Albert Dumani, the director of programming at TV Klan, announced the news that the newest series "Leyla," which has gone viral, will soon start broadcasting in Albania. The series is about a girl abandoned by her stepmother after her father remarried. Leyla returns after several years to seek revenge. However, her search turns into an emotional journey filled with love and challenges to the woman who destroyed her life. The news about this series immediately aroused the interest of the public, but one detail caused viewers to express their concern on social networks: will it be dubbed or with subtitles?
This reaction is related to the last series dubbed by Klan Television, "Familja," which was met with numerous criticisms from the public. Viewers were not satisfied with the adaptation in Albanian, claiming that the dubbing made it more difficult to experience the scenes and the emotions of the actors. They ask that this series not face the same fate, expressing their wish openly:
"Aman, don't make them with dubbing anymore, because it looks like a cartoon. On Saturdays at 9pm I turn off the TV and read rather than watch that 'Family'!”
Another comment: "You really shined with that telenovela with Albanian dubbing, scandal!"; Another commenter adds: "Just don't translate it into Albanian because we don't like it at all, we want it with Albanian subtitles."; And further, another Instagram user adds: "Finally, I've been waiting for it! You defamed us with that dubbing."
TV Klan has not yet confirmed whether "Leyla" will be dubbed or with subtitles, but we think the public's message is clear.
This situation brings to attention the Mexican telenovela "Për Ty" (the original "Por Tí"), which was among the first telenovelas dubbed in the Albanian language and was broadcast in 2004. This dubbing was an attempt to bring the Albanian public a closer to native language experience, but viewer reactions were mixed. Many appreciated the effort, but pointed out that the dubbing reduces the originality of the emotions and scenes. For some, hearing the actors' voices in their own language brings a deeper and more real experience of the story and characters. Taking into account the time and the quality of the tools at that time, the dubbing in Albanian was heard superimposed on the original voices, so the result, despite the effort that must be appreciated, was not what was expected.
But Albanian dubbing is better accepted for cartoons, where the example of "Shrek" remains among the most popular. In this case, the dubbing was appreciated for its quality, bringing the humor and personality of the characters in a fun and pleasant way for the Albanian public, especially for children.
Recently, another cartoon whose dubbing has been liked is "Leo".
It seems that dubs work best when applied to genres that don't rely primarily on live acting and emotional nuances, but on the expressive speech of animation.
