Subtitles as a tool for humour
Subtitles are really noticeable in conveying information and they increase the number of series and films people can watch, not to mention teaching you about languages and broadening the target audience. With the help of subtitles, a lot of humour has been cultivated throughout the decades. In this text, examples of subtitles as a tool for humour will be discussed.
In the popular 1980s film Airplane! and its sequel, some characters speak with a strong dialect. Therefore, the speech has been “translated” with the help of subtitles. The speech contains colourful expressions and profanity, but the text shows a clean version. The idea is, however, that the viewers understand the speech and notice that they do not quite match the speech.
The same is done in an episode of The Angry Beavers, where a character speaks with such a strong dialect that subtitles were made for it, but the difference with the movie Airplane was that another character even “touches” the subtitles and swipes them away from the picture.
Earlier in the 70s in the movie Annie Hall, when two characters were talking, all real thoughts, which the characters did not say, were shown in the subtitles. The characters chat and say one thing, but the subtitles reveal what they are really thinking. One character is wondering if the other likes her and thinks that she is not smart enough, whereas the other one worries that he sounds shallow. With the subtitles, it’s as if a new layer has been added to the film.
One movie classic, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, also take advantage of subtitles as a means of humour. You could even say that the texts are an important part of the film’s humour. For example, at the beginning of the film the Swedish translator changes the language of the subtitles into English and praises their country. Therefore, he or she is interrupted and fired. Otherwise in the film the subtitles deviate from the real dialogue, which amuses the viewer and is an indicator of the creators’ creativity.
In the American television series Green Acres, which started in the 1960s, the characters seem to communicate with the subtitles. In the first episode of the fifth series, Lisa and her mother talk in Hungarian, and the dialogue is translated in the subtitles. First, Lisa looks at the text and says: “No, no, I said you hadn’t changed at all! We are having some trouble with the subtitles here.” The subtitles change. In addition, the dog’s barking is subtitled in an amusing manner. Later, the subtitles also ask the character if there are any more subtitles needed in the episode.
As we can see, with the help of subtitles you can add humour to the movie or TV series. Movies are most certainly great without them, but using them as a means of humour brings more fun to the world of movies and series.