Something interesting has happened through the power of social media this weekend. Without any calls for boycotts or criticism, Disney has asked exhibitors to inform visitors that The Incredibles 2 might cause trouble for those with light sensitivity issues. And it all stems from a Twitter thread by user VeronicaLewis that gained steam and made its way to the company.
As VeronicaLewis points out in the thread, The Incredibles 2 features moments with “tons of strobe/flashing lights that can cause issues for people with epilepsy, migraines, and chronic illness.” Moments that happen throughout the film courtesy of its villain, The Screenslaver. You might remember similar issues in the past with the Pokemon animated series, leading to some nasty troubles for children according to Kotaku:
Straight away, children across Japan were struck down with various ailments. Some kids passed out, or experienced blurred vision. Others felt dizzy, or nauseous. In extreme cases, some even experienced seizures and cases of temporary blindness.
Knowing what can happen, it’s pretty clear why VeronicaLewis knew something needed to be done:
HEALTH ALERT I haven’t seen this mentioned in a lot of places, but the new Incredibles 2 movie (#incredibles2) is filled with tons of strobe/flashing lights that can cause issues for people with epilepsy, migraines, and chronic illness. This thread is spoiler free
— Veronica Lewis 👩🏼🦯 (@veron4ica) June 15, 2018
So, the villain’s weapon of choice in the movie is bright white lights that are at a rapidly flashing/strobing frequency, with the intent to disorient people. One of these scenes lasts over 90 seconds with continuous strobe light, other scenes last anywhere from 5-30 seconds
— Veronica Lewis 👩🏼🦯 (@veron4ica) June 15, 2018
These scenes are also spread out across the movie and often come without warning. My descriptive audio device warned me about the larger scenes, but other times it was light strobe lights came out of nowhere for no reason.
— Veronica Lewis 👩🏼🦯 (@veron4ica) June 15, 2018
I am not calling for a boycott of Incredibles 2, or to change the movie. It is very well done, and the strobe lights are an important point in the plot. I just wish Disney/Pixar and theaters alike would issue a warning that the movie contains several scenes with strobe lights
— Veronica Lewis 👩🏼🦯 (@veron4ica) June 15, 2018
Video games, some music videos, live concerts, theme park attractions, and even consumer electronics provide warnings about strobe lighting effects and the potential for seizures and other adverse effects. Why not have the same thing be done for a movie targeted at kids?
— Veronica Lewis 👩🏼🦯 (@veron4ica) June 15, 2018
And as Variety reports, Disney got word of the issues and reached out to theaters:
Disney has been notified of the situation and asked all theaters that are showing “Incredibles 2” to notify patrons of the scene in question.
The funny part is that we’ve now seen Disney movies force theaters share warnings on two different occasions due to the aspects of the films causing trouble for moviegoers. This is far more serious than anything in The Last Jedi, though. Those three folks likely could’ve just been a little patient with the hyperspace sacrifice.
