What’s up in Jersey?
The state of New Jersey is carrying out a human-rights investigation against Regal Entertainment Group. Previously, Regal was served with a complaint, as were many other theatrical exhibitors in New Jersey, because Regal allegedly discriminated against deaf moviegoers by refusing to provide captioning. Every other movie chain caved immediately and agreed to install Rear Window® captioning, while Regal argues that Rear Window is unpopular and expensive compared to open-captioned films, which some of its theatres already show.
Interestingly, I made myself aware to all parties in that proceeding and explained that I have expertise that could be useful. Nobody took me up on my offer. Perhaps at least the state of New Jersey should have, since a recent press release contains many errors that could have been avoided by somebody with half a clue. (Interestingly, some of those errors have been copied by the Associated Press, which responded to my complaint with a defense that they were simply working from the press release.)
It seems that New Jersey has finally realized that deaf people are not the only disabled group that has trouble enjoying movies. (Lots of deaf people would tell you that only they’re the only important ones, but they would of course be wrong.) Now New Jersey is extending its complaint against Regal to include audio description. Let’s fisk the press release, shall we?
AG Announces Amended Discrimination Complaint Against Regal Theater Chain
State Seeks Installation of Digital Video Systems for the Visually Impaired
It has nothing to do with video. They’re audio systems. There is no video at work in a movie theatre. The fact that it’s digital is neither here nor there.
New Jersey Theaters Installing New Captioning Technology
In what way is it “new”?
NEWARK – Attorney General Peter C. Harvey and Division on Civil Rights Director J. Frank Vespa-Papaleo announced today the filing of an amended discrimination complaint against Regal Entertainment Group, one of the nation�s largest multiplex theater companies, for failing to install technology that would provide access to first-run movies for deaf and hard of hearing patrons, as well as for the blind and visually impaired.
According to Harvey, the amended complaint contains a new accusation that Regal has violated the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD) by not installing the DVS Technical System,
It’s DVS Theatrical, and the “system” is not capitalized. The competing DTS-CSS system has precisely the same function, by the way.
a system that delivers narration for the blind and visually-impaired enabling them to better follow the action of a movie. DVS provides narrative descriptions through infrared listening systems,
Not necessarily. Some systems use FM radio. The correct term to use is wireless listening systems.
which the blind and visually impaired hear through audio headsets. Harvey said the descriptions heard by DVS users provide information about key visual aspects of films – for example, action settings and scene changes –
Note the use of the opaque and unhelpful WGBH adjective “key visual.” I wonder when commentators will simply explain that audio description is an added narration track that explains what cannot be understood from the main soundtrack alone.
and therefore make the movie experience more meaningful for those with vision loss. In addition to citing Regal for not installing DVS, the amended complaint reiterates an accusation from the State�’s original complaint, filed in 2004 (see [2004.09.15] press release), that Tennessee-based Regal has violated the [Law Against Discrimination] by failing to install certain captioning systems – Open Caption Projection
i.e., the DTS-CSS system.
or Rear Window Captioning – that would allow the deaf and hard of hearing to enjoy first-run movies.
“�Every adult and child – regardless of his or her ability or disability – should be able to fully enjoy the experience of going to the theater and experiencing a first-run film,”� said Attorney General Harvey. �“Movies are not only fun, they provide an important shared reference point in American culture, and are often the common thread that brings people together. For too long, this area of our popular culture has been virtually closed to the deaf and hard of hearing, the blind and the visually impaired, but we are committed to changing that.�”
In September 2004, the Attorney General�’s Office and the Division on Civil Rights reached voluntary settlement agreements with four major multiplex theater chains operating in New Jersey regarding the installation of new deaf captioning technology. Under terms of the settlement agreements, American Multi-Cinema (AMC), Loews Cineplex Theaters, Clearview Cinemas and National Amusements agreed to either equip their theaters with new captioning technology or, in multiplexes where the technology was already installed, to expand the number of screens offering such captioning. In each case, the four participating theater chains chose a form of closed captioning known as Rear Window Captioning, although the Attorney General�’s Office has made plain that it views either Rear Window Captioning or another approach, known as Open Caption Projection, as �reasonable� accommodations for the deaf and hard of hearing, and has no preference.
The DTS-CSS system also includes audio descripton that is in no material way different from DVS’s. You get one, you get the other.
According to Attorney General Harvey, the current estimated cost of installing Open Caption Projection equipment is about $12,500 per screen, while the estimated cost for Rear Window Captioning is about $10,000 per screen. The estimated cost of installing a DVS system is about $2,000.
Three of the four participating theater chains – AMC, Clearview, and National Amusements – have also formally agreed to install DVS technology to accommodate the blind and visually impaired, said Division on Civil Rights Director Vespa-Papaleo. Regal has declined to install DVS, and has also refused to install Rear Window Captioning or Open Caption Projection to accommodate the deaf, apparently preferring to utilize a form of deaf captioning known commonly as ordinary �open captioning.�
Projected open captions are still open captions.
Vespa-Papaleo said that the common type of open captioned films are unsatisfactorily limited in terms of providing the disabled �reasonable� accommodations. He said this common type of open captioning requires the captioning to be burned onto an individual reel of film, a process that is labor intensive and can take weeks, or even months, after the initial distribution of a movie. Because of the time-consuming process involved, Vespa-Papaleo explained, the deaf and hard of hearing must wait for extended periods after the initial run of a movie to view open-captioned films. Even when an open-captioned feature is shown in theaters, the Director explained, the film is usually screened only at occasional showings, and not during prime-time movie-going hours (for example, Friday and Saturday evenings).
That latter concern is unchanged with DTS-CSS projected captions.
My question is this: Will any organization representing deaf or blind people, or any organization that sells captioning or description equipment or captioned films (that is, WGBH, DTS, and Insight Cinema), actually bother to correct these mistakes, or will they allow the state of New Jersey to pursue a legal complaint based on errors and misinformation?
Time to step up to the plate.