Behind-the-scenes heroes: Today’s subtitle groups

If you are a fan of American dramas or Japanese anime, you must know the legendary "television drama artifact" - the subtitle group. However, the subtitle group is not a program or software, but a group of people. As more and more foreign films and TV series enter China, language and cultural barriers have become the biggest problem for Chinese audiences to appreciate these works. Therefore, a group of young people with high translation skills have volunteered to play the role of "free porters". They transfer foreign film and television works to China through the Internet, then translate them into Chinese, and then provide high-quality subtitles or commentary. After completion, they are available for netizens to download and watch. Therefore, netizens call them subtitle groups.

Most members of subtitle groups have a high level of education, and many of them are overseas or have studied abroad. In 2007, the subtitle groups first became known to the public when they "translated" the American TV series "Prison Break". At that time, several subtitle groups raced against time to translate and publish the latest episode of "Prison Break". After rounds of Internet crazes, what changes have subtitle groups undergone, and what have they brought to Internet culture and the world as a whole?

"Unorganized organizational power" and "interest-based groups"

Early subtitle groups were basically formed around one or a few core members. Today, large subtitle groups on the Internet can have tens of thousands of members, and small and medium-sized subtitle groups can have hundreds of people. Each subtitle group is divided into multiple "translation groups" according to different focuses. Without the Internet as a support, the subtitle group is like an interest group on campus and will not have much influence. The Internet has changed the way members of the organization work together and the working mode of subtitle production, and realized the gathering of multiple people working online.

From January to August 2014, one of the authors was deeply involved in the work of the Japanese subtitle group "London Star" and conducted a comprehensive investigation of the subtitle group. In this subtitle group that focuses on Japanese film and television programs, more than 100 active members have almost never met each other. They use QQ, FTP, mail groups, cloud storage, etc. to complete a series of links from obtaining film sources, transferring files, translating and proofreading subtitles, adjusting timelines, and compressing and publishing. Here, everyone uses their spare time to be responsible for a small piece of work. Real space and cyberspace, film and television resources and personal contributions are first fragmented and then reintegrated. So, what kind of motivation do this group of people without an organizational entity have to complete autonomous, efficient, and unpaid work?

In the interviews with many senior members of the subtitle group, "satisfaction" is a keyword they often mention. Unlike traditional dubbed films that scroll the names of the dubbing staff at the end of the film, the subtitle group is accustomed to putting the names of the dubbing staff at the beginning of the film, and these names are virtual online names. They said that when your online name appears at the beginning of the film, when your brilliant translation appears in the forum and is discussed by others, when you advance from a "rookie" in the subtitle group to a "master", you will experience a rare sense of satisfaction in daily life.

Whether it is "similar feelings" or "similar tastes", the subtitle group has created a group identity that is not bounded by geography, blood, or personal connections. We might as well call it "interest affinity", that is, based on interests and hobbies, each other has mutual interests, hobbies, aesthetic tastes, values, etc. It is worth noting that "interest affinity" blurs the boundaries between work and leisure. The subtitle group translates film and television works, which is both a form of amateur leisure, but also produces new texts and spreads them widely. These have challenged the translation process and working model of traditional film and television dramas.

Subtle changes in the attitude of copyright holders

When subtitle groups first emerged, many foreign film and television production organizations denounced them as "online piracy" and accused them of infringing their copyrights. In recent years, on the one hand, subtitle groups have strengthened their risk avoidance of copyrights. For example, many subtitle groups only provide subtitle files on their own websites instead of providing the original files of film and television dramas; on the other hand, copyright holders have shown an ambiguous attitude towards subtitle groups, because subtitle groups are different from traditional piracy activities and have unexpectedly promoted the commercial interests of copyright holders.

Earlier this year, the American animated film Despicable Me 2 was released in mainland China, with a box office of nearly 30 million yuan on the first day, becoming the first domestic film to exceed 100 million yuan in 2014. The high box office is certainly due to the appeal of the film itself, but it cannot be denied that the popularity of Despicable Me 1 on the domestic Internet has attracted a large number of potential viewers for its sequel. Despicable Me 1 was not released in mainland China that year, but the film has already had a large number of fans in China due to the "transfer" of the subtitle group. It has nearly 500,000 views on the forum of the "Renren Film and Television" subtitle group alone. The cartoon character "Minions" in the film has long been familiar to Chinese netizens.

Copyright laws and intellectual property laws in China and abroad generally require that the core condition that must be met for the free use of other people's works on the grounds of "fair use" is that the legitimate rights and interests of the copyright owner must not be damaged. It is worth pondering that the popularity of subtitle groups has blurred the concept of national boundaries and softened the rigid provisions of copyright law. In general, the foreign film and television series translated by subtitle groups are not publicly introduced in China or cannot be obtained through formal channels. In other words, China is not counted in the viewing and profit areas set by the copyright owner. Therefore, Chinese netizens are "non-staff audiences." At the same time, the "transfer" of subtitle groups is usually based on "interest" and most of them are not for the purpose of profit. Although the possibility of the relevant film and television works being officially broadcast in the future cannot be ruled out, at least at this stage, the subtitle group has not only not affected the ratings of the film in the existing target group, but also played an indirect publicity effect such as warming up and paving the way for it in areas that have not been disseminated. Based on this, the subtitle group and the copyright owner are no longer incompatible, and they will definitely have more effective interaction and cooperation in the future.

Behind-the-scenes heroes and fire thieves

Compared with the early days of simply translating animation and TV dramas, today's subtitle groups have become an important intermediary and carrier of cross-cultural communication. They not only translate and disseminate open class videos from world-class universities, translate various popular foreign texts on the Internet, but also begin to spread important works in the Chinese world to the world. Subtitle groups are using media technology and professional capabilities to create a discourse space for themselves on the Internet. Although they are behind the scenes, they reflect their own views and tastes through the selection of content and personalized translation, and to a certain extent have become a cultural vane for the youth group.

In recent years, video open courses from world-renowned universities such as Harvard and Yale have been widely circulated in China, which is inseparable from the work of subtitle groups. The dissemination of these open courses mostly follows the CC principle (Creative Commons), which allows the free dissemination and use of works under certain conditions, which is highly consistent with the concept of free labor and promotion of sharing of subtitle groups. The social impact of a large number of foreign open course videos after being played on demand, shared, and commented on has overflowed the Internet, and "pirates" have become "fire thieves."

In addition, there are also subtitle groups dedicated to translating unpopular classic films on the Internet, focusing on important works that are restricted from formal channels due to market and copyright reasons. The members of these subtitle groups are all enthusiasts of foreign film and television works. Their aesthetic level is no less than that of professional directors or critics. Most of the unpopular films they choose to translate have become the "treasures in the bottom of the box" of fans. In the long run, this will be beneficial to improving the creation and appreciation of domestic film and television dramas.

A member of the subtitle group jokingly said that he hoped that one day Americans would all watch movies with both English and Chinese subtitles! Although this was a joke, some subtitle groups have already begun to translate Chinese TV series into English and spread them to fans of "Chinese dramas" in Europe and the United States. Although most of these TV series are currently concentrated in the genres of kung fu films and historical dramas, they can help foreigners understand the difference between "empresses", "princesses" and "talents", and fall in love with "Xu Sanduo" by watching "Soldiers Assault" translated by the subtitle group. Doesn't this also add a path for them to know and understand China?

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.