Comments on: Regal Cinemas Considering New Movie Captioning Technology

By: Shadow

Shadow — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 18:30:18 +0000

Actually, his idea for the glasses is potentially feasible and if I remember right, Oakley or some other sunglass company came up with a chemical that can be put on glasses and it prevents smudging and makes it easy to clean off marks on the glasses. If I’m him, I’d patent the idea, go to the right people, get the project started.

By: Suitably Ironic Moniker

Suitably Ironic Moniker — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 17:59:12 +0000

As I said, the drive for open captions has lost its steam, unfortunately.

By: Virginia L. Beach

Virginia L. Beach — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 16:25:08 +0000

While this is a tad off-point but still focusing on a similar subject…I find it interesting that on the DeafRead list, they posted NAD’s Call to Action on captioning issues - and yet an article about an arrested Deaf sex offender posted at the same time has gathered more than three times the same number of readers.

Makes you wonder where are our priorities are at…

By: Virginia L. Beach

Virginia L. Beach — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 20:51:56 +0000

I don’t know if I want to go that far, but certainly there are “causes” we could work on together…such as better technology to assist those with hearing loss. I know that I have collaberated on a couple of workshops with Area Agencies on Aging and AARP chapters in the past, and they’ve always been well attended by people who, while they would never be considered members of the Deaf Community, still struggle with many similar issues related to communication, accessibility, isolation, etc. It wouldn’t hurt to make allies out of them.

By: Suitably Ironic Moniker

Suitably Ironic Moniker — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 20:21:03 +0000

So, the AARP is the deaf community’s new best friend?

By: Virginia L. Beach

Virginia L. Beach — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 19:39:09 +0000

Interesting that we mention the aging population…one of my best friends made a similar argument in support of television captioning in a comment on one of my posts at my own blog - you can find it here:

http://deafpagan.com/2007/02/2.....-to-jared/

I definitely think we should consider getting those organizations which represent “senior citizens” on board…I would think they have some considerable political clout that we can put to good use.

By: John S.

John S. — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 17:13:16 +0000

Hi Suitably Ironic Moniker!

Most deaf orgainzations (NAD, HLAA, TDI, etc.) joined the Coalition for Movie Captioning’s comments that both supported and opposed the settlement. “Jt” posted a link to the a summary of many of the CMC’s objections to the settlement about halfway up this thread.

Again, if anyone wants to see the Plaintiffs’ response to the CMC’s objections (which I think addressed all of them very convincingly), please feel free to send me an email at stantonj@howrey.com and I’ll forward them to you.

The sole exception was A.G. Bell. A.G. Bell did not agree with many of the CMC’s objections, and was not comfortable joining a brief that contained objections that A.G. Bell believed to be unfair and/or invalid. When it became clear that the CMC would not change or modify its objections, A.G. Bell ultimately broke off from the CMC and filed its own comments in support of the settlement.

Again, I have a copy of A.G. Bell’s comments if anyone wants to read those. Just send me an email!!

By: Julie Feldman

Julie Feldman — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 16:44:12 +0000

Yes. Definitely. If we make this a “deaf-only” issue, we’re going to fail.

By: Suitably Ironic Moniker

Suitably Ironic Moniker — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 16:42:09 +0000

I definitely like this idea. This has potential, especially in light of the increasing number of baby boomers who are aging, and are in need of adaptive items.

Perhaps John will be kind enough to tell us of his experiences with the deaf organizations and about their support or non-support for the lawsuit.

By: Julie Feldman

Julie Feldman — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 16:38:08 +0000

From the way I read it (but then again I could be wrong here), Shane’s friend wasn’t saying that the ADA allows open captioning. He/she was simply saying that the way we set up ADA was fallacious to the point where people had room to manipulate.

Your suggestions are excellent, but Suitably Ironic Moniker said it very, very well. We (as the deaf community) just don’t have the power to pull ourselves together as a single, unified movement.