A pain in the neck: The odyssey for decent, comfortable IMAX ADA seats

Last week my friends and I went to the show. When the movie let out, the lobby was swamped with people. They were lined up everywhere. At five in the afternoon, on a Monday. It took a while to pick our way through to the exit.

All these folks had turned out to see two of summer’s biggest blockbusters, Spider-Man: Brand New Day and The Odyssey. Both are screening in IMAX. The Odyssey director Christopher Nolan encouraged viewers to catch his new movie in IMAX to get the full effect of his work. He’d worked with engineers to come up with better, lighter cameras allowed him to shoot his entire 3-hour feature film in IMAX format, which was about impossible to do before. Add to this that there are only 25 theater-screens in the country that can project in the ultimate experience, IMAX 70 millimeter, and the only one in Chicagoland, which is this theater we attended — so moviegoers are making the trek across the metro area and the state of Illinois and even from other states to this one theater, and to this one theater’s lobby. But here is one of history’s biggest stories, shot in a huge way by a huge director, so people are there in search of a unique, unforgettable experience.

How my neck felt after my first IMAX movie.

Unless you’re a wheelchair user, that is. Because if you are, then this could be an unforgettable experience for how utterly disappointing it was. In some IMAX theaters, the patrons who use wheelchairs were an afterthought, which was my own and only IMAX experience, long ago. These are the IMAX theaters where the ADA seats are right in front of the towering screen, or like mine, crammed in at one side or the other. I remember less about the movie shown and more about my neck craning the entire time. In a situation like that you are not even able to take in the whole picture, and you’re literally not in any position to enjoy it. The poor seating made the movie uncomfortable and uninteresting, as in I couldn’t wait for it to be over.

Still, if possible I really wanted to see this flick with the special IMAX sauce, so at the website I checked the seating diagram. I wasn’t confident about what I was seeing. The thing to do at this point would be to call the manager and arrange a look-see before buying tickets. But no, I’m jumping through extra hoops every day of the week because that’s what we’ve got to do, right, but enough already. It’s show time and I’m damned hooped out. So, I reserved for the standard format screening with guaranteed midhouse ADA seating for me.

If it helps anyone out there, Copilot AI suggested we might find better ADA seating at IMAX theaters built in 2015 or later, and at theaters advertising “IMAX with laser,” both of which offer more mindful, more equitable design. It sounds like the earlier generation of theaters may be the spine-bending offenders. Useful information to know, if Nolan’s IMAX cameras take off in the industry, in search of The Odyssey-like box office riches.

In the end, it didn’t matter what format I chose, I was disappointed in The Odyssey. The Nolan movies I’ve seen I liked, ranging from adrenaline-stoking thrill-rides to spine-tingling weirdness. This one had none of those qualities. To me, it was just crap storytelling: boring, confusing and ponderous. Which is a shame because Homer was literally a storyteller, not a writer. He recited stories to others, like a bard, and a disabled bard at that.

 

A Taste of the Future? Reviewing Augmental’s MouthPad^ Wearable Controller

Through a combination of frugality and needs, I long ago landed on a combination of speech recognition and a mouthstick to do my writing and editorial work. But as a C4 quadriplegic with multiple sclerosis, and growing older, my seating and positioning are growing more precarious. I wanted options that might free me from some of the physical contortions and frustrations that have long been part of my work setup. After using the same computer accessibility setup for about 30 years, I recently decided it was time for a change.

Having read about Augmental’s MouthPad^, a custom-made wearable controller that looks and fits like a dental retainer, I was excited to try it out. I expected a novel tool that was somewhat of an upgrade from the speech-driven mousegrid/voice control navigation I’ve been using half my life. What I got was a genuinely exciting experience and an instrument I believe I’ll continue to master and explore with. 

Multitasking with my MouthPad

The MouthPad^ has an embedded touchpad that you use with your tongue, but the device also recognizes other easy inputs like head motions, sip and puff, and bites. Through Bluetooth and an accompanying app, it can control devices that run more recent versions of Windows, iOS and MacOS. It helps control Android devices too, in a more limited way.

I found the device to be extremely mobile, discreet ("Ah, sweet privacy!" says the decades-long speech recognition user), and versatile with its many features. Funding and product-life are two concerns, but vocational rehab often does fund the device and there are other financial sources available.

It gives me better control of my device, like when a phone call comes in while I'm working, I'm instantly able to pause work, switch off speech recognition and answer the call long before it goes to voicemail. A big improvement for me.

Finally, it is fast. Many of my most basic activities, like editing; navigating between files and programs; or working my way around websites, go much quicker. To me, that's not just a convenience. So much of my disabled life is about losing time: the waiting, the slower pace, the obstacles, the need to do things more than once. When I can move quickly, it’s exhilarating, it's empowering. The MouthPad^ lets me to do this.

Check out my full review in New Mobility for details. The future for disability users tastes spicy, and I like spicy.