How You Can Advocate for Accessible First-Run Movies in Florida’s Theaters
Many people with hearing loss find that “going to the movies” is an activity which is no longer enjoyable for them because they cannot hear the film’s dialogue. Providing communication accessibility in movie theaters is improving in Florida, but achieving the goal of full communication access will take time and sustained effort. Here are a few things you as a consumer of movies (and live theatrical productions) can do to advocate.
Most theaters today offer assistive listening device systems (ALDs) as a minimum attempt at accessibility. This may consist of an Infrared system or an FM system, where the consumer checks out a receiver and headphones and taps into the sound system of the auditorium. Many times, this equipment is not well maintained and the consumer may experience dead batteries, malfunctioning units and dead spots while sitting in certain seats. Ask the theater manager about the equipment they offer and report to the manager if the equipment does not work. Educate them on how to check the batteries and ask them to train their staff to be more sensitive to requests from people with disabilities.
The newer form of accessibility in movie theaters is captioning. Most people with hearing loss prefer viewing a first-run movie with captioning rather than using ALDs that may or may not work for them. ALDs do not benefit a person who is profoundly hard of hearing or deaf. Captioning allows all people with hearing loss to enjoy films as hearing people do.
There are two basic styles of captioning – open and closed. Some of the major theater chains have elected to install equipment based on a decision by their corporate headquarters. For example, AMC Theaters only offer Rear-Window captioning (RWC), which is a closed captioning system, and Regal Cinemas offers DTS-CSS captioning, which is open. In order to view RWC, the consumer must use special equipment whereas DTS-CSS captioning requires no special equipment. Closed captioning (RWC) can only be seen by patrons who use special equipment to view the captions, but open captioning can be seen by all the patrons in the theater, whether they have hearing loss or not.
Here are two websites which list the theater locations of the two methods of movie captioning:
Rear Window Captioning (RWC) http://ncam.wgbh.org/mopix/
This website gives the historical background of the technology, the location of theaters with RWC in the United States and how to advocate for more RWC theater installations in your area. It also gives an explanation of Descriptive Video Services (DVS), which is a technology that assists people with blindness, in that the dialogue and scene changes are described to the moviegoer using special equipment.
DTS-CSS Open Captioning. Currently, Regal Cinemas Nationwide is the only theatre chain showing open captioned films along with DVS (Descriptive Video Services). Open captions are displayed on the film so that all movie-goers can view the captioning and no special equipment is required. The following link lists theaters nationwide which show open captioned films along with DVS services: http://www.regmovies.com/nowshowing/opencaptionedshowtimes.aspx.
Another website located at http://www.fomdi.com allows you to search by your zip code to find any and all captioned movies in your area...be they open or closed captioned.
A few cities in the United States now offer captioned live theater performances, as well. So far, only Ft. Lauderdale, Sarasota, Tampa, and West Palm Beach offer these on a limited basis. This can expand as more people ask for captioned live performances and funding increases for this effort. A website which explains more is http://www.tdf.org/TDF_SupportPage.aspx?id=58&do=v
What can you do?
So, after you have learned more about the types of captioning available in Florida by reading the information on these websites, what can you do specifically to advocate for more captioned first-run movies in your city? First, we recommend that you decide which type of captioning you prefer – Rear Window Captioning (RWC) or DTS-CSS Open Captioning. Try visiting theaters close to you that offer each type of captioning.
Below is a short checklist of steps you can take to effectively advocate for captioned movies and captioned live theater productions:
1. Know what you want. Learn about the various technologies available and decide what you prefer. Understand the terms used to describe each system.
2. Gain strength in numbers. Enlist the aid of members of your hearing loss support group to start a letter-writing campaign to the manager of your theater.
3. Visit the manager of the theater you prefer and discuss captioning with them. Tell them WHY you need captioning. Gather statistics to bolster your case.
4. Learn what the theater would need in order to provide captioning in financial terms. Perhaps a joint fund-raising effort between the theater and a local civic group may result in finding the funding to accomplish the goal.
5. Write letters to the major movie studios and the corporate headquarters of the theater chains to express your desire for more captioned movies. Tell them WHY you need captioning and ASK them to make a commitment to this service. Here is a list of these names and addresses: http://www.mpaa.org/AboutUsMembers.asp http://www.natoonline.org/contacts.htm
6. When your favorite theater starts to offer captioned movies, thank them for doing so and encourage other people with hearing loss to take advantage of this service. This will encourage the theater to offer even more captioned movies.
7. Remember – YOU CAN make a difference by advocating for yourself and others. Good Luck!
Florida Coordinating Council for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (FCCDHH)
4052 Bald Cypress Way, Bin A06
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1707
Phone: (850) 245-4913 - Toll-free: (866) 602-3275
TTY: (850) 245-4914 - Toll-free TTY: (866)602-3276
http://www.fccdhh.org/
Author: Joan Haber, FCCDHH Council Member representing The Hearing Loss Association of Florida - Updated July 7, 2008.