Out of all the audio descriptions I’ve critiqued so far, this one made me consider something I never thought about. I really should have, considering this is visual media. I think it slipped my mind because I don’t usually consume this kind of content. It’s not engaging enough for me.

For those unaware, audio description is a separate audio track added to visual media that describes visual aspects. It’s mainly intended for blind and visually impaired audiences, but it can be enjoyed by and benefit anyone.

Documentary Premise

Pornhub’s bad management of their content is exposed and activists attempt to take down the company. Sex workers fight for their jobs. The porn industry is judged, Pornhub at its center.

Documentary Information

Genre: Documentary
Category: Adult
Explicit sex: There seems to be, but I’m not sure
Explicit violence: No
Content warnings I noticed: Discussions on human trafficking and unconsensual sex

Review

The writing is good. The language fits the audience it targets. The word choice is very similar to most of the Netflix documentaries.

Descriptions are good. They’re written in a minimal style. As I’ve said before, I don’t dislike this style, but it lacks detail in certain areas.

The description assumes that the viewer knows who the people in the documentary are. In my opinion, it’s important to take into account that the viewer may not know who the people are. Add as much detail as possible if space permits.

My biggest gripe with this description is that there are video clips in the documentary that are not described. I’m assuming that sighted viewers are able to see what’s happening because they’re very explicit in nature. I’ll offer the benefit of the doubt here. There’s a lot of dialogue in the clips, so it seems like there may not have been any space for description.

Both scenes are part of a porn storyline. In one there’s explicit sex. The other has the prelude to sex. When those clips are shown on screen, there’s no description as to what visually happens. There’s a description of someone setting up to record before the clips play.

If there’s no space, I understand why nothing is described in these clips. However, if there is space, then the choice was deliberately made not to visually describe what happens. I remember commentary happening before and after the clips. I can’t be sure if there would have been any space for description, considering the amount of dialogue. This is the only reason I’m giving it the benefit of the doubt.

Since 2017, I’ve consumed a lot of audio described content. From children’s cartoons to explicit adult shows and movies, I’ve seen it. It can’t be denied, however, that audio described sex scenes are boring. They’re the least interesting part of the audio description because it sounds so technical. Most of the time, describers sound like they’re reading a technical manual. However, as boring as the descriptions are, not describing sex is not an option. It’s a disservice to the viewer. This is why I believe these clips should have been described if possible.

While I have yet to do the research, I do know that there is audio described porn. I personally don’t engage in this content very often, so I haven’t seen it. A quick Google search with the terms “audio described adult content” brought up at least two articles regarding porn and audio description. One is from 2021 and seems to detail a study regarding audio described porn. The other is Pornhub announcing that they were going to provide audio described content for blind and visually impaired audiences in 2016. While I don’t generally consume this content, I’m very interested in the audio description aspect. I plan to do some research and maybe write a post on it. If you know something about it, let me know in the comments.

The audio describer is good. They’re engaging while not being distracting. They don’t interrupt dialogue or commentary and allow viewers to appreciate silence and music.

As usual, Netflix offers the documentary in several languages while only offering audio description in English. The streaming service is excluding viewers who don’t speak Eglish by doing so. Netflix has no excuse to do this. Customers pay too much money not to get accessible content.

Conclusion

Overall, it’s a good audio description. It was enjoyable to listen to, despite my issues with it. It also brings up an interesting conversation. I rate it three stars.