Media Accessibility of Taboo in Arabic: The Analysis of a Political Film

Research and practice on subtitling for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing (SDH), Audio description (AD) in Arabic, and Arabic Sign Language (ArSL) remain scant, with only a few studies conducted to date and an equally low number of titles with Arabic AD and SDH available on on-demand platforms. Language professionals in the Arabic-speaking world often face challenges in adapting international standards or guidelines to meet the unique linguistic and cultural needs of Arabic-speaking audiences, so more research is needed with a variety of audiences to understand user preferences and expectations. This article investigates the accessibility of taboo in Arabic, SDH, AD, and ArSL, drawing from the AD, ArSL, and SDH in Arabic and English developed by students in the Master’s in Audiovisual Translation program at Hamad bin Khalifa University for a film screened at a festival in Qatar in November 2023. The film, 200 Meters, set in occupied Palestine, contains taboo language that needed to be mediated, especially given the conservative nature of the Qatari society. Likewise, the film’s political nature compelled subtitlers and describers to make choices that inevitably reveal a certain political stance. This article explores the choices made for the subtitles, sign language interpretation, and audio description of the film, and their implications, reflecting on the fact that SDH and AD can be a political act. It is hoped that this study will serve as a basis for further research in Arabic AD and as a contribution to the development of guidelines for Arabic AD.