The Arcata Theatre Lounge (ATL) is a unique venue which strives to show movies that will create a fun and sociable atmosphere for its patrons. This atmosphere is achieved through its choice of films as well as the social seating design and food and beverage services. A night at the ATL can be an enjoyable social experience for many patrons. However, the venue is not currently accessible to all of its desiring patrons. While the venue provides unique film watching opportunities subtitles or open captions are not made available for the majority of its films. We recognize that under the provision of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 as amended the theatre as a public accommodation (Sec. 12181 7.C) is obliged to provide “full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services [etc.]”,* and that the failure to fulfill this obligation diminishes the viewing experience in several ways.

In this petition we will propose an opportunity to enhance the viewing experience for the diverse ATL patronage in the following ways:

1.                          Providing full access to films for Deaf/Hard of Hearing patrons who would otherwise have no access to dialogue, narration, or other spoken aspects of film.

2.                          Providing access to elderly patrons with a hearing loss.

3.                          Providing secondary access to individuals whose hearing is compromised by the ambient noise in a social theater setting.

4.                          Providing secondary access to those who may have difficulty discerning softly spoken dialogue or narrative.

5.                          Acting in fulfillment of the ADA Sec. 1282(a).*

With a general belief that our local community thrives upon and supports diversity and accessibility and in the interest of promoting a more accessible theatre viewing experience for all, we— patrons of the Arcata Theatre Lounge—suggest that captions be made available upon the request of the consumer for any of the above stated purposes.

We restate this intention with a petition.

Petition:

We, the undersigned patrons of Arcata Theatre Lounge, support and suggest the availability of captions and/or subtitles for all applicable films upon the request of the consumer.