National Federation of the Blind Conducts Successful Nationwide Protests Against Movie Blindness

Urges Miramax, Disney to Pull Film from Theaters

In the wake of a successful nationwide action against the Miramax film Blindness, which consisted of seventy-two protests in front of cinemas showing the film in thirty-seven states, the National Federation of the Blind today urged Miramax and its parent company, the Walt Disney Company, to remove the film from theaters immediately.

“The film Blindness is clearly a failure; critics are unimpressed and audiences are uninterested,” said Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind. “Meanwhile, parents have called us to express concern about the effect this film will have on their blind children; people who have seen the film have told our members that they agree with our position; and the reputations of Miramax and the Walt Disney Company, as well as those of the director and cast, have suffered by their names being associated with such an outrageously false depiction of blind people. Miramax and the Walt Disney Company should act swiftly to prevent more damage to the hopes and aspirations of blind Americans, including blinded soldiers coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan, by removing this offensive work from theaters as soon as practicable. There is no money in misrepresenting the blind. In the process of distributing and promoting a film that presents a grossly distorted portrait of blindness and blind people, Walt Disney officials have hurt the lives of millions of human beings.”

About the National Federation of the Blind

With more than fifty thousand members, the National Federation of the Blind is the largest and most influential membership organization of blind people in the United States. The NFB improves blind people’s lives through advocacy, education, research, technology, and programs encouraging independence and self-confidence. It is the leading force in the blindness field today and the voice of the nation’s blind. In January 2004 the NFB opened the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute, the first research and training center in the United States for the blind led by the blind.
Contacts

National Federation of the Blind
Chris Danielsen
Public Relations Specialist
410-659-9314, extension 2330
410-262-1281 (Cell)
cdanielsen {at} nfb(.)org