The Hockey Girls Proves Language is No Barrier in TV

Netflix's acquisition of many foreign-language TV series like 'The Hockey Girls' demonstrates how well-sketched characters and relatable storylines can allow audience interest regardless of the language spoken

'The Hockey Girls' (CREDIT: Netflix/TV3)

by Jack Linsdell

Having been born and grown up in a predominately English-speaking country like the United Kingdom, it's easy to forget that other countries where English is not so dominant and/or fluent view "our" movies through dubbing and subtitles in their native tongues all the time. There's a certain stigma, so to speak, that watching distinctly foreign-language movies is somehow more "painstaking" for an English audience as they have to read subtitles, or because the dubbing (obviously) doesn't match the lip movements. However, what foreign language TV series and movies demonstrate, if executed well, is that it doesn't matter what language a given story is told in. The art of storytelling is universal, and good characters and relatable stories will keep any audience engaged, no matter their own background or language. And, credit to Netflix for promoting these time and time again to the "western world", the most recent example being The Hockey Girls. 

The Spanish-language and produced TV series (comprising of 13 episodes, all 50 minutes in length) The Hockey Girls, or as it's known in Spain Les de l'hoquei, was first shown on the Spanish TV network TV3, and attracted a very decent following. If reports from the country are to be true, it's said that The Hockey Girls carries an 11.2% audience share there, with about 241,000 live viewers per night. I can't account for how impressive this is because I have no idea about regular audience numbers for Spanish TV network shows, but what it does show is that the series has hit it off with a Spanish, hometown audience. This is not surprising, if only because of it's political relevance and topicality regarding it's gender politics storylines, and this maybe a big reason why Netflix got behind the show and aired it on it's platform. In short, the series follows a group of teenage Hockey players, who are treated unfairly by corrupt and prejudiced men who lead their sports club, but just want to be treated equally and play the sport they love. Yes, as most series do, other characters (mainly their families) come into the equation with their own plots and things going on, but the focus does mostly remain on how these girls look out for one another and fight for their right to play Hockey just like the boys team does. 

Let me say, much like the other Netflix backed, Spanish-language series Money Heist, The Hockey Girls is well worth a watch if you're a Netflix subscriber. Okay, it's not perfect, with a bland directorial style, some stilted acting, and the fact that the series only really finds that emotionally-moving ground in the second half of the episodes. However, by the end you are really invested in all these characters, and the themes of friendship and determination come shining through, as well as very socio-political messages about girls being allowed to play sport and deserving a voice in a world dominated by overly powerful men. It gains credit for handling these issues with reservation and subtly, and I'm sure will hit an even greater resonance with teenage girls and/or women across the world. 

But, The Hockey Girls demonstrates beyond all else (along with Money Heist and the Norwegian-language The Rain on Netflix too) that language is no barrier, especially to an English-speaking/dominant audience. It doesn't matter that the series is dubbed over by English actors, and after you've gotten over that initial "this is different" reaction, you soon forget that the actors are in fact speaking Spanish. Heck, I think this dubbing system is far better than subtitling everything because it allows you to keep all your attention on the acting itself, which if done well (like this is, mostly) can actually tell you most of the story visually anyway. It's weird to think that if I met the actors in person they'd sound nothing like who I associate with their visual image, but hey! And, on that point it's worth noting how much hard work must go into dubbing over hundreds of hours of TV and movie content, and all the actors did very well. 

The Hockey Girls creates a series of really well-sketched characters, who go through and behave the way we all have and/or do, leading to immensely relatable storylines about identity, body image, peer pressure, sex, relationships, family, love and death. Because the audience invests so much into these girls and their families, we forget this is a relatively small-budget series made in Spain with local actors speaking their native tongue and that allows us to enjoy foreign-language content on our small and big screens, in the same way that a Spanish audience enjoys are English-speaking Hollywood movies and series. This is the true art of storytelling, one where cultural and language barriers can be bypassed through visual and universal storytelling that allows any given audience to be entertained and to emphasise with the characters. 

And, much to their credit, Netflix deserves some respect for backing these foreign-language series and using their very popular and well-visited platform to promote them to a western/English-speaking audience. Because, as much as we in Hollywood claim to no everything about film and TV, sometimes looking across the border to another country and seeing how they do things is just as important as them seeing what we do. So, I challenge you Netflix subscribers out there to bypass watching Stranger Things Season 3 again, or the new series of Insatiable, and instead go watch a foreign-language series on the platform, preferably The Hockey Girls. You'll find yourself enriched and entertained in a different way yet also a very similar one too. And, you'll realise how storytelling isn't defined by language. We are.