Spanish (page 10)

Beginners’ Spanish I (SPAN 201): Watching a Show

Aleezay Nadeem

In order to gain additional insight into Spanish culture as well as the language, I watched a well-known show called Money Heist, originally known as La Casa De Papel (released May 2017). I watched the show in Spanish with English subtitles, and did my best to only look at the subtitles occasionally rather than rely on them fully in order to also focus on the audio. Although I had watched the show a few years prior, this rewatch was very different from what I remember of my initial experience. Apart from having forgotten most of the plot, this watch also involved a heavy focus on the language being spoken in the show – something which I had not paid attention to before.

To begin with, there were various words and phrases in the show that I understood, either from already having learned them during class, or through inferring using the context provided in the show. One thing I found interesting in particular was the usage of “vosotros”, an informal subject pronoun meaning “you all”, which reminded me of the show’s setting, as the word is typically only used in Spain. Other words I understood included “nada” (nothing), “estudiante” (student), profesor (professor), “inspectora” (inspector), “ahora” (now). “inteligencia” (intelligence), “bienvenida” (welcome), “sufriendo” (suffering), “familia” (family), “claro” (clear/of course), “tranquilo” (calm), “teléfono” (telephone), and “pistola” (gun). Similarly, easily comprehensible phrases included “muy bien” (very well), “por favor” (please), “tienes treinta segundos” (you have thirty seconds), “aborta entrada” (abort entry), “se llama Axel, significa axe” (his name is Axel, meaning axe), and “buenos días, ¿qué tal?” (good morning, how are you?). Many of these involved cognates, which helped significantly in terms of comprehension, as their spelling was similar in English and Spanish, and they shared the same meaning in both languages.

Other phrases required me to either rewind and relisten or use context clues in order to figure out their meaning, such as “son las cuatro y tres de la mañana” (it’s 4:03 in the morning), “venga, Arturo, mírame” (come on, Arturo, look at me), “acceso a central de alarmas” (access to alarm centre), “estudiarlos segundo por segundo” (study them second by second), and “¿estás listo?” (are you ready?). Naturally, knowing the context in which these words and phrases were being used combined with hearing the characters in the show say them repeatedly paired with different tones and expressions helped me understand them much faster than I would have been able to by simply hearing or listening to them without any other aid. Something I did struggle with at times, however, was attempting to comprehend what was being said at the speed at which many characters talked. Due to the show belonging to the action/thriller genre, there were many highly tense scenes in which characters spoke incredibly fast, often due to panic, frustration, and anger. As a result of this specific setting, there were also certain words and phrases being used in the show that would likely not be heard frequently in real life, meaning I also encountered certain sayings that I had been completely unfamiliar with previously.

A notable part of the show revolved around the idea of resistance against the government – the thieves planned on going into the heist while acting as “Robin Hoods” for the civilians keeping up with the case, intending to keep public opinion on their side by bringing no physical harm to the hostages, but instead printing untraceable money for themselves against the government’s will. At one point, they end up raining money over the public for civilians to collect, and argue that the state serves to perpetuate a system of corruption and inequality where the rich are rewarded rather than the poor. The anti-fascist song “Bella Ciao” is used throughout the series, further emphasizing this theme and hinting to Spain’s complex political history. Money Heist brought light to numerous issues and values focused on in Spain including economic inequality, political resistance, social solidarity, and even art, mainly through the usage of masks inspired by the Spanish surreal artist Salvador Dalí. Ultimately, I found watching a TV show in Spanish incredibly helpful for my learning experience, as it allowed me to fully immerse myself and see how people actually speak to one another in the language, pairing certain actions and facial expressions with their words to add even more meaning to them. It also allowed me to learn more about Spanish culture and recognize some of the slang they use, showing how Spanish-speakers tend to talk in real life, and therefore giving the language a more authentic view.