Why are people afraid of subtitles?

Here's a new one for you movie-theatre etiqutte folk:

So a buddy and I are at a Saturday afternoon show of the ridiculously awesome "Pan's Labyrinth" (which I probably shouldn't have seen on the same day as Clint Eastwood's "Letters From Iwo Jima" because too much cinematic awesomeness can overload your circuits) and see that there's a good amount of people in attendance. Translation: people are here to see two hours of a girl in a fantasy world and are disappointed when it turns out that it's set against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War and there's lots of "above ground" activity in the flick.

But anyway, as the previews unspool and the feature begins with the subtitles on screen, an actual conversation takes place between what I assume is a father and son behind me:

Kid: Is this movie subtitled?
Dad: No, it's dubbed.
Kid: How do you know?
Dad: When they start talking it'll be in english.

And then, the movie begins and they're talking in Spanish. Immediately I thought the two were going to get up and walk out of the theatre, which I have witnessed in the past. What I also didn't get is why the dad dismissively said that the movie was dubbed because that practice hardly EVER happens anymore (remember Pinocchio?) and the advertising, theatre marquee and common sense would tell you that this film is in its original spanish language with english subtitles. I also heard an audible groan come from the back of the theatre where several teenagers were in attendance (was "Stomp The Yard" sold out downstairs?).

I have never understood why people are so against seeing a movie if it's in a foreign language and can read subtitles. You can read this, right? Well then, you can read subtitles. Like anything else, you get used to it and it's not a problem for the rest of your life.

Perhaps it's because I see over 100 movies at the Vancouver International Film Festival every year and over two-thirds of them are subtitled that I question why anyone who can read would have a problem reading subtitles. Still, if you won't see a film because of this, you're an idiot. Think of all the cinematic experience you can have just by reaching out there and not going for the typical megaplex blockbuster, but "nooo, there are like words 'n shit on the screen...somebody find my "Pirates of the Caribbean" DVD dang nabbit!"

I should also mention that KIDS WERE AT THIS SCREENING. For a 14a movie (US folk: that's like your PG-13, but you have to have an adult with you if you're under 14 unlike the "All ages admitted" moniker of the American rating) that is wall to wall with explicit gory violence and violent imagery. But you know, they see a young Spanish girl on the newspaper ad in the foreground and a costumed creature in the background...that can't be bad for kids at all, can it?

Jason
efilmcritic.com