The reception of subtitled films from a sociological perspective

Spain has traditionally been a dubbing country. Nevertheless, subtitled versions are becoming more visible nowadays. One of the reasons that explain the increasing presence of subtitled films may be the growing concentration of English-speaking people in some areas. But it is not the only factor that explains this often unnoticed transformation: the ease of access to subtitled versions of TV series on the Internet, and the habit of watching subtitled films in other contexts such as film festivals or cinema forums, might help to understand why audiences seem attracted to the subtitled versions of films. In any case, while there may be many surmises, there is little data to confirm them. This article analyses the results of an empirical study thought to provide some information about the reception of subtitled films within the context of a cinema forum held on a weekly basis in a specific Spanish area. The overall purpose of the work is to shed some light on both the audience’s profile and its opinion about subtitling as an alternative way of watching foreign films in a dubbing country. The study is carried out through a survey that allows us to interpret the resulting conclusions from a sociological perspective.