Hollywood fears, audiences cheer
Nov 22nd, 2007 by Jinja
Khmer dubbed version of “Manuh Pingpeang” 3 – “Man Spider” 3.
Keo Kalyan’s reaction:
http://kalyankeo.blogspot.com/2007/05/this-weekend.html
In more literate countries like Malaysia there are subtitles allowing the watcher to use this as a language learning tool. In Cambodia the media industry is dependent on a small corps of dubbers and translators (no subtitling) so you often hear the same voices over and over again.
Bootleg copies of mass market films hit the stands within days of release, dubbed versions take a little longer. While mass media conglomerates are apprehensive about the growing degree illegal copying, these copies also help create a market for ancillary products like t-shirts and accessories. Definitely not a simple issue. If cinema companies wanted to license their creations to Cambodia I doubt they’d find the legalities of it simple, or the market very rewarding. A tighter watch has been kept on domestic films over recent years.
Whenever I spot one of these on TV, I find it’s a good way to test Khmer language skills. Sometimes the interpretation of the plot diverges wildly from the actual story.
Tags:cinema,film,translation,cambodia,khmer
