The Increasing Issue of Mumbling in Movies and on TV (from Newsbreak.com)

I can’t understand a lot about contemporary television programming, but what I can’t understand the most – is the dialogue.

Everybody mumbles and talks too low.

It’s all like a bad episode of Seinfeld (of which there were only a few).

More often than not, when watching a TV show or feature film, I turn to the person next to me and ask, "What did they say? I couldn't understand one word. Is it me, or is it them?"

Most likely, it's them.

So, what is all that about - and why is this an issue in the first place?

Certainly, actors have been mumbling in movies and on television for years, especially after the whole Marlon Brando/James Dean "method-acting" way of performing came into being.

And maybe TV and movie lovers have been complaining about it all for years, as well.

But the truth is, it really isn’t the performers who are always at fault.

Many times it's the sound mixers to blame or just technology in general.

With that said, TV and filmmakers should be commended for making a concerted effort to become more naturalistic. But not at the price of storytelling or audibility.

There are times, too, when performances go the other extreme; a little over the top. And in those cases, the actors need to bring things down a notch.

Many trained, professional and veteran actors have been mumbling in movies and on TV for years, sometimes, off-screen, when you meet them in real life. (Though that's a whole other category of understanding and misunderstanding.)

But on-screen? In the old days, editing “fixed” any audibility issues. Now, it doesn't look like the issue is ever going to be fully rectified.

Maybe it all has to do with some secret plot to keep older viewers from watching and enjoying their favorite TV shows and movies? That is to say, many senior watchers already have trouble hearing what they're seeing on screen, or sometimes on live stages.

Either way, again, kudos to Hollywood for seeking to shoot for realism when making movies and TV shows, and yes, we all mumble in real life.

But guess what? TV shows and movies aren’t real life; they are a form of entertainment.

So, what good is making something real if we can’t understand the realism? And what good does it do if the writer creates always those beautiful words when no one in the TV audience or movie theatre can understand the actors when those words are spoken?

I’m not sure where it started – and who started it – but it needs to end, and it wouldn't hurt if those who run Hollywood would adhere to the following suggestions:

1] Actors need to frequently attend diction classes, and learn how to slow down in their speech patterns.

2] Directors need to start directing their actors to slow down in their speech patterns, and speak up - literally!

3] All creative individuals (in and outside of Hollywood, for that matter) should maybe try meditation in learning to relax.

Once those three main guidelines are applied, or "ad-heared to" on a daily basis - by all those involved in making movies and TV shows - everything should turn out just fine.

Originally published by Newsbreak.com 2022-07-04 CLICK HERE TO READ ORIGINAL ARTICLE