Would you watch a foreign subtitled soap?

[Sylph]

A daily one.

What would be your conditions, if there are any?

[P.J.]

No. I'd think it would be too distracting going back and forth between the action and the picture. And on some level, I'd think it would be a little harder trying to accept some other culture's mores.

I tried to watch five minutes of Liz Hubbard's stint on the Dutch soap, and found it completely boring.

[YRBB]

Wow.

Of course. Right now, European soaps put the American ones to shame. The rest of the world watches subtitled American shows and movies--Americans can do the same for other shows. I mean, really, it is IMPERATIVE that more people see VERA STO DEXI and TA MYSTIKA TIS EDEM.

[P.J.]

Yes, admittedly, it's a completely unsophisticated point of view. Then again, I don't even want to watch reruns of American tv shows on my computer. I don't know where y'all are watching foreign soaps, but I think Americans have a stubborn, inborn resistance to watching subtitled movies or shows. Look at the resistance to incorporating teaching in a second language in a lot of schools today, and the uproar that causes.

Plus with a subtitled soap, actually sitting and watching would be required. The way American soaps began was on the radio, which allowed work to continue as they listened. Can't do that with subtitles. Granted, with today's technology, it's a little less troublesome, you could still tape, etc. But I think it would still be a barrier for a lot of people.

Call it "ugly Americanism" if you must.

[MarkH]

I watch with captions all the time due to hearing impairment. So subtitles would not bother me...I'd welcome them.

I did watch the Hubbard stint, and I found it interesting. I can't say whether I'd be regular or not...but I would definitely sample.

I have actively gone out to seek some shows, especially Verbotene Liebe and Alles Was Zaehlt. I would welcome this experiment.

[Sylph]

Mark, let's say a major US network decides to replace one its daytime dramas with a foreign soap opera.

Would that be cost effective? And do you think, realistically, such a soap would achieve a certain required viewership?

[MarkH]

I do not believe the networks would do this. I think this is far more plausible for a cable outlet.

I think the incremental costs are low (and should be low; the foreign show should keep licensing costs low at the start, to see how it works). Despite this, I think this would be a hard sell with an American audience (which, history suggests, will flock to neither dubbed nor subtitled content). Thus, I think it needs to happen on niche cable, where the viewership could quickly justify expense.

Indeed, just to spread the risk, it might be that the initial license fee for the chosen show should just be profit participation, with the goal of building the relationship.

I have a sense the numbers will be very small. For example, didn't BBCAmerica fail with (English language) Hollyoaks?

[Chris B]

I think SOAPnet or possibly ABC could find success with a young imported soap like Hollyoaks. It's fairly traditional and fast paced like they want 'em. But one with subtitles would at least be dubbed and I don't think anyone would go for that. Personally, I've looked into novellas since I know soaps have limited time left. Once every soap is canceled, then I will have no choice but look at foreign soaps.

[bellcurve]

I want to see Paul Rauch's Russian show he helped SONY produce. I saw maybe a small clip of it, but it sure was pretty.

So yes, I'd be willing to give it a chance. But not on one of the big three.

[ian]

If it was in French or Spanish, I would be able to understand most of it, with the subtitles adding to it, so that would be better, and I'd use it to learn or improve language skills so it'd be really cool. My friend's mom was watching the Spanish soaps and really into them lmao she was just a railing on about them in Spanish while I tried to keep up.

[Cat]

I would watch (and have done in the case of Univisión) but, then again, I don't mind subtitles.

However, the major networks DO have trouble with them, for precisely the reasons PJ outlined. Even British shows like The Office and whatnot -- US networks prefer to remake the shows with American actors and settings because they simply do not trust their audience to be able to relate to a setting outside that of the US.

Hollyoaks on a teen-oriented cable station like The N might be a good fit, though.

[ian]

I think they just get blue in the face from explaining to AVERAGE American audiences that they aren't the only country on the planet. Then it's all downhill from there because they feel like they're watching space aliens and then start putting tinfoil on their heads so the aliens cant read their minds, then go get themselves a big helping of Freedom Toast and go invade a country that does things differently than they do.

It really just causes more trouble than it's worth

[Cat]

And it is such a paradox because the US produces some of the most sophisticated, compelling and envelope-pushing TV drama. If viewers can get drawn into a show which really asks questions of its characters' moral and physical boundaries (like, say, Breaking Bad), then acclimatizing to a show set in a different country is a stroll in the park.

[P.J.]

Well...I think it's a little more complicated than that. It's not only foreign television we reject. Soccer is the most popular sport in the world---except in the US.

Television is comfort food...mind candy. We like what we like. Is it snobbish? Probably. But considering at one time the rest of the world made Baywatch the most watched show in the world...I'm not sure "the world" watches US television to gain cultural understanding either.

[ian]

lmao.

Memo to US: Figure out the metric system already.

kthxbye.