[nfbwatlk] student member taking action on Blindness movie

[Frederick Driver]

We in the Canadian Federation of the Blind were out in force protesting
the Blindness movie, when it opened at one of the major movie complexes in
Victoria, and also in Kelowna.

Now the film is playing again at the university campus cinema apparently.

Two Victoria Federationists are university students.

They are taking action.

One of them, Erin, is quoted in the following article.

>From the current issue of the University of Victoria Students' Society
newspaper:  The Martlet.

Rick


[article]

Movie sparks debate

Nov 26, 2008

Will Johnson


Nobody is going to stop you from seeing Blindness.

A controversial film based on Portuguese Nobel-laureate author Jose
Saramago's 1995 novel, Blindness has sparked an international back-lash
from the blind community and its allies.

The film's depiction of citizens being mysteriously struck blind has
been called offensive, inaccurate and fear-mongering by the Canadian
Federation of the Blind. The group, based out of Victoria, staged
protests outside the SilverCity theater when the film was screened there
in October.

However, that doesn't mean students shouldn't check it out for
themselves when it premieres at UVic's Cinecenta this weekend. It will
be playing at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

'We're not necessarily protesting, and we're not going to stop anyone
from watching the movie,' said Erin Lacharity, a blind undergraduate
student at UVic. 'We just want to raise awareness.'

Representatives from Access UVic will be at the screening and plan to
have a table set up with information available for movie-goers. Though
they feel the movie is inaccurate and potentially dangerous, they also
hope it can be an opportunity for education and dialogue, said Access
UVic director Rose Mariana Robb.

'In the film, the characters lose their humanity ... their dignity,
along with their sight,' Robb said. 'This is not a realistic depiction
at all.'

In reality, she said, blind people are high-functioning members of
society who contribute in meaningful ways. Robb acknowledges that the
central premise of the film is a metaphor, but she emphasized that it
plays on people's irrational misconceptions and fears.

'Not only does this movie play on these fears and show these fears, it
may actually increase them,' Robb said.

Michael Ryan, the manager of Cinecenta, said that the decision to screen
the movie was made months ago. Having enjoyed Saramago's book, Ryan was
excited to see the film.

He was made aware of the controversy at a UVSS board meeting in October,
however, where Access presented their concerns about the potentially
dangerous film.

Ryan approached members of Access and tried to brainstorm how to best
deal with the controversy.

'[Access] had some legitimate concerns, and we were thankful for their
alternate viewpoints,' said Ryan. 'I wanted to know if there was a way
we could incorporate them into the screening.'

Ryan was glad to hear that Access will have a presence at the screening,
and hopes that positive dialogue can come from the experience.

'I've always thought it's better to show controversial films, and let
the audiences make up their own minds,' he said.

Robb echoed Ryan's sentiment.

'Our hope is that people going to the movie will look at it more
critically,' Robb said. 'We're trying to look at this as an
opportunity.'

Photo caption:
Blind student Erin Lacharity will help inform movie-goers about blind
issues at Blindness, which is showing at Cinecenta despite controversy.

http://martlet.ca/article/6158-movie-sparks-debate