For serious movie fans, reading well-written subtitles is preferable to listening to mediocre dubbing. But in China, those who dub movies often attain a degree of celebrity on a par with their on-screen counterparts. A growing number of local amateur dubbers, however, claim that it helps them articulate ideas and express themselves more clearly, writes Zhu Jiakang.
Dubbed movies have supplied material for comics who exaggerate the mis-synchronization that occurs in the process. Derided by critics, dubbing is greeted with dismay by astute audiences who like to be able to compare subtitles with original dialogue.
Amateur dubbers, some of whom take voice lessons, enroll at the Shanghai Film Dubbing Studio for a variety of reasons.
They are bucking a trend: An increasing number of young people prefer original version of movies with subtitles.
There is an oft-heard complaint from local film critics that dubbing detracts from a film. Yet most of Shanghai's art schools still offer dubbing courses, with the Shanghai Film Dubbing Studio's course, which began in 1997, the most popular.
"The course is five months in duration, and we usually hold three classes over a two-year period," explains Cai Zhiming, the school's registrar. "Enrollment has risen steadily over the past few years."
The increase in popularity, despite the anti-dubbing sentiment, may be attributed to the fact that many students often come from outside the city.
"We had a young woman from Beijing in one class," recounts Cai. "She flew here every Saturday and then returned home on Sunday evening."
Dubbing is anything but an anonymous job - like the famous voices of cartoon characters, dubbers have become famous in their own right.
Ding Jianhua, who runs the dubbing course at the studio, is an example. Her name is synonymous with a number of popular characters she has dubbed, including that of Lara Croft in the dubbed version of "Tomb Raider."
Similarly, Xu Gang, who lent his voice to the young wizard Harry Potter, has become almost as well-known in the city as his English counterpart.
The rise in the number of participants in dubbing courses may also be due to the fact that a number of people are taking the course to improve themselves.
Zhang Ling and Deng Jieming, both 21, were the first to register for the class. Both young women are enrolled at the Shanghai Tourism Vocational School, studying to work in the tourism industry.
"I want to be impressive to others," says Deng, when asked why she takes the course. "Graceful gestures and good manners aren't enough. A well-modulated voice is an important element in the picture of overall beauty."
For Gong Mingmei and Pan Yun, however, the course is not about social graces, but career development.
"I just want to add some color to my voice so that I don't sound too boring," says Pan. The women, both juniors at East China Normal University, will become high-school teachers upon graduation, and "we don't want our students to fall asleep - as we sometimes did - because of our droning voices," she says.
Jiang Youwei, a young public prosecutor, was pleased with his newly acquired ability to convey emotion with just a few words.
Thirty-five-year-old Li Wei, another student, says that the course helped her to understand the linguistics.
Li explains that she was taught how to control her breath. "The way you use your breath can make your voice wide or narrow, high or low," she says.
And some people learn how to dub because, in this fast paced world, they want to get inside the skin of another character, to feel what they feel.
The anti-dubbing sentiment may well be because the quality has not always been good.
"It's unfortunate that dubbers often aren't familiar with the original language and, as a result, have to spend a lot of time guessing what is going on," says 21-year-old Ma Chencheng.
Ma, who speaks Chinese and English, is taking the course to better understand both languages.
"Only those who are skilled at both languages can make a good dubbed film," he says of dubbing English-language movies into Chinese.
"I enjoy discerning the subtitles of the original language, and welcome the challenge of expressing that accurately - and naturally - to Chinese audience."
Ma maintains that dubbing is an art.
A "culture industry major" at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Ma doesn't think much of the "so-called avant-garde critics" who criticize dubbed films.
"It's people like this who laughed at people in traditional clothes from countryside years before and now are avid fans of 'qipao' and 'magua' (traditional Chinese garments)," Ma adds. "They regard dubbed films as archaic and people who enjoy dubbed films - the vast majority of film audiences in China - as having no taste. But who is to define taste?"
Dubbing, it seems, is here to stay. Ding, the professional dubber, for one, is pleased.
The increasing number of students at her courses mean that the pool of dubbers has grown.
(eastday.com June 24, 2002)
