Theaters to Add Strobe Light Warning to ‘Incredibles 2’ After Viral Twitter Thread
By Erin Nyren
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – This weekend’s release of the long-awaited “Incredibles 2” has prompted some attendees to caution others via Twitter that the movie has several scenes with flashing lights that could pose a danger to those with epilepsy or other light-sensitive conditions — and that “” doesn’t come with its own strobe light warning.
Disney has been notified of the situation and asked all theaters that are showing “Incredibles 2” to notify patrons of the scene in question.
Blogger and Twitter user Veronica Lewis (@veron4ica) seems to have initiated the warning online with a Twitter thread that has gone viral, in addition to a post to her blog, Veroniiiica.
She wrote that “Incredibles 2” is “filled with tons of strobe/flashing lights,” and explained that people with photosensitive epilepsy aren’t the only ones who could be affected — those who suffer from migraines, vision impairments, seizure conditions, vertigo (specifically flicker vertigo), autism, ADHD, and PTSD could also experience a reaction to the images.
She detailed that one of the scenes lasts at least 90 seconds and that others range from five to 30 seconds in length. She added that her descriptive audio device did warn her of some of the scenes, but not all.
Lewis made it clear she wasn’t calling for a boycott of the film, or asking Disney to remove it from theaters. Rather, she just wanted to make sure parents were informed before taking their children who could be affected to see “Incredibles 2.”
“I just wish Disney/Pixar and theaters alike would issue a warning that the movie contains several scenes with strobe lights,” she wrote.
So far, no incidents as a result of watching “Incredibles 2” have been reported.
In 1997, 685 children were sent to hospitals in Japan after an episode of “Pokemon” flashed red and blue lights to animate a scene in which Pikachu blows up missiles in cyberspace. Nintendo’s stocks took a hit after the incident, which became known in Japan as “Pokemon Shock,” and the show was taken off the air for nearly four months.
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