To whom it may concern,
I’m a film lover who also happens to be hearing impaired. I usually have to wait until films in English come out on DVD, so I can watch them with English subtitles. The Sony Classics recent releases that I have tried to enjoy, such as Rachel Getting Married, The Wackness, Frozen River, and Synecdoche, NY have “English subtitles” as an option on their menus. Instead of the film’s dailogue, however, they are embedded with the text of the director’s commentary. This is a new development, and it renders the movies inaccessible to many hearing impaired people.

In most cases, proper subtitle options in another language are offered. Watching The Wackness with Spanish subtitiles was not dope, so please consider the needs of hearing impaired film viewers when you format DVDs.

Sincerely,
Kristin Noël Schoenleber-Fontán