Sunday, February 25, 2018

Nyle DiMarco Opens Up About Having to Leave Black Panther Because Poor Captioning

From Teen Vogue:


In this op-ed by Nyle DiMarco, as told to Bobby Siebert, Nyle opens up about having to leave Black Panther, and the captioning systems that fail deaf people.

Last weekend, I set foot in a movie theater for the first time in five years. It was a worthwhile occasion: like more than half of America, I was itching to see Black Panther and its groundbreaking majority-black cast celebrating diversity on the big screen in a major blockbuster, led by Ryan Coogler.

After receiving my ticket at the box office, I typed in my phone and showed the screen to the ticket salesperson: "I am deaf, do you have a device for me?"

Moments later the salesperson emerged holding a black device called CaptiView. It had a circular base, a long spindly arm (not unlike one of Doctor Octopus' mechanical arms), and a rectangular head.

In my seat, I stuffed the circular base into the cupholder and grappled with the Doc Ock arm until I could see the little green letters inside the rectangular head. I could feel eyes darting towards me and the black box dangling in front of my face. The rectangular head started to dip sideways, too heavy for the Doc Ock arm. I tried to lift it back up, but the arm wouldn't keep upright. I had to slink into my seat so I could see the green letters again. By this time the lights had dimmed and we were minutes into Black Panther; I'd missed the introduction.

The captions worked fine for a while, and then I noticed something odd. The dialogue wasn't quite making sense. I studied the actors' mouths on screen and realized the device was lagging and skipping lines. Making matters worse, I noticed there were subtitles on the screen when the Wakandans spoke in their language. But my device was blocking the bottom portion of the screen and I had to lift myself up in my seat to see the foreign-language subtitles, and then quickly return to my slouch to catch the English dialogue on the CaptiView. Before long I had a major headache from my eyes refocusing constantly from the device inches from my face to the screen fifty feet away.

The device was a nuisance to use, embarrassing to have parked in front of my seat in a movie theater, and infuriatingly undependable. But it was the only way the theater offered for me, and millions other viewers like me, to access the movie. In other movie theaters, there are alternative devices, like these glasses, which are no easier to use, nor do they display captions more reliably.

It was a frustrating reminder why I had not gone to a movie theater in so long.

Back when I was growing up, some movie theaters would offer open captions. This meant the captions were right there on the screen. Though these open captioned showtimes were limited to selected days and times, when they did happen the experience was much more accessible and enjoyable. Some time ago movie theaters made the switch to these new captioning devices, and soon after that I stopped going.

As a deaf person, captions allow me to enjoy TV, movies, and entertainment. But myself and the 360 million other deaf people in the world aren't the only ones who benefit from captions. Captions can help movie viewing experiences for people with ADHD, learning disabilities, and autism. It makes it easier for new language learners to understand dialogue. It also comes in handy in a ton of movie situations. When an actor mumbles, speaks in a heavy British accent, or is trying to make himself heard amidst a Michael Bay movie explosion scene, captions are there to make the dialogue crystal clear.

Unreliable captioning, or the lack thereof, isn't just a problem in movie theaters. Only a fraction of in-flight movies and TV shows have subtitles. Even though it's just a few remote clicks away, a ton of TVs in public spaces don't have the captioning turned on. The Internet brings a huge amount of filmed content to our screens, but so little of it is captioned. Recently, I tuned in to CNN’s Facebook page to watch the live-streamed town hall that Senator Marco Rubio hosted after the Parkland school shooting. I wanted to watch the essential dialogue between the students and members of the community so impacted by the tragedy and the Senator. But I couldn’t. It wasn’t captioned.

I’ve heard the standard counterargument. Onscreen captions degrade from the viewing experience. They’re annoying and distracting. I call BS. People don’t mind subtitles when they don’t understand the language being spoken.

These instances aren’t just happening when your slightly odd film-lit professor assigns you an obscure foreign film for homework either. Some of the most massively popular entertainment in the U.S. is based primarily in foreign spoken languages. Dark, Altered Carbon, Narcos on Netflix are just a few examples. (Oh, I love Netflix, because its entire library of content has captions.)

