I really like subtitles.

And surtitles.

Of course, they have long been standard among art movie fans who need them to understand foreign language films.

And for the past 15 years or so, the opera world has been rejuvenated by them.

Of course some purists argue that they detract, that there is nothing like the original language.

Maybe so.

But I think that subtitles and surtitles add a lot to the experience of art.

This past weekend, I also saw another reason for sub-titles to be used for British English-language movies.

I have a pretty good ear. But I'll admit it: I often miss a lot of dialogue when there are serious accents involved whether they're British, Scottish, American South, African, South Asian Indian or from some other geographical area.

During the 10th annual Wisconsin Film Festival last weekend, I saw Ken Loach's "It's a Free World" (shown abive). It proved a fascinating look at the underground economy of illegal immigration and work from the point of view of both agents and workers.

But unfortunately I missed a lot of it because of the British English.

Sometimes I can understand British English, but not so much this time for some reason. It was quite frustrating, and I heard others attending the film complain about it.

Boy, would I have loved to see subtitles, like the ones they even do on the PBS NewHour when an Indian English speaker with a thick accent is being interviewed, for example.

Recently, on TV, I also saw an English-language production by the Metropolitan Opera of Mozart's "The Magic Flute" and was glad it too had subtitles despite the rhyming English translations from German. (It was done for kids, but sure appealed to this adult.) It's nice to know what going on in a text, and the very acting of singing can distort the intelligibility of the text.

And the point of art is to communicate, not mystify, no?

I think song recitalists, like Frederica von Stade, who recently sang in Madison, could also benefit by using projected translations of song lyrics. It sure would cut down on the paper rustling in the audience, especially when everybody turns the page at the same time.

Did you see the Ken Loach movie? What did you think about understanding the language? Did anyone else have trouble?

Do you generally like subtitles and surtitles, and find them helpful?

Do you think singers should use them as much as opera and films do?

Should more English-language art use subtitles to enhance intelligibility?

Let Art Talk readers know.