Cinema bringing films to blind audiences

陜西 李紅娟

Every Saturday,Zhang Xinsheng travels two hours for a movie date with friends,navigating Beijing's subway system with his white cane（手杖）and a speaking map that screams directions on his mobile phone.

Zhang lost his sight in his early 20s due to a degenerative（退化的）condition.After going blind,he discovered a love for cinema at the“talking film”club,where volunteers give vivid narrations（敘述）to blind audiences.“After I listened to a film for the first time in 2014,it felt like a new world opened up for me.I felt I could understand the film despite my blindness.There were clear images forming in my mind as the narrator described the scenes of laughter and crying,”he said.

Dozens of blind moviegoers come to the Saturday screenings organized by Xin Mu Theater,a small group of volunteers who were the first to introduce films to blind audiences in China.Their method is surprisingly low-tech.A narrator describes what is happening on screen,including facial expressions,unspoken gestures,the setting and costumes.They receive and send visual clues that would otherwise be missed,like a sudden change of scenery from falling leaves to snow that conveys the passage of time.

In July the group screened A Street Cat Named Bob—a story of a cat that helps a homeless man in London quit drugs and become a best-selling author.Narrator Wang Weili described what was happening on-screen,“There is snow falling over London,a city in England.It's a little like Beijing but the buildings aren't that tall.A man with binoculars（雙筒望遠鏡）is watching James as he sings on a street corner with Bob the cat.”There was pindrop silence as he spoke.No one whispered or ate snacks—instead,the audience listened intently.

Wang rented a small room in an old Beijing courtyard with his savings in 2005 and started the“talking film”club with a small flat-screen TV,a second-hand DVD player and about 20 chairs.His 20-square-meter makeshift cinema was always packed.

Explaining films to blind audiences can be challenging,especially if the plot has historical or imaginary elements that audiences are yet to experience.

Reading Check

1.What can we know about the“talking film”club?

A.It was set up by blind people.

B.Its members are often in their 20s.

C.It explains films to blind audiences.

D.Its chosen films are mainly about blind people's lives.

2.Which word can describe the method used by film narrators?

A.Low-tech. B.Inefficient. C.Advanced. D.Surprising.

3.What does paragraph 4 mainly talk about?

A.A famous film. B.A best-selling author.

C.A makeshift cinema. D.An example of narrating a film.

4.What does the author think of narrating films to blind audiences?

A.It is interesting. B.It is tough sometimes.

C.It is profitable. D.It is time-consuming.

Language Study

Useful expressions

pin-drop silence 非常安靜 listen intently 專注地傾聽

be packed 擁擠的 explain sth to sb 向某人解釋某事