What's the Big Idea, Sarah?

I saw my blogging friend Karen Putz recently and she asked "Sarah, what's next for you?" The last time she asked me something similar, I ended up going to Costa Rica with Discovering Deaf Worlds. As one of my role models, Karen seems to have an effect on me - pushing me forward to try something new. At the time she and I talked, I did not know it then, but I was about to launch a Big Idea.

Before I tell you what it is, let me share some background information. Ever since I became involved with the hard of hearing/deaf community, I've been learning about the importance of movie theater captioning. We want full access to first run films and it's been a l-o-n-g time coming our way. There have been some legal successes and promises of future technological improvements, but I wonder how much longer will it be before our vision of full access is realized?

As social chair for ALDA Chicago, it's my responsibility to organize social events on a monthly basis. Last year one member suggested having a dinner and a movie night, possibly in several locations to make it more convenient for our membership which covers a large geographic area. I'm ready to go forward with the idea. I like the thought of having a group of people come to a theater and by their presence say in effect, "Here we are, show us your accessibility!"

But the logistics are going to be problematic, I admit. I've done some online research and have only found one theater in the city (so far) that offers both OC and CC films on the same night. I want my group to have a choice after all just like the other patrons do! There's also the question of devices. If caption devices are needed, how many does a theater have available? The one I checked has ten which is great if our group numbers less than ten. But what about the eleventh person in line? Or the twelfth, etc...? Is this an idea before it's time?

That's why I'm bringing the idea to you. What if this dinner and a movie night were bigger than the Chicago area? What if other individuals or organizations joined us by going to visiting their local theaters? What if those of us who need captioning set aside a weekend night to go to a theater and say, "Show us your accessibility!"

ALDA Chicago will host this event in November 2012. If you're interested in having a similar event or you have thoughts on how this might work (or might not), please leave me a comment or contact me by email. I especially want to hear from you if you've tried an event this before or have tried contacting your local theaters about captioning.

I can plan a one time event at one theater in Chicago, but I'd like to see if this idea can get bigger than that. Will you join me?

Update June 13
I've heard from an organization in Kansas City that's interested!

Technical Difficulties at the Open Caption Movie

Last night I took time out of my busy schedule to attend a captioned movie showing at a theater which had recently changed management. Although the available times were rather inconvenient as the only showings were midweek days at 2:00 and 5:15 p.m., the film they were offering, The Adjustment Bureau, sounded intriguing. In addition, I wanted to show support for a friend's efforts to encourage the new owners to continue offering open captioned films. If no one shows up for them, it doesn't motivate the owners to offer them, right? There were 7 people in attendance at the showing last night.

When the film began, I noticed right away that the captions seemed to be positioned a bit higher than normal on the screen. But since I have been to only a handful of open captioned films, I thought that perhaps this was how this one was meant to be. About halfway into the film when the members of the Adjustment Bureau reveal themselves to the lead character, I noticed that their heads were cut off. I leaned over to my companion and said, "I don't like that camera angle!" I thought it was an effect to build suspense. But as the movie continued and even the main characters' heads were chopped off in wide shots, I knew something was wrong. Then I noticed a large black band along the bottom of the screen. I left my seat and went to get the problem fixed.

It was a long walk as our theater was located furthest from the lobby. Fortunately someone was on duty at the service desk and when I told her about the problem, she reassured me it would be a quick fix. So I returned to my seat. A short while later, a theater employee made an adjustment to The Adjustment Bureau and we could now see faces and foreheads. Tops of heads and hats still bled over the top of the screen, though. Sigh.

But that was minor compared to the next problem. About two-thirds of the way through the film, the captions started "jumping" on the screen. That was even more problematic. To read them I had to look at them right as they first appeared because after that they were bouncing up and down. Very annoying.

Naturally the film was in the most crucial parts where you couldn't walk away without missing a key part of the action. I stayed in my seat this time rather than make the long walk again. No one else in the theater went to complain either.

On the way out, I wanted to say something to the manager, but she wasn't at the service desk so I missed my chance. I'm considering writing a note describing my experience. But I want to get the tone just right. I appreciate the fact that the theater is offering open caption films and I don't want to discourage that. On the other hand, shoddy service is shoddy service. I know I'll think twice about coming to the next film because of what happened.

My friend who has persuaded the management to offer these captioned films was also in attendance at this showing. Afterwards, she texted me that she plans to contact the manager and the corporate office about the situation.

What would you do?

My Letter to the Theatre Manager about Showing More Captioned Films

As previously promised, here is the letter I wrote to the one theatre in my area that shows captioned films. It was reviewed and revised by Sheri Caveda of Fifth Freedom.

