Once upon a time, There was a person who absolutely HATED subtitles. If something had to be watched with subtitles she wouldn’t watch them. She would find something new to watch and move on with her time. The culture and different movies that I am sure were great she would pass up and not watch because reading the scenes and lines instead of just listening and watching was a lot for her brain to handle. That person was me! Seriously, I HATED watching movies with subtitles. It was extremely difficult for me to follow along when I have to read the lines and not “focus” so to speak on the movie itself. Until one movie changed that!

One day I was watching Netflix and it became idle (Mom Life). One of the pictures that had popped up on the screen was of this movie that was seemingly horror called “The Platform”. Naturally being a horror and spooky film lover I decided to check it out. I read the mini bio of the film and thought ” WOW THIS IS GREAT!”. It was unlike any film I had seen before and thought it would be a great idea. Well, Guess what. It was not in English. I thought this is going to be a nightmare now I have to read the lines and story to actually understand it and I am not going to enjoy it. Yet the plot was so convincing and vague that I was still drawn in even if there was subtitles. So I watched it, and you know what? I FREAKING LOVED IT. This particular film was about a “punishment” centre where there were different levels where people change after 30 days. There is a platform of food that starts at the top and everyone in the spot is placed 2 people per level. They also write down their favorite food before they enter. Someone even chose to go to this place so they could quit a bad habit. Regardless this film has changed my ENTIRE view on Subtitles in films and series!

Since discovering this new world I have watched so many shows. More or less with my boyfriend once my son has gone to bed since watching a show or movie in a different language AND reading subtitles can be quit challenging when you are looking after a little fella as well. So most of the shows in different languages we watch are when he is in dream land. Now I will say, We have watched some shows in French. Such as, Marianne which is SCARY as anything and totally worth the binge. It only has one season currently but it is for sure worth the watch if you want something creepy. Coming from someone whose boyfriend absolutely HATES horror movies, or anything that is creepy, This was a winner for both of us and made us feel gross after watching it! Another show that we have also watched in French is Who Killed Little Gregory. Again another show in French and even though I do know French it was a lot easier to follow with subtitles mostly because France French is slightly different than Quebec French and I would miss certain terms and saying. This was a mini series about a boy who had gone missing and later was found killed. The whole story was easy to follow and the subtitles really helped.

Another show that we watched which is on Season Number 4 (I Think) which is currently being filmed is Elite. This show is in Spanish which neither my BF and I know but again, subtitles were huge and we really were into the entire series. I even liked it so much that I re-watched the entire thing with a friend online. It is more of a teen drama I would say,talking about rich kids and the slums and murder and scandals but it was a great show none the less though. We started watching an episode here and there once my son was born and we were doing the feeding before bedtime as well too.

My only downside I would say for subtitles is that there were times when they were delayed. Now Im not sure that it would be a connection issue or netflix themselves but I think if that could be a little bit better. It mostly has someone talking and by the time they are finished you have a flash of a subtitle and that fills the story in. However, If you are paying close enough attention you would know kind of what they were saying, But if it was an inside joke or something it would make things a bit more challenging and harder to pick up. Again, I am not sure the cause of this and which end it is. It also doesnt happen THAT often so I dont think it is a huge deal myself but it was worth mentioning though, Maybe some folks dont have this issue at all while others have it more!

Overall, If I am being completely honest. I have NO IDEA why I waited so long on subtitles. It was hard for me to wrap my head around having to read AND watch a show at the same time without missing what was happening or what was going on in the scene as well. I feel bad that I waited so long and probably missed out on a lot of things as well. I will say that I have a butt load of shows now on my Watch List waiting to be watched. With more than just French and Spanish on there as well too. and between you and I, well also my boyfriend because he agreed with what I am about to say too, We have probably enjoyed the shows that were NOT English more than the ones that were. I know, Super strange right, But when you are quarantined due to Covid-19 you really have to open up your horizons if you want to not get bored of the same shows over and over and over again!


-StaySeeJ08