The term “open captions” refers to dialogue and audio description projected like subtitles on the screen. They’re the preferred alternative to closed captions, which all theaters must provide by law, and which moviegoers access using special glasses or a cup holder-mounted machine. But getting open captions in theaters is far more complicated than toggling between menu options on a smart TV, advocates say.
Captions are an old-school accessibility function that first came to movies in the Eisenhower era, but with the rise of in-home streaming services, there’s been a twist: Words on the screen have become the default for a majority of viewers.