Inclusive audio description, on and off screen

This lecture explores the dual role of audio description (AD) as both a tool of accessibility and a site of representational politics in contemporary media. Using the Netflix series Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story as a case study, the session investigates how AD mediates race, identity, and inclusion—on screen and off. While platforms like Netflix promote visual diversity through casting and production design, they often remain narratively silent on issues of race and power. This silence poses a unique challenge for AD writers, who are tasked with verbalizing visual meaning under strict formal and institutional constraints. Through a comparative analysis of English and French AD tracks, the lecture highlights how linguistic and cultural norms shape what is made audible—and what is not. The session calls for a critical approach to AD that moves beyond functional access to embrace what might be termed narrative equity: a commitment to describing not just what is visible, but what is politically meaningful. Ultimately, the talk positions AD as a powerful diagnostic of broader tensions in platform-era storytelling, where inclusion is frequently aestheticized but rarely interrogated.