Like many people, I have always enjoyed going to the movies with my friends and family. My favorite types of movies to go see are comedies and films based on true stories. However, due to my Cerebral Palsy and my mild form of epilepsy, I also dread going to the movie theatre because of how it can affect both of these conditions.
When it comes to having spastic Cerebral Palsy, I tend not to do so well with loud noises and screaming since it makes me jump. The flashing lights and moving colors that are often on theatre screens are not good for people with epilepsy. As a result, whenever I go to the cinema I have to worry about what may happen if this movie has a scene where there is a lot of flashing lights or moving colors, or if it has loud noises that could make me jump and cause other movie go-ers to stare at me.
Dealing with self-consciousness
Each of these disabilities impacts my life in different ways and sometimes it makes me very cautious about going out to certain places because of the responses that I get from the people around me. My body has a mind of its own, which can get out of control when it’s triggered by my epilepsy. It shakes and moves around and I have no idea what’s going on with my body. I don’t know if there will ever be a time where I can go to the theatres and be comfortable to enjoy the movie without a single worry on my mind.
How movies could be made epilepsy friendly
It would be nice to be able to enjoy certain movies without having to be cautious about them having flashing lights or loud noises in them. This could be made possible if filmmakers would gain more awareness about epilepsy and other conditions, and how these conditions affect moviegoers that enjoy movies but also have to worry about their epilepsy or other symptoms being triggered during the movie.
This would mean that people like myself could enjoy films and head out to the theatre more often without a single worry about their bodies or having to deal with the stress of not being able to enjoy the film because of their health. My combination of Cerebral Palsy and epilepsy together cause me to experience this stress every time I see a movie.
Until filmmakers make efforts to change this I will continue to go to the cinema and watch brand new movies because I refuse to miss out on things that everyone should be able to enjoy.
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