Comment by midoridensha
2 years ago
I think that's part of it, but I also think acting styles have changed a lot over the years. In the really old days, actors came from stage acting, where they were taught to speak loudly and enunciate better so people could hear and understand. But these days, mumbling seems to be in vogue.
For everyone complaining that they can't hear dialog in streaming shows, try watching some old movie or TV show from the 1960s (or even 70s or 80s) on the same setup: you'll probably have no trouble understanding the actors. It's just like music: young people keep saying we're just getting old, but it isn't true: things have really changed in the industries.
It's not that mumbling is in vogue, it's that TV really has become far more naturalistic. We expect people to be seemingly acting like actual people.
When you throw in overly enunciated dialog, the kind you had in 1970's TV and 1990's sitcoms, it's jarring and bizarre. You're like, why is that cop talking like they're in a bad comedy TV show, instead of just being a regular cop? It's seriously terrible.
You still get a milder version of over-enunciation in network comedies today. But it just doesn't fit in dramas that depend on the characters seeming like real people. It's not mumbling and it's not lazy actors, it's a very conscious choice to not distract the audience.
Actors and directors have changed.
Here's another piece from 2021 that gets regularly reposted, because nothing has changed since then.
https://www.slashfilm.com/673162/heres-why-movie-dialogue-ha...
Mumbling is one thing, but most dialogue in a major production (+1-10,000,000$ ?) will be re recorded, at least partially, after the film is made in a process described as ADR.
It’s the audio mixing that’s changed into a faux “naturalism”. Just as you mentioned, 1940s and 1950s had audio mixes with strong dialogue separation. 1970s we’re different with the Easy Rider mentality and slam bam technique of filmmaking (fast and loose and cheap). 1980s and 1990s you return to your he studio system and clarity. Now we have a strange combo - the studio system has returned through the streamers yet the audio is mixed as if it was a small time indie production that can’t afford ADR (no Netflix production will have issues budgeting ADR however).
It’s an audio mixing choice. It will go away.