Popularity of foriegn language films rising

Today globalization can be seen in every aspect of American society from our shifting economy, all the way to the foods we eat. 

One display of globalization is the penetration of successful foreign-language films within the American film marketplace.

 "Back in the day, America was about moving to the United States, and changing to fit in," said Darrell Copp, one of Scottsdale Community College's Foreign Films professors. 

"And then, in the late 20th century, it became about immigrants moving to the U.S. and staying the way they were in communities of other people like themselves.  And those groups of people, whether they are from Korea, India, Mexico, or China, have a market for movies."

 "If you ever watch the top 20 movies in any given week, in many weeks there will be films in the lower half that are not English language films," Copp said. 

SCC student Brooke Alley is, at times, among those audiences.

 "I watch the scary (foreign-language films) because they usually have better stories than American ones.  I guess that's why you see a bunch of American remakes," Alley said.

 "You can make the argument that the first truly, widely seen mass-market foreign-language films didn't arrive until the 21st century," Copp said. "There wasn't a foreign-language film that made $100 million until ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' (2000)."

Indeed, according to Box Office Mojo, a database for film box-office statistics, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon's" domestic gross, totaling $128,078,872, represented 60 percent of its total gross.

Despite this, it seems the major hurtle foreign-language films need to jump is exactly that: the language barrier.

 "It's a slow change," Copp said.  "Many (Americans) are still highly resistant to seeing another film in another language, as well as the idea of reading subtitles.  And I find that in the case of my students from other countries, (reading subtitles) is just not an issue.  They've been seeing subtitled films their whole lives."

 SCC student Tabatha Enriquez concurs.

 "I rarely watch foreign films.  But it's not because of choice.  I guess it's an exposure thing.  I simply watch what's on the television and what's in Red Box, and that's rarely foreign language films," Enriquez said.

 "You can make argument that foreign-language films have yet to make a real impact in the American Market," Copp said.  "The fact that (there's) a few exceptions only proves the rule."

Still, Copp maintains that as the world grows smaller, it will become difficult to discern what a foreign-language film is.

 "So many films are multi-national productions," Copp said. "Even ‘Hollywood' films aren't made in Hollywood anymore."

 "You can't deny the world is changing," he said. "And so is America's place in it."