Dubbing has long been one of the two major modes of film and TV translation in the Czech Republic. Unlike subtitles, it strives to preserve the illusion that we, as viewers, understand the film as a whole. Eager to fall under its spell, we willingly accept that foreign characters in foreign settings speak our mother tongue fluently. But is it really that simple? Do we, as viewers, expect a complete illusion 100% of the time, or do we also enjoy moments when the illusion is slightly disrupted?

In this talk, I bring together discussions on illusion and aesthetic distance in film studies and Czechoslovak translation scholar Jiří Levý’s concept of “translativity” (překladovost) to explore how certain anti-illusionist features of full-cast dubbing may contribute to – rather than diminish – the value of the viewing experience.

🗓 Date: 6 October 2026

🕘 Time: 2:15 pm–3 pm
📍 Venue: 3.110