Everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.
Then, everything changed again when Netflix added audio descriptions to Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Filmmaker James Rath, who was born legally blind, tweeted on Friday (September 11) that blind audiences and fans can now enjoy Nickelodeon's beloved animated series.
Avatar: The Last Airbender is now accessible for blind audiences on Netflix with audio descriptions... pass it on. 😎— James Rath (@JamesRath) September 11, 2020
The streaming service acquired the rights to all three seasons of the series in May, and since then many have turned to its fantastic plot in quarantine. The series made history as the first title to spend 65 days in the top 10 streamed series on Netflix in what has been called a "stunning second life" for the series.
“So audio descriptions are cool,” Rath said in a YouTube video. “It doesn’t interrupt the dialog of most films and TV shows. It’s meant to be a narration in between dialog to help let you know the important narrative part.”
Netflix added audio descriptions to Avatar as well as its new documentary-drama hybrid The Social Dilemma and aesthetic favorite Get Organized With the Home Edit show on Friday, according to the Audio Description Project.
Netflix’s Access Services options include audio descriptions alongside features like assistive listening systems, closed captions, keyboard shortcuts, screen readers, subtitles and voice commands, which help those with hearing, sight or physical mobility needs access the platform’s content.
Blind people, of course, watch TV too, as Rath pointed out on YouTube. “Much like smartphones and computers, smart TVs have an operating system,” he said. “And an operating system allows you to navigate things, oftentimes with accessibility. Accessibility meaning letting people have access, even if they have a disability.”
One user added that earthbending master Toph Beifong from Avatar, who was blind since birth, would have benefited from the changes too. “Toph can finally see herself on tv,” they wrote.
Both but we don’t talk about the movie. More importantly the series.— James Rath (@JamesRath) September 11, 2020
Rath also clarified that both the TV series and the controversial live-action movie from 2010, The Last Airbender, now feature audio descriptions on Netflix.
A live-action adaptation of the series is also in the works at Netflix — even after the creators (Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko) announced they were leaving the project in August.
“When Netflix brought me on board to run this series alongside Mike two years ago, they made a very public promise to support our vision,” Konietzko shared on Instagram. “Unfortunately, there was no follow-through on that promise… We ultimately came to the belief that we would not be able to meaningfully guide the direction of the series.”
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More Nick: Toph Beifong to Feature in Her Own Standalone 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Graphic Novel!
Original source: Los Angeles Times; Additional source: ComicBook.
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