Subs Not Dubs

How the rise in subtitle use is contributing to the popularity of non-English media

A few days ago, I went to see Ryan Coogler’s vampire period piece Sinners at my local movie theater. Seeing the movie in theaters was an incredible experience, as many of Coogler’s production decisions were clearly made with the theatrical viewing experience in mind.

Coogler became the first director to shoot a movie in both Ultra Panavision 70 and IMAX formats, creating a unique aspect ratio that is prohibitively expensive for most people to recreate at home. And since Sinners tells a vampire tale, there are plenty of horror moments that are heightened by the reactions of dozens of others theatergoers reacting with you in real time.

But the best reason to see Sinners in a movie theater is the audio. Without giving much of the plot away, a key component of the story is the main character’s musical talents, which means the film’s soundtrack — which incorporates a surprising variety of genres for a period piece — functions almost as a character in its own right. My dirt-cheap soundbar and…