Opinionated Karens often wearing the faces of your friends may tuttut or turn their noses up at people on Facebook who use accessibility options to watch their favorite foreign films or series, loudly declaring to all within range that they only watch stuff in its native language otherwise the tone is lost.
What a load of egotistical, privileged, snobbery!
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There are millions of people, myself included, who watch foreign series and movies using voiceovers. And while dubbing is not an exact science, and granted certain emotions can be lost, people like me are often the type who listen to shows while doing other things.
Being neurodivergent, I tend to Google characters, their actors, certain phrases I didn't understand, and whether what just happened is scientifically plausible. I also work and play games while Netflixing, and so I need to hear the story because I only look up intermittently for context or when a voice changes.
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On the other hand, I don't like subtitles because I am an editor by trade and my entire job requires me to read and edit shoddily written text. I definitely don't want to be reading shitty subtitles after hours too because my brain inevitably starts correcting the poor grammar AND I'm not even getting paid for it!
Instead of applauding how accessible German, French, Latin American, and Korean drama and telenovelas have become to the average Joe who doesn't want to pay a fortune to go to an Art Nouveau cinema, some gatekeepers of all things foreign actually lament the fact that it has become too "common."
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No longer able to lord their fluency in a second or third language over others, their power in the world dwindles as the great unwashed glimpse a whole new world behind the curtains of pompous privilege. Thanks to streaming, we are all able to watch exactly the same series and movies at reduced prices.
The World has become a very small place once people started seeing diversity on their screens and chose to keep an open mind. What is common in your country may not be remotely common in another, and it's fascinating to see other cultures express themselves.
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Just let people enjoy things, Karen. And don't worry about us not getting the full benefit and impact of the story; we're getting along just fine, thanks!
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