What element was seen as a potential barrier for global audience participation in film with the advent of sound?

The emergence of sound in film significantly transformed the cinematic experience, but it also introduced new challenges, particularly for global audiences. The language barrier for non-English speakers became a crucial issue as sound films began to dominate the industry. Silent films were universally accessible, as audiences could enjoy the visual narrative without the need for understanding a specific language. However, with the addition of dialogue, the films required viewers to understand the spoken language used, which often limited the audience to those who spoke the film's language, typically English in many major markets.

This creates a form of exclusion, as non-English speakers could struggle to connect with sound films. While subtitles and dubbing have since developed as solutions to this problem, the initial introduction of sound was a significant shift that posed a barrier to non-English speaking audiences.

In contrast, the other options, such as time constraints, the need for special equipment, or the complexity of sound recording, do not directly address the primary issue of accessibility that arose with the incorporation of sound. Time constraints have always been a component of filmmaking and did not uniquely pertain to sound films. Similarly, while special equipment may have presented challenges for production, it did not directly impact audience participation. On the other hand, audio technology itself, despite