Going to the movies is central part of mainstream American
life, with figures from the Motion Picture Association of America showing that
more than 200 million people took in a flick last year.
But a lawsuit filed in Alameda Superior Court in California
claims the Cinemark movie chain -- the third largest in the country --
discriminates against the deaf and hard of hearing communities by failing to
provide any captioned movies at its theaters in Alameda County.
The suit was brought by The Association of Late-Deafened
Adults (ALDA) on behalf of its members with hearing loss, and two individual
plaintiffs. The plaintiffs are
represented by Disability Rights Advocates (DRA), a non-profit disability
rights firm headquartered in Berkeley, California, that specializes in
high-impact cases on behalf of people with disabilities.
Movie captioning
The most common form of movie captioning technology is the
Rear Window Captioning system. An LED
screen is mounted in the back of a theater that displays captioned dialogue
onto small reflective plastic panels provided by movie theaters to deaf and
hard of hearing patrons. Only people
with the reflective screens can see the captions, which they can adjust to
superimpose on the screen.
Approximately 85 percent of first-run movies are captioned
and compatible with the Rear Window system when they arrive at theaters "in the
can." The only cost to movie theaters
is the one-time installation of captioning equipment, which costs approximately
$10,000.
Hearing loss and age
Approximately 36 million American adults report some degree
of hearing loss, according to the National Institute on Deafness and other
Communication Disorders. Hearing loss
increases with age: 18 percent of adults 45-64 years old, 30 percent of adults
65-74 years old, and 47 percent of adults 75 years old or older have a hearing
impairment.
The correlation between aging and hearing loss is well
established. The number of adults with
hearing loss is expected to increase significantly as the baby boomer
generation continues to age.
Unfairness charged
"We just want the opportunity to go to the movies with our
friends and family like everybody else," explains Rick Rutherford who lives in
El Cerrito. "By failing to screen
captioned films, movie theaters like Cinemark are denying me an experience I
thoroughly enjoyed before the onset of hearing loss."
"The theaters' unwillingness to screen captioned films is
short-sighted, particularly as the hearing loss community continues to grow,"
says Kevin Knestrick, an attorney representing the Plaintiffs. "The technology
is readily available and financially, it is a drop in the bucket for theater
chains like Cinemark to provide this service for men, women, and children with
hearing loss."
Linda Drattell, a plaintiff in the case, says "It's
disappointing to read reports of blockbuster holiday weekends with films like 'Harry Potter'' and 'Unstoppable,' and I can't go because Cinemark refuses to
provide captioning."
The lawsuit alleges violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and California's anti-discrimination statutes, the Unruh Civil Rights Act and Disabled Persons Act.