Captioning enhances the viewing experience. It should be a standard part of any filmed media — not as an afterthought, but as a part of the ultimate golden standard of universal design.

There's tons of room to improve and we have to be vigilant, or what progress that has been made will be lost. Take the Americans with Disabilities Act. It's a landmark legislation that made many things possible for deaf people like me and the more than 55 million other people with disabilities. It's also a major reason why a lot of filmed content has any captioning at all. Just this week the House of Representatives passed a bill, HR620, that weakens the ADA. If it also passes the Senate, many of these hard-won civil rights could be dramatically reduced.

Ten minutes into Black Panther, I couldn't take it anymore. I had missed half the dialogue in the movie at that point and had a nagging headache. I walked out. When I explained my experience to the manager, they apologized and gave me two free tickets. For me to relive the indignity, perhaps.

I threw the tickets away. I'll wait until Black Panther is out on Blu-Ray.

Tuesday, February 6, 2018

Media dis&dat participates in February 17 #FilmDis Twitter chat on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

Image description: The Rebecca character (a late 20s, brown-haired Caucasian woman) in a yellow floral sundress reads about her new diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. She stands before a bulletin board with information about mental health conditions. Here's the music video about her diagnosis

#FilmDis Twitter Chat

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

Saturday, February 17, 2018

6 pm Pacific / 9 pm Eastern

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is a romantic musical comedy/drama on the CW network currently in its third season. Created by  Rachel Bloom and Aline Brosh McKenna, the show follows the main character, Rebecca Bunch (played by Rachel Bloom), through some adventures in West Covina, California while exploring serious issues about mental health. Joining #FilmDis host Dominick Evans are superfans Beth Haller, professor, and media and disability scholar, and Alice Wong, Founder of the Disability Visibility Project®

How to Participate

Follow @dominickevans @mediadisdat and @DisVisibility during the chat. Dominick will be Tweeting the questions from his account.
Check out this explanation of how to participate in a Twitter chat by Ruti Regan:https://storify.com/RutiRegan/examplechat
Check out this captioned ASL explanation of how to participate in a chat by @behearddc
https://www.facebook.com/HEARDDC/videos/1181213075257528/

Questions

Welcome to the #FilmDis chat on #CrazyExGirlfriend and mental health. Joining @dominickevans today are guest hosts @mediadisdat and @DisVisibility. Spoiler alert: we will discuss current and past episodes of the show.
If you respond to a question such as Q1, your tweet should follow this format: “A1 [your message] #FilmDis #CrazyExGirlfriend”
Note: We will be discussing suicidal ideation, hospitalization, and other aspects mental health. Please practice self-care and mute if needed. For help: @800273TALK National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255) https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org #FilmDis #CrazyExGirlfriend
Q1 What do you like about #CrazyExGirlfriend? Who/What are your favorite characters, songs, and storylines so far? #FilmDis
Q2 What are your thoughts on disability representation in #CrazyExGirlfriend, in particular those surrounding mental health? #FilmDis
Q3 With the title of the show and the season 3 theme song on being ‘crazy,’ what are some ways the show is reclaiming the word and challenging our ideas of people with mental health disabilities? #FilmDis #CrazyExGirlfriend
Q4 With the main character, Rebecca Bunch, we see her past and present experiences with hospitalization, medication, therapy, and other forms of mental health treatment. How does the show’s depiction of getting help resonate with you? #FilmDis #CrazyExGirlfriend
Q5 Earlier this season the character Rebecca Bunch attempted to end her life and was hospitalized. What was your reaction to her suicide attempt and recovery afterward? What did you appreciate about how the show handled this issue? #FilmDis #CrazyExGirlfriend
Q6 This season Rebecca Bunch received a new diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. What was your reaction to Rebecca’s diagnosis and what that means for her? #FilmDis #CrazyExGirlfriend
Q7 If you identify as a person with a psychiatric disability, what themes or issues would you like the show to explore in the future? #FilmDis #CrazyExGirlfriend
Q8 Any final thoughts you’d like to share about the characters, stories, songs, and themes from #CrazyExGirlfriend? #FilmDis