Video Transcript: No captions?!? No more excuses!
DANIEL DURANT: Alright, I just have to get this off my chest. I have to say, the way I'm feeling ... is fed-up. Enough is enough. As you can see, I'm dressed up tonight, and the reason is because there is a young girl who's Deaf, who's dreamed of becoming an actress. And she's been very enthusiastic getting involved in different opportunities. And, she finally had a chance to get involved in a production that filmed over the summer. And filming is all done, and she's been waiting and exciting to have this big day, so that she can show off her work. And, here we are tonight for the red carpet premiere, to show her work on the big screen — and it's a big formal event, with cushy seats for all of us to sit in and watch. And here we are ... she wants to show that Deaf people can do it ... and, of course all these Deaf people have come, and we're all excited in the auditorium. And, we're looking at the big screen, and guess what? There are no captions! [Sigh] This girl ... this young girl ... has worked so hard this young girl ... has worked so hard on her dream. She was so excited for this moment and now everything's messed up.
What we found out, was that a guy that was responsible for the captions tested them this morning, to see if they worked. And, they didn't work. This morning! And, he thought, "Well, I'll just leave it." Then, of course, all of use Deaf people show up — and here we are — and they don't work. I tell you, honestly, this happens every single day to us Deaf people. And I'm tired of it. I'm fed up! You know, remember recently Nyle went to Black Panther — to that movie — and there were no captions, and we walked out? He was right to do it! Nyle ... I encourage all of us to have captions on ALL screens. It's got to happen. I support that. We need full access for all of us — NOT just for Deaf people but for EVERYONE!
I'll never forget, when I was a kid, I was really into Jurassic Park, and I went and bought one of those t-shirts with the logo with the dinosaur on it, because I was gonna see the movie. And, I was really excited. And, I showed up with that t-shirt on, and I went and bought the ticket. And, put up that little caption machine, and I sat to watch the movie. And, all these hearing people are enjoying the movie and the caption thing did not work. And everybody ... I look back ... everybody else is enjoying the moving. And, I'm sittin' there with my logo of a dinosaur on it. Hmm! And, I walked out of that movie, and I went to the front desk. And, I complained. And, talked with the people at the desk, they said, "Oh, we're so SAWWRY." "We're so SAWWRY. It won't happen again." And, "We'll give you your money back." And, "Maybe we'll give you an extra free ticket so that you can come visit us again."
This happens to us all. the. time. It happens to ALL Deaf people! Everyday. Day in and day out. And, I'm sick of this. Listen ... Maybe you hearing people, or people out there, are thinking, "Oh, but those captions, they bother me. They bother my eyes on the screen." Listen, I'm sorry to say this, but I'm calling bullshit on that. I've got a challenge for you people: Try turning those captions on. On everything. On every screen you have. For Netflix. For TV. For cable. Whatever it is: Turn it all on, and then you will see how captions benefit YOU TOO! Why? Because, I dunno, sometimes you don't hear the dialogue, for some reason. Or, you're really excited about something that's happening, but the captions come in before the sound does.
Listen, I'm telling you there are many things that captions bring a benefit for ... for everyone! And, we want captions captions on ALL screens ... NOW! And I will fight for this ... WE will fight for it! It's vital for all of us to have access ... equal access ... for everyone. Captions. NOW!
