Last week, I went to German Club to watch a German Netflix Original television show called “Babylon Berlin.” The show takes place in 1929 in Berlin. The main character is Gereon Rath, a police inspector who was transferred to Berlin from Cologne. Rath is a World War I veteran and suffers from PTSD. He is investigating one of the biggest pornography rings in Berlin. A subplot about the Russian revolution follows Soviet supporters of Leon Trotsky as they hijack a train carrying something extremely important for the revolution. Trotsky was a Marxist theorist and wanted to take down Joseph Stalin. The show is suspenseful and has a lot of twists and turns as people are constantly going behind one another’s back.

The dialog in the show is in German, but Netflix will play the English version, which in my opinion is not as good. The English dubbing does not match what the German actors’ lips are speaking. I find this distracting and prefer to watch foreign movies and television shows in their original language with English subtitles at the bottom of the screen.

I have had a thing for watching new Netflix or Hulu shows that are made in other countries for a couple years now. It all started when I was tired of watching the same TV shows on Netflix and went searching for new ones.

That’s when I came across the Spanish Netflix original “Cable Girls,” or in Spanish, Las chicas del cable. “Cable Girls” is about four young women working in the first national telephone company in Madrid in the 1920s. Each of the girls has a different life story. One is in an abusive relationship, another is exploring her sexuality, one is lying about her identity, and the last is adjusting to life in a big city. This show released its third season last year, and I cannot wait for the fourth. Just like “Babylon Berlin,” I watch this show in its original language with English subtitles.

I highly encourage everyone to watch foreign TV shows. You get to learn about other cultures and the historical events that happened during that time from the perspective of the people of that country. I think most TV shows that are not from America are really intriguing and constantly leave you on the edge of your seat. I have seen lots of bad American TV shows and movies, but I have yet to see a bad one from a foreign country. If anyone would like recommendations for good foreign shows, just send me an email. I have tons of shows I can recommend, mostly German ones though, because I watched a lot of them in my German classes throughout the years.

Kate Rehwinkel is a junior management major. She can be reached at 581-2812 or at kerehwinkel@eiu.edu.