I’m the kind of person who’s likely to jump up and do things while movies are playing. I also watch what is probably a disproportionate number of subtitled movies. And apparently, I’m also a little slow. Here’s an example of the kind of thing that happens to me a lot (no, seriously, a lot):
Watching extra footage on “Trembling Before G-d”, interviews in Hebrew. I’m watching, I’m watching, I get up to go boil water for tea. I get to the kitchen, and after a couple of minutes (really, minutes) I realize I can’t understanding what they’re saying anymore. Return to the couch, read the subtitles. Kettle boils, jump up to pour water, again, realize as I’m pouring that I’m (for some unfathomable reason) unable to understand the interview again. Return to the couch.
Lather, rinse, repeat.
Seriously, all the time. We were watching “Hero” and the subtitles cut out right near the end (it was a pirated copy we picked up in Malaysia). I think I watched for a good minute before I figured out why I couldn’t understand the dialogue anymore: “Is the audio still playing? Do I speak Mandarin and suddenly forgot? Did I go deaf?”
Sheesh-tastic.