On subtitles and surtitles

One of my thoughts is that subtitled movies, particularly non-English ones, that succeed are ones that are legible: the subtitles aren't impeding cinema from happening. That bias privileges a beautifully shot, slow film over a dialogue-heavy comedy. In opera, it's similar. I'd rather people had the libretto to refer to: it's not all about the time that they spend watching the show. Gesamtkunstwerk takes place in several media. In the 19th Century, people didn't watch opera with their eyes glued to the stage. In the 20th Century, people would drift in and out of movies. Opera was usually translated into the native language until the mid-20th Century. The fetish for multilingual singers is fairly PoMo. - I think that's why Portrait of a Knight and Working For Each Other worked well. The subtitles barely detract from the psychedelic spectacle. The Ceasefire sketch made a point about how bad dubbing ruins movies. We're planning to use multiple languages in The Perfumed Garden. The NZ professionals aren't keen on that for some reason... They want it in English without Middle Eastern references. Given the success of the demos, I think that's pathetic.