Dear [Theatre Manager],

I’m writing to thank you for providing open caption films at your theatre. Being able to read the words on the screen makes the movie more accessible to me as I have a hearing loss and find myself missing parts of the dialogue in regular films. Although I live in [My Town] I drive a half hour to come to your theatre to attend these shows. Watching movies is a fun activity for me when I am able to fully participate in the experience.

Would you consider offering captioned films more than two days a month? The Tuesday and Wednesday evenings that the films are shown are not always convenient. I would love to be able to attend a captioned film on the weekend with my family. It would be truly wonderful if you added a Friday or Saturday evening, or even a Sunday afternoon show time. Having captioned films available four days a month (with one on the weekend) would make it easier for me and my family to attend your showings.

Thank you for considering my request. I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,

[My Name]

I waited to write the letter until now so it could be part of my local hearing loss support group's project. I still would like to write a letter to the theatre in my own neighborhood that does not offer any open captioned films. I think I'll wait until I see what response I get from this letter first. Stay tuned.

Local Hearing Loss Support Group to Tackle Theatre Captioning

Timing is everything. And being in the right place at the right time.

Recently Eddie has been reporting on efforts in Kentucky to have theatres show captioned films. Then Kim spoke out about how she would like to have captioned films shown at her neighborhood cinema. At my request Kim posted the letter she wrote to the theatre manager. I vowed to do the same. But I also wanted to thank the theatre in my area (30 minute drive away) that offers captions and ask for more show times.

Then I got started writing my series on making online education accessible and the letters to the theatres slid to the back burner. Until today when I showed up at my local hearing loss support group meeting. It was an event that I had legitimate excuses for missing. I would have to arrive late because my son had a basketball game scheduled. I had been ill this week and missed 1 and 1/2 days of work. I had a migraine and felt awful. Despite all this I went.

Why? Because I need support. I need interaction with others in the same situation. But most of all, because today a terrific speaker was scheduled I couldn't wait to meet. Who was it? Sheri Caveda of Fifth Freedom, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping disability support groups learn how to make a difference in their local areas.


Lori Lakes, [me], Betty Beck, and Sheri Caveda of Fifth Freedom

Sheri and her team worked with our group to develop a mission statement and find a small project to begin making our community more accessible for the deaf and hard of hearing. Amazingly, the group consensus was to contact the theatre that offers captioned films and request more showings. Our plan of action is to write individual letters which will emphasize our different requests (some group members want PG/PG-13 movies not just R rated films offered; I want to see the captioned films sooner; others want weekend showings.) We will submit our letters to Sheri and her team for their feedback, send a copy to our group leader, mail our revised letters, and report back to our group leader when they've been mailed. We have a timeline for the project and accountability to each other to follow through in what we've promised.

Next our group leader will contact the theatre manager to open up a negotiation for increased showings. If that meeting is unsuccessful, Sherri has additional steps we can take as a group.

As this project unfolds, I'll keep you updated on our progress. And post my own letter, cross my heart.

Reading the Silver Screen

The night before Thanksgiving I went to see an open captioned showing of Changeling with my friend Diane. When I purchased my ticket, the teenaged ticket seller said apologetically, "It's not a problem is it that it's open captioned?" "No," I replied emphatically, "that's why I'm here!"

Have you seen the trailer for this film? It's based on a true story of a mother whose son disappeared and when the Los Angeles police reunited her with him months later claimed the boy wasn't her son. Was she telling the truth or was she delusional? A captioned trailer is available on Bill Cresswell's blog. I don't want to give any of the plot away but I will tell you there's a real tough part that neither Diane nor I were expecting. Don't bring your children but don't miss it either!

For those unfamiliar with open captions, the words of the script are projected onto the movie screen. For this film they were printed in white letters which were sometimes difficult to distinguish against light backgrounds. This was my second time to attend an open captioned film. The first film I saw at this theatre was Elizabeth, the Golden Age. I especially wanted the captions for that movie because I knew it would be full of dialogue and accents. Unfortunately, I have to be selective in the films I choose as the theatre is not close by and only offers open captioning on weeknights.

I was really interested in what Diane's reaction was to the open captions as it was her first time viewing them. She told me she liked them! She thought they helped her and she doesn't have a hearing loss!

Seeing Changeling was a great start to my Thanksgiving weekend. Once the film was over, I couldn't wait to see my son and give thanks that we had never endured such an ordeal. I was also thankful to spend time with family (in person and by phone) feeling truly grateful that I'm not alone in this world the way Angelina Jolie's character was.

Hope all of you reading this had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends and for my international readers hope you had a blessed weekend as well.