Give subtitles the boot

Give subtitles the boot

I fully agree with Minister Harmoko and the government on
dubbing all foreign programs aired by local television networks
into Indonesian. Television represents a social service which
means that the whole Indonesian population must have the right to
gain the maximum benefit from aired programs. The actual
situation does not reach this aim.

There are millions of children and old people who have
difficulty in following subtitles. There are millions of people
who aren't able to read fluently and many others who cannot read
at all.

Since TV taxes are also paid by them, they have the same
rights as educated people and/or expatriates.

A further consideration has to be made: actors strive to play
their roles in the best possible way they can. If viewers
concentrate on reading subtitles they cannot simultaneously watch
an actor's interpretation of a part. It is similar to what
happens during business lunches: at the end of the meal we don't
know what we have eaten, neither do we know what we have spoken
about.

PIERO RONCI

Jakarta