Guest Author - Kelli Deister

After watching a movie the other night, I became frustrated with how the words on the captioning were being presented. I am not deaf, but I am hard of hearing. This means that I haven’t lost all of my hearing. Yet, watching a movie on television is a challenge, since I can’t hear all that is being said by the actors and actresses. I do have some hearing, but in order for me to understand everything that another person is saying, I have had to try to hear what they say, as well as to try reading lips, and watch facial expressions.

What frustrated me was that I could hear bits and pieces of the slang that they were speaking in that movie. However, what they said was not what was being captioned. It seemed as though every time someone spoke slang, the captioning transformed the words into perfect English. There were moments when it was a subtle, but noticeable change while other times, it was a dramatic change.

To not be able to hear what was being said, as well as not being able to fully trust what the captioning was relaying to me across my screen, left me feeling left out and annoyed. This was because I wanted to hear what everyone else was hearing, even if only through the use of captioning. I wanted to get the jest of the movie that everyone else was watching and laughing to. There were also times when the actor or actress was speaking an obviously noticeable slang, but the captioning took their slang and transformed it, once again, into English. Once that happens, I lose my place in the movie. I hear some slang, but see no slang. It can truly be overwhelming to want to watch the same movie that everyone else is watching. I want to laugh, just like those that can hear. I want to cry. I want to get angry. I want to watch the movie, and understand the movie, just like others do everyday.

Being hard of hearing, I can say that I would prefer the captioning be exactly what the speaker was intending to say. I don’t want to watch a movie, knowing it isn’t in perfect English, yet is depicted as such. Those that are deaf or hard of hearing certainly deserve to watch and follow along with the same movie as hearing people. We have a right to feel what we do feel throughout the movie. However, if the captioning continues to transform it into perfect English, many will not be able to follow the general moods portrayed throughout the movie.