The Quality of Mercy, available in Little Beauties Art Card Set April's Serenity
It's come to my attention that Netflix, a movie delivery service that uses the mail (for DVDs) and the Internet (for "Instant Play" films), doesn't provide an option for captions on their Instant Play videos.
Considering the technology we have at hand and the Americans with Disabilities Act*, this is an egregious oversight.
What this means is that people who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Hearing Impaired who are members of Netflix will not have access to Instant Play, which is part of some of their memberships. It's unfair to the customers, and it's unjust to people who are part of a society that's moving towards enlightened inclusivity. (We're the land of the free and equal, after all.)
It is not the disability that disables the person, but the environment. Remove the impediments to participation and people will participate.
Please write a respectful email requesting that Netflix provide captioning as an option on their Instant Play so that all members have equal access.
You can contact Netflix via their Public Relations department (and believe me, this is about relating to the public).
My thanks to the help I received from random Twitterers who saw my message and responded with a suggestion and by re-Tweeting my message in their own Twitter streams.
I love it when people work together for the common good. Yes!
Invite Beauty and Justice,
I.
*A friend on Facebook let me know that the ADA may not cover companies like Netflix because they are not providing "public accommodations" but instead are just providing a service. However, she also makes a good point that letting the free market decide means that customers can make an impact through how and what they demand from suppliers!
2 comments:
Great post!
I think it's just bad business...I always watch my DVDs (you know, back when I actually had to time to watch DVDs) with the closed captioning because I can't ever tell what the heck people are saying. "Chuning" anyone?
Yeah, it's definitely bad business, if nothing else.
Dark City came up the other day and I thought about "chuning." I watch with captions when I watched TV and also when I watch DVD sometimes. It allows me to 1) understand British people, despite originating our common language and 2) shut out the babbling noise of the TV/DVD if I'm studying, but allows me to look up for a brain break and catch a bit of the story before going back to my book.
I heart closed captions!
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