‘All Quiet on the Western Front,’ became a standout film in 2022. The 2022 movie is based on a book detailing a group of soldiers’ time experiencing the trenches of WWI. There have been countless American movies and shows about the World Wars, and American audiences have become intimately familiar with many themes and tropes in War films. But ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ gives American audiences an experience they are probably unfamiliar with: this film follows German soldiers who primarily speak German. This Netflix feature became accessible to the English-speaking world through subtitles. The gut-wrenching narrative proved to be a roaring success in the cutthroat American entertainment industry, winning four Oscars.
This film contrasts the horrors of war with the apathetic warmongering politicians.As anti-war films depicting the World Wars are becoming more commonplace, the way the creators convey the message feels both familiar and alien. American audiences have already seen many war movies made from American viewpoints.They are familiar with the messages that American directors and producers want to sendBut witnessing the dichotomy of the German soldiers forced to the frontlines of violence and their officers refocuses a familiar message in a way that startles viewers with casual violence and indifference.
What makes ‘All Quiet on the Waterfront’ stand out from the hundreds of other war narratives is that it is unafraid to skew the “us” versus “them” narrative that is still prevalent. Namrata Joshi wrote a haunting review on the film, in which she examines the anti-war themes and dissects the impact of the horrors shown on screen. She wrote, “Berger’s film is a powerful plea for pacifism that comes riding on a trenchant critique of the inhumanity of statecraft. One in which the enemy is not necessarily out there across the border but within.”
The acclaim for this non-American perspective showcases how the increasing acceptance of subtitles in the US can open doors to American entertainment. For so long, The US has ruled the Film and TV industry, flooding every entertainment market with movies and shows from the hands of American, English-speaking writers and directors. International television and film is becoming accessible and popular at an increasing rate in American markets.With Americans seemingly ready to conquer the “one-inch barrier” that is subtitles, it might be time that the lack of international awareness from Americans is conquered as well.
63% of Americans don’t have passports, and this study reports that 11% might have never left their home state. Those unable to experience the ideas and cultures from around the world can use entertainment as an avenue to the international community. It seems that one film at a time, the one-inch barrier is crumbling in front of American eyes. Subtitles are no longer insurmountable battle linesThey are teleportation devices, taking audiences from bank robbers in Madrid, to German war fronts, to a house belonging to the South Korean elite, and farther.
At the 92nd Academy Awards for the Oscars in 2020, a non-English language film won Best Picture for the first time in the history of the organization. It also won the other three major awards at the Oscars: Best International Feature-Film, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. ‘Parasite,’ is a South Korean project directed by Bong Joon Ho. It is a perfect example of how foreign TV and film can elevate the market; it has fresh ideas, is unbothered by the expectations of Hollywood films , and illustrates a familiar theme in an unfamiliar way. Brian Tellerico, movie critic, wrote in a review for the movie, “‘Parasite’ may be [the director’s] most daring examination of the structural inequity that has come to define the world.” Again, audiences can see the familiar theme of class inequity with unfamiliar tropes and storytelling. This sweet spot of both unfamiliar and novel is something artists often strive for.
Foreign films and TV shows like ‘Parasite’ saw an increase in American interest in 2020, as the demand for more entertainment skyrocketed in lockdown. With an increasing longing for the outside world, International shows such as ‘Casa de Papel’ (‘Money Heist’) of Spain and ‘Lupin’ of France were some of the many popular International pieces in 2020. This set the stage for triumphs in International TV and film, as seen in ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ in 2022.
Brad Grossman, CEO of Zeitguide, a research company that focuses on international fluency, spoke on this shift in entertainment. He said, “As ‘American exceptionalism’ has become less of a truth geopolitically, the same goes for entertainment.” This idea that everything American is better might be slowly melting away, allowing room for foreign TV and film to gain recognition. In turn, exposure to foreign cultures, especially in a country with such little exposure to the world beyond its borders, might just improve diversity of thought in the long run.
From the wildly popular world of anime to India’s Bollywood to K-dramas and Germany’s roster of mind-bending television (Netflix’s ‘Dark,’ for example), entertainment becomes almost inexhaustible. Without the limitation of watching English-only TV and film, the opportunities become vast. The director of ‘Parasite’ articulated this phenomenon simply: “Once you overcome the one inch tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films.”
