A woman on a message board said the ADA should mandate that movie theatres require subtitles for all movies.

Her argument was that it’s a small sacrifice so all people can watch movies.

My arguments were multiple:

1) The ADA helps disabled people get opportunities when it comes to the necessities of life, and the movies isn’t a necessity.

2) Just b/c she thinks it’s a “minor” sacrifice, doesn’t mean everyone else thinks it’s that minor, and in fact, subtitles can really distract from the movie to most (including myself).

3) We should let consumer product formats be dictated by consumer demand, and it seems that the majority of people would opt for there not to be subtitles, so it isn’t fair to subject 99 people in a theatre for the needs of 1 person.

Obviously this would be different if we were talking about job opportunity or something else, but we’re talking about the movies!

Topics: movies, disabled, handicapped, disabilities, ADA, Americans with Disabilities