A GoFundMe has been started to raise money so the hard of hearing and deaf community can see the movie Eternals in private screenings with captions.
The initiative is a partnership between Gold House and CAPE called the One Open community fund, and it’s concerned with furthering the inclusion of underrepresented communities in films.
“The latest Annenberg Inclusion Initiative study reported that only 34.3% of all speaking characters in top films were from underrepresented racial/ethnic groups. Even more dire, only 1.4% were LGBTQ and 2.3% were depicted with a disability,” the Gofundme said.
The GoFundMe is raising money to sponsor “private open caption screenings of the film for the deaf and hard-of-hearing community. We hope everyone will have the opportunity to see themselves represented as heroes on screen without inaccessibility issues!”
One Open said that Eternals is one of the most authentically diverse movies ever, and even introduces the MCU’s first deaf superhero, Makkari, played by Lauren Ridloff.
“There are more than 15 million adults in the U.S. with a hearing disability and enjoying a movie in theatres often has been cumbersome due to less than satisfactory experiences with limited accessibility options in theatres. We hope the expansion of open caption screenings led by the release of Eternals marks the beginning of a more inclusive moviegoing experience for all,” said Delbert Whetter, deaf producer and RespectAbility board vice chair.
Eternals shares a number of milestones for underrepresented communities. In addition to featuring the first deaf superhero, it also features the first South Asian hero in Kingo, played by Pakistani-American actor Kumail Nanjiani.
Angelina Jolie also stars in the movie as Thena. She recently said that she hopes the diversity in the movie “starts to normalize what should have been there in the first place.”
“I hope people watch these films in years to come and we don’t even think about it as being diverse, it just becomes what’s normal and what’s right,” Jolie said.
Eternals releases in theaters on November 5, 2021.
