I came across an article recently (and of course I don't have the reference
with me, but I can find it if people want it) that argued that, while most
of us prefer subtitles for reasons of textual authenticity, they create a
distanciation that may actually make it more difficult for us to appreciate
a film's full power and meaning. The author suggests that watching a dubbed
film, on the other hand, gives us a clearer insight into the experience of
watching the film and that therefore dubbing can bring us closer to the
filmmaker's original intention.

Does this seem like a reasonable idea? Are there films that we might use in
teaching undergraduates that some of you might prefer to use in a dubbed
version?

Sandy Camargo
Department of English
University of Missouri

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