How Subtitles and Captions Change the Way We Watch

Whether it’s subtitles for movies in another language or captions for a show you’ve seen a million times, more people are watching with text on the screen.

Discussed: International films, audio mixing, closed captioning, Swiss movie theater policies, The Boy and the Heron

Who says no one reads anymore? Netflix reports that 40% of viewers watch with subtitles or closed captioning. Younger viewers, especially, say text-on-screen is essential. The growing comfort with subtitles may now be contributing to a rising interest in (and appreciation of) international cinema, with movies in languages other than English faring well at the box office and at U.S. awards shows.

In this month’s conversation, Arielle and Gabe talk about subtitles, closed captioning, and the growing trend of reading along while we watch.