Special Feature Helps Visually Impaired Couple Enjoy ‘Hairspray Live!'

While millions watched NBC's "Hairspray Live!" Wednesday night, Rebecca and Eric Bridges sat down on their couch and listened to the musical.

The Bridges, who live in Arlington, Virginia, are completely blind.

"I am blind due to being born prematurely," Rebecca Bridges said.

"I went totally blind at the age of 17," Eric Bridges said.

Despite not being able to see the show, the Bridges knew about the characters' colorful costumes, their movements and other details thanks to a feature called video description.

Using video description, a narrator explained what was happening on the screen during pauses in the show's dialogue -- something the couple would typically have to imagine on their own.

"During a show, a regular television show, you’re left with wondering what’s going on," Eric said. "Whether somebody is sneaking up on someone else, whether someone is, you know, pulling out a gun."

"When you’re watching it or the average person is watching it, you almost take for granted because they’re just things that you see and you process and you move on or you maybe don’t even think about it," Rebecca said.

More shows are using video description to reach people with vision loss. Anyone in the country with a Secondary Audio Program audio feed can access the video description feature.

"I think at times entertainment can be trivialized. But in order to fully participate in society, having access to entertainment is something that is absolutely critical," Eric said.

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