As the Toronto Film Festival begins, let’s return to the good old debate about captions in theatres.

The last time I talked about the caption debate, a lot of international filmgoers were a bit confused. After all, having captions in non-English-speaking countries is the norm.

Not so in Canada.

The idea of having words on the screen just seems to be a bit taboo of a subject. Instead, those who need captions to understand what’s going on are going to rely on Cineplex’s CaptiView.

In an article, I wrote for the Varsity’s TIFF issue, I provided a brief historical lesson on the existence of captions in film and provided a rather curt review of the CaptiView machines.

Am I grateful for the CaptiView machines existing?

Of course!

But I still view them as ” archaic tech”, nothing more than a” hunk of plastic straight from the early 2000s.”

And I’m supposed to call that an accessibility device?

Theatres are one of the many places that are not yet fully accessible, due to the fact that its a place of pleasure and entertainment. Going to the movies is a fun pastime, which means, it isn’t as necessary as going to work, commuting on public transportation, or going to the doctor etc. You have a choice in terms of what you enjoy, so if you find it inaccessible, you’re more likely to simply not go to the movies and find something else to do for fun on a Friday night.

But that’s the problem: People with hearing loss should be able to enjoy the movies too. We shouldn’t exclude them just because of inaccessibility or inconvenience. As of 2023,we are incredibly technologically advanced. We should able to inovate and find a more modern solution to this issue.

If it means making a better CapiView machine, by all means do so.

Just don’t accept just because captions exist does not mean we don’t deserve better quality technology.