
The cinema, that place where you can see a movie and completely forget about all the problems you have, where a child can see stories about superheroes, magic or the space and be inspired to be a good person. That is why everyone should have the right to be able to enjoy a movie without barriers or obstacles that prevent you from seeing these stories.
At least in my country, Mexico, there are 2 main movie theatre chains, Cinépolis and Cinemex, they offer different formats in which movies are available, for example: Standard, junior (with a playground inside the movie theatre) , Premium, Macro XE, IMAX, 4DX or VIP / Platino.
The price of a Standard ticket is about $75 mexican pesos ( $3.6 USD), the bad thing is that if you are a person in wheelchair you have to use some reserved seats in the front , I have only seen a movie in the front row once and it’s very uncomfortable, your neck ends up hurting from being in such a bad position and having to move it constantly during the movie.
For around 90 mexican pesos ($4.3 USD) you can buy a ticket from a type of movie theatre called Cinemex Premium, in which there are more comfortable and spacious seats and in this type of movie theatre something caught my attention the moment I entered , the reserved seats are approximately in the middle, this is something I haven’t seen before and it means so much for persons with disabilities.
Caption: 360 photo of a Cinemex Premium movie theatre
Accessible Toilets
Something that for a moment made me wonder if it was really an accessible cinema was not having found an accessible toilet, most of the times the last one is the accessible toilet, with more space so anyone can be able to enter with a wheelchair, when I was going to the exit I saw the accessible toilet exclusively for persons with disabilities, it was next to the staff member who checks tickets, this way there is always someone who can open the toilet if someone requires it and the most important thing, it is always clean and available.
Captioned Movies
This year a change in the Federal Cinematography Law was approved so that films have Closed Captions (CC), regardless of whether the film is in its original language or dubbed, this would benefit nearly 2.4 million mexicans with a hearing disability, in order to verify this I went to see Marvel’s Eternals dubbed but the film did not have closed captions, which was strange to me due to the recent approval of the law, I googled about it and I found out that not all screenings have CC, in case you want to see one with CC you have to buy tickets for the screenings that have “FINA” written before the title of the film, in this case it would have been “FINA Eternals”, this way you can make sure that the movie will be accessible for the deaf and the hard of hearing.
In other countries, this type of changes have also occurred, the most recent was the AMC Entertainment chain in which they will include films with Closed Captions (CC) in the US.
Inclusive Screenings in Mexico
There is assistive technology like audio description devices or loop systems so that everyone can enjoy the film, in Mexico this type of devices is not used, some data that I found shows that in 2018, Cinépolis screened only 54 films adapted for people with disabilities called “Cinépolis Inclusive Screenings”, in which there are 2 types:
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The first one is for people with hearing or visual disabilities: In this type of screenings it is necessary to download an app and a type of document that is required, there are three options: Audio description, Closed Captions and Mexican Sign Language (LSM), everything you need to do once the movie starts is to sync your smartphone or tablet and enjoy the movie.
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The second type of inclusive screenings is for persons with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), social-sensory or intellectual disabilities: In these types of screenings the lighting is turned on at 50% intensity, the movie theatre is kept at a comfortable temperature and people can move freely around it, there is always staff members at the exit so that children don’t go outside without being accompanied by their parents. Have you seen something similar in your local cinema?
Apparently because of the pandemic there are none of these screenings available on the website.
This week, one of the most anticipated movies of 2021 will finally be released, yes, I’m talking about Spider-Man No Way Home, this means a lot of people will use Maps to decide which cinema to visit. When you go to the cinema take a few seconds to update the info, write a review on Google Maps, add helpful accessibility photos and remember, with great power comes great responsibility so don’t forget your mask(s)****!
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Are there any accessibility features in your local cinema?
Here are some great post to learn more about accessibility and how to make useful contributions:
Accessibility Photos in Google Maps, do’s and don’tsby @ErmesT
Accessibility Uncovered
: Accessible Signs - Reserved Seatingby @Jesi
Is this toilet accessible? A guide to better review toilet accessibilityby @Melissa_Langlois
