‘Incredibles 2’ moviegoers warned about experiencing possible seizures
Epilepsy Foundation posts warning for people with ‘photosensitive epilepsy’
Marcos Gardiana, a self-proclaimed Disney fanatic with five tattoos of Disney characters on his body to prove it, was excited to see the company’s latest blockbuster, “Incredibles 2,” on Sunday, and took his girlfriend along with him.
He never got to see the end of it. Gardiana, 27, who has epilepsy as a result of a brain injury from a 2011 car accident, said he started getting lightheaded and dizzy in the theater. He had a “small” seizure at first, he said, and then a “blackout seizure, a full-on shaking seizure.”
His girlfriend, Courtney Anderson, 21, led him to a bench outside.
“He sat down for a minute, pale as a ghost,” she said. “He had a second, full-on seizure, eyes rolled back. And he lost consciousness.”
Gardiana had apparently suffered seizures triggered by flashing lights during Courtney Anderson, talking about her boyfriend, after leaving the film
the movie, an unusual but also a well-established peril for some people with epilepsy.
It was unclear whether the Walt Disney Co., which did not respond to requests for comment on Monday, had warned theaters about the danger. But beginning last Friday, the first full day of showings for “Incredibles 2,” signs began appearing in movie houses warning that a “sequence of flashing lights” may affect people who are susceptible to “photosensitive epilepsy or other photosensitivities.”
But it appears that some epileptic viewers did not get the memo. Gardiana said he saw no warning signs in the Las Vegas theater he went to. The manager of the theater said a sign had been posted Friday but that she could not comment further. .
The triggering images in “Incredibles 2” begin about an hour into the movie and occur in a sequence involving the villain Screenslaver. Beginning late Friday, the Epilepsy Foundation heard via email and social media from people who had seen the movie and experienced symptoms, said Jackie Aker, a spokeswoman for the group. Early Saturday, the foundation posted a memo on their social media channels and websites, requesting that Disney Pixar post a warning online. But as of Thursday morning, there was no warning on the movie’s main webpage, Facebook page or Twitter account.