A word to the wise... keep those subtitles switched on

It's controversial to some but watching TV and films without turning off the 'one-inch-tall barrier' makes for a superior viewing experience, argues subtitle devotee Annabel Nugent

- Annabel Nugent

On my screen, there's an all-out shootout, guns blazing as hundreds of bullets fly overhead. AI Pacino's Tony Montana has just discovered his sister dead on the ground and there are gunmen waiting on the other side of the door; he picks up a grenade launcher and aims it in their direction. Also on my screen? The words “Say hello to my little friend”. Some might say my predilection for watching everything with subtitles is getting in the way of my viewing experience of Scarface. But I’d argue that it’s actually improving it.

Oh, subtitles... I love them. Knowing for certain what is being said in any given film or TV show is worth the world to me. It’s certainly worth giving up the meagre inch of screen space the text takes up at the bottom of my telly – a view I’ve often been told is sacrilege to the “art” of filmmaking. In living rooms across the world, the Great Subtitles War rages on, quietly and passive-aggressively.

According to Netflix, in 2023, 40 per cent of its global users have subtitles on all the time, while 80 per cent use them at least once a month – stats that far exceed the number of viewers who need captioning because of hearing impairment. I myself fall into this category – someone who doesn’t need subtitles but wants them all the same (and all the time).

As is true of many habits, this particular one was born out of necessity. My mum’s first language is not English and so growing up, my family was a subtitles household. (Indonesian was not typically an option, so we opted for English.) You might say I grew dependent on them, and you’d be right – but I also grew accustomed to them, and savvy as to how to use them “properly” as someone who is not hearing impaired, because while, yes, subtitles are useful for when you are in a loud space or trying not to wake a sleeping baby – they also, I’d argue, make for a superior viewing experience, and deserve reverence rather than sneering.