ABSTRACT
This chapter seeks to elucidate two key questions: (i) How is Ladino used on Netflix understood as a primary example of the video-on-demand (VOD)/streaming communication environment? (ii) How does/can this usage contribute to raising awareness about Ladino, revitalising it, and/or learning it in the digital era? To that end, it compares the respective first seasons of Kulüp and The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem. The individualised analysis of each TV series is divided into three parts: a brief introduction, a quantitative and qualitative summary of their use of Ladino, and a detailed discussion of these results revolving around critical aspects of Revivalistics (community engagement and post-vernacularity) and dubbing and subtitling policies. Then the chapter draws upon the previous section, private interviews with the main language advisers behind Kulüp and The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem, and an original survey disseminated amongst these series’ respective audiences, to discuss the perceived awareness-raising, revitalising and pedagogical impact generated by these shows. Lastly, this analysis is supplemented by briefly examining the use of Yiddish in Shtisel and Unorthodox as a point of contrast that helps us enrich our understanding of the potential behind the use of Ladino on Netflix.
