#ReadSubtitles

The most important and powerful statement made at the Golden Globes last night came from Parasite director, Bong Joon Ho. In his thank you speech for Best Foreign Language Film, he started by saying, "Once you overcome the one-inch tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films." But the truth of his statement goes beyond the number of amazing films you will be introduced to "once you overcome the one-inch tall barrier subtitles."

It has always surprised me when people tell me they don't like reading subtitles. It's lazy, and frankly a choice of ignorance. Maybe if more people, particularly Americans, were willing to read subtitles, we wouldn't be on the brink of war right now. Some people reading this will think this is a gross exaggeration and I'm making an over-dramatic statement. But when you're unwilling to do a little reading while you're watching a film or series, you're not just missing amazing storytelling, you're missing out on cultural insights, you're missing shared life experiences that transcend borders and language barriers, and you're dis-servicing and disabling yourself by closing yourself off to connecting with and better understanding your neighbors. Again, you are choosing ignorance. Even the bad foreign language films and series I have watched provide insight and connection. So when you open yourself up to people and stories that maybe don't share the same language or national identity as you, you'll start to see that often people find more commonality with those from other groups, while there are often more differences amongst people of the same group.

Read subtitles. Don't miss out on greater connection and wisdom, and sometimes just really great entertainment.