Chances are, when you watch a movie in Singapore, you will see Chinese subtitles.

What's more, if the film is not in English or Chinese, you will likely see subtitles of both languages on screen.

The presence of Chinese subtitles has become a point of frustration for at least one Redditor.

On August 15, Redditor QuestioningEverything started a thread on Reddit titled, "Is there a movie without Chinese subtitles in cinemas", voicing annoyance that almost all movies had Chinese subtitles instead of English subtitles.

QuestioningEverything points out that as Singapore is a multi-racial society, it would make more sense to have English subtitles in order to make the movie accessible to everyone.

QuestioningEverything also dismisses the justification that the subtitles are in Chinese simply because Chinese are the majority.

Accordingly, Reddit reacted in a variety of ways, with most of the reactions supporting the use of Chinese subtitles.

1. The subtitles are necessary for elderly Chinese people who don't understand English

One of the most oft-cited reasons to emerge was the need to cater for elderly Chinese folks.

This is because they supposedly have a poorer command of English compared to the elderly of the minority groups, for various reasons.

One Redditor further pointed out the elderly might not be able to understand all of the Western accents shown on screen.

2. Economics of the majority demographic

Another possible explanation was that it was entirely a matter of economics with regards to the majority demographic.

One Redditor mentioned that the basis of having Chinese subtitles was the same as the reasons for Subway going Halal -- improving business by tapping into a particular market.

Another Redditor tried to strike a balanced approach by stating that while it made sense, business-wise, to cater subtitles for the majority demographic, it did not necessarily preclude having subtitles to cater to the minorities as well.

It's also worth noting that the Chinese subtitles for most films screened in Singapore are in Traditional Chinese.

3. Not every Chinese person's English is good

There were also those who said that they still needed the Chinese subtitles because their English just wasn't that good.

4. Subtitles are too big and clutter the screen

And then there was the reaction that the subtitles were unnecessary due to their overly large size which cluttered the screen, and timings in appearances which occasionally spoiled movies at crucial moments.

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This was pretty much the only reaction that was in favour for the removal of Chinese subtitles.

There are actually movies with English subtitles but they are limited

In any case, one fact that was acknowledged in the thread is that there are indeed movies which do have English subtitles.

However, these are usually reserved for big blockbuster movies such as the Marvel films or The Rock's latest film "Skyscraper" and are the exception rather than the norm.

Top Image from Embassy of India in Beijing, China.