All theater showings of “CODA” open captioned
Reuters reported that all movie theater screenings of “CODA” will include burned-in open captions in the U.S. and U.K. This is the first time there has ever been a feature film that includes open captions in theaters, if you don’t count foreign films. “CODA” will be released this Friday, August 13.
Reuters said Apple worked with movie theater operators to ensure the film would have burned in captions. The filmmakers behind “CODA” hope other studios will follow their example of providing open captions.
The film director Sian Heder tweeted that “Deaf and hearing audiences will be able to share this movie experience together!”
I reached out to Landmark Theaters, who has advertised with “The Daily Moth,” to get confirmation that all of their screenings of “CODA” will include burned-in open captions. Their representative said, “Yes, we are showing all screenings at all showtimes with open captions!”
What this means is that “CODA” will be the new standard in ensuring deaf movie audiences can have an equal experience without any special eyeglasses or captioning devices needed.
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[Advertisement from Landmark Theatres] See CODA on the big screen at Landmark Theatres around the country starting August 13. www.landmarktheatres.com
There were several recent films featuring deaf characters that ideally could have been released with burned-in open captions, such as “A Quiet Place,” “Kong vs Godzilla,” or “The Sound of Metal,” but they only provided open captions for the parts where the deaf character(s) signed in ASL, which ironically is providing accessibility to mostly hearing audience members who do not know ASL.
With “CODA,” because you don’t have to worry about carrying captioning devices, you can use your free hands to bring even more popcorn and you don’t have to deal with unwanted attention from those who wonder what the captioning devices are for. And this is probably the best part — you don’t have to worry about whether your devices will work or not and if you will have to leave home early with a refund and a movie voucher.
Should the deaf community expect all feature films with deaf characters going forward to have burned-in open captions?
https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/coda-breaks-new-ground-deaf-movie-theater-goers-2021-08-08/