaor wrote:
I am from Spain and, while I enjoy watching movies in OV with subtitles, most people here despise them. They just don't want to read the subtitles and they feel that it spoils the experience for them.
Yes, and many parents would like their kids to watch TV in VO to improve their English but wouldn't last 5 minutes if they tried it themselves! I think the dubbing is Spain is very well done and I don't see the system changing in the foreseeable future. There are already enough options available - if only the staff at Antena 3 and Neox, etc would remember to push the Dual/Stero button in their studio when my favourites shows come on...
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