Translators must be aware of the fact that viewers of dubbed or subtitled films will interpret cultural elements, viz they will assign them expressive value from the referential value, according to the previous knowledge they have of any given cultural reference. This article investigates how different translation strategies may affect the referential and expressive value of cultural references. The author presents a number of definitions of culture to lay a basis for her interpretation, explains the key concept of ideoloy in ascribing value to cultural objects and deals with the issue of social representations.