Today is the day that El Conde hits Netflix. For those in the film community, we know that this has been through the festival circuit gaining some steam. Some lucky individuals even got to live near a location playing the movie during its Oscar qualifying run. While the film is not Chile’s official submission, there’s always a possibility this could attract attention in a craft category like Makeup and Hairstyling. After all, that is a category that previously gave Suicide Squad an Oscar.
The bad news here is that El conde hits Netflix without English Audio Description, joining the ranks of international titles that Netflix has deemed not worthy of consumption for their blind and visually impaired individuals. Previously, they’ve ignored us with other Spanish language Oscar bait films like Roma and Bardo, two films who interestingly lack even an English dub track. El Conde does have the dub track, suggesting to me that there isn’t any contractual obligations against presenting this film in an alternate language. Yet the executives at Netflix chose to not provide accessibility. Why? And, why is this a problem?
The first is baffling even me, as Netflix had no problem adding English Audio Description to the Spanish language Killer Book Club. That winner was released in August, and is from a director of no special renown, and a cast of unremarkable actors. I suppose the argument is that horror is universal. Except, El Conde is also a horror film. It’s about Vampires. And unlike Killer Book Club, Netflix spent the money to send it to festivals and put it in limited release. That begs the question, did they put it in all those theatres without accessibility as well? why continue to invest in these titles, and not make them available to all? If Netflix can afford audio description for a film about a clown murdering young adults, certainly they can fund a Vampire dictator in a film from a director who has managed to get Kristen Stewart an Oscar nomination.
The bigger problem here is the general attitude. When I bothered to connect with customer service, there was this matter of fact statement that not all titles have audio description. That’s not really something to boast or brag about. I’m sure McDonalds would never say “not all of our locations have handicapped accessible bathrooms.”
There’s some kind of mentality that tells these sighted executives that audio description isn’t a necessary accessibility, but rather something fun we blind folk like to do on a Saturday night. Just because the accessibility is entrenched in recent technological advancements doesn’t mean that i don’t need that accessibility. blind people of olden days didn’t used to have screen readers on their cell phones either. That doesn’t mean that the screen reader for my cell phone is optional for me.
It’s this ableist view that fuels the lack of audio description across the streaming platforms. Like we are supposed to be happy with this slice of bread the cafeteria gave us. Never mind the fact everyone else gets the whole sandwich, a side item, and a drink, but at least we got a slice of bread.
But when Netflix fails to follow through on one of their own titles, instead of providing audio description for a licensed title like ugly Betty, what they are doing is gatekeeping. Unlike other theatrical releases by major studios, when Netflix releases a film it goes only to Netflix. I can’t rent it from the iTunes Store, or from the Google Play store, or Prime Video. I can’t purchase a BluRay from Best Buy. Netflix is the only place to view this film, and they have failed on delivering accessibility to their subscribers.
And because Netflix is so interested in making International content, they fail quite frequently. They are the only place to watch these films, and I can’t slip somewhere else and hope that another streaming service picks up the audio description. When a Sony film hits Netflix, at least i can think about other places to watch it. But, when Netflix doesn’t provide audio description there’s no other way around it. Amazon, which frequently makes their own audio description tracks for films that aren’t owned by them, can’t help me.
So, Netflix is gatekeeping. It’s another symptom of Netflix’s ableist culture, and explains why they’re having such a hard time figuring out how to talk to the guilds for writers and actors. When your culture is toxic, and you refuse to recognize it, you cannot then address the problems within.
Netflix still is the home of Roma, the Best Picture nominee without English Audio Description. Why? After all these years, why is Roma still behind the wall?
I will be reviewing El Conde, sadly with an English dub track. These just translate the dialog only, and I’ve come to the determination that the dub track is useless. The only possible person who could truly benefit would be an individual who didn’t speak the foreign language in the film, and also struggled with literacy. If you are literate enough to read the subtitles, you are blessed enough to have that experience and enjoy the original performances of the actors. If you need dubbing because your vision is poor, you likely also would benefit from audio description. Netflix should prioritize the audio description tracks first, and then a dub track as the extra.
It’s like how Amazon has started offering audio boost tracks. That’s great, but if the movie is mixed so poorly that you can’t hear the dialogue, maybe that’s just a problem with the film. If you’re hearing impaired, i can understand how those tracks help, but some films are just really poorly mixed. Still, I feel like it’s some kind of commitment to accessibility.
Netflix offering English dubbing is a commitment to nothing.
Netflix must make a real commitment to their original titles, as they are the only place they can be viewed. With physical media dying out, Netflix is less inclined to do DVD or BluRay releases for all their titles. Will El Conde ever get a release? Unlikely.
I’ll approach el Conde as open minded as possible, but most horror films without audio description are unwatchable. I’m not expecting anything different.Stop the gatekeeping.
