I am going into the final year of my university course, and with that comes a dissertation that must be produced. 8,000 daunting words, but on a subject that I am passionate about and something that I am excited to learn about.
The idea of writing a dissertation is something that I have been excited about for years, and yet I had struggled to find a true passion within the film course to focus on. Originally, I submitted a topic a few months ago about creating a formula for the Best Picture prize at the Oscars, but that had many issues within containing it to one single focus piece. Since then, I have submitted a new topic and I am excited to share it with all of you.
Proposed Title of Dissertation: Sound of Subtitles: An Analysis of Accessibility for the Deaf Community in the Film Industry
Further explanation of the scope of the Dissertation: This dissertation will focus on accessibility for the deaf community in the film community and how important subtitles are to them. A topic that has been at the forefront for a few years due to the popularisation of foreign cinema and streaming options, this piece will focus on two films that were released in the past year and are about the deaf experience.
- Sound of Metal: a film about somebody losing their hearing, released on a streaming platform (Amazon Prime). This film had subtitles embedded into the film, making it completely accessible to the deaf community.
- A Quiet Place Part II: a film with a deaf actress in the lead and focusing on the importance of not making a sound, released by a major distributor in cinemas. This film only had one or two subtitled showings a week at inconvenient times, making it inaccessible to the deaf community.
Having this focus on two recent films that are about the deaf community will give the dissertation a structure and a compelling case that accessibility needs to be improved.
I have shared the topic on my Twitter and many people loved the idea and wanted me to share my findings with them. That, plus the fact that I have this site as a dedicated place for my writing and film opinions, has led me to start a new series on my blog over the next few months where I share my findings and document my journey in writing a dissertation. It might help some people in the future, but it also gives me a chance to raise more awareness of the issues within the film industry for accessibility and how cinema chains in particular can do better.
I’m gonna use this blog to have you guys continue to share your opinion on my work and where the dissertation is going. I will also be sharing some of my readings, the process of writing a dissertation, and by the end of the project allow you all to read a copy of my final paper for yourself. I hope you are as excited as I am to come on this journey with me.
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