Turn on the Words!: Deaf Audiences, Captions, and the Long Struggle for Access

"Showcases how grassroots and Deaf-led innovation was always at the forefront of captioning and accessible entertainment. As Lang's book makes clear - deaf communities were not passive consumers and were not given access. For over a century, deaf individuals and organizations have been creating the technologies, networks, and movements for media access on their own terms while simultaneously working for structural reforms through federal legislation and rulemaking. I would recommend Lang's book to anyone interested in US history, deaf and disability history, media studies, education history, or communication technologies. The barriers and breakthroughs he walks readers through establish that the captions achieved to date were not inevitable - nor is the future of captioning and broader information access guaranteed."

"That captions enrich everyone--deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing persons as well as people with disabilities--is the kernel of this book. Lang turns dry details into vivid prose while chronicling the more than 70-year, Deaf-led movement for access to what hearing people take for granted: access to films/movies, television, videotapes/CD-ROMs, and internet videos/streaming media."

"Harry G. Lang presents a sweeping history of media captioning in the United States, combining stories of technological advances with social activism and individual endeavors. Drawing on his own experiences as a D/deaf person trying to access both educational and entertainment media, this work is profoundly personal and thoroughly researched. The detail and depth of information that Lang supplies is extraordinary, especially given that it is a history involving technical developments, multiple institutions with ever-changing names, and a vast number of individuals. It is a considerable asset to scholars interested in D/deaf, disability and media history."