All The Young Dudes

Deafies In The Movies - Who’s Story? Mine Or Yours?

I was alerted to this article, Can Hearing Directors Make Deaf Films, on a one of my regular stopovers to the See Hear forums, which I have affectionately dubbed The Tower Of Babble [Ask me later. Not now]. A new thread was started by William Mager, Deaf filmmaker of Text, Batteries And Earwax and The Association fame, posing the same question Can Hearing Directors Make Deaf Films?

If you take the question at face value, of course the answer is no. They couldn’t because they are not Deaf. They don’t know what being Deaf is like. And so the objections flow.

Filmmaking is an artform, and as such, all the people involved are “artists” - from the writer all the way up to the director [except for the financiers, or the money men] - and as “artists”, they have the right to use any subject as a basis for a film. However, as we know from our own collective history, this art form has been inaccessible or denied to us, and any portrayals of Deafness and, indeed, deafness [you know the one with that wee, little d] was in the hands [or at the mercy] of Hearing film makers. John S. Schuchman’s book, Hollywood Speaks: Deafness And The Film Entertainment Industry, gives a good overview of the issues that continue to plague us Deafies.

Unlike the view posited by MM [a deaf person], Catherine Heffernan, is asking “….should deaf stories only be told by directors who are deaf themselves?” Again, if you take the question at face value, of course the answer is yes. Because they are Deaf. The know what being Deaf is like. And so the justifications flow.

It’s true, no one can tell your story better than you can. No one is more qualified to tell your story than you are. No one knows you better than you do. As such, the outsider, often gets it wrong. When you think of the prejudice that exists in this world. Prejudice that is based on assumptions about other people. And how this prejudice manifests itself in various cultural media, then we as Deaf [and not forgetting our colleagues of the wee, little d] deaf people, are quite right to ask, “How can a Hearing person make a movie about Deaf people?”

But the crux of the problem remains. Filmmaking is an artform. Hearing people are artists too. So the right to make a film of their choice remains.

I have to agree with Catherine’s assessment of Children of a Lesser God, which is arguably the best-known Deaf film, made by the hearing director Mark Medoff.

Its lead, for which actress Marlee Matlin won an Oscar in 1987, is angry, frustrated and unhappy … and not much else.

When I saw Children of Lesser God recently, as part of a film studies subject, my first reaction upon Sarah’s entrance was, Taming of The Shrew. It gets worse, in that Sarah is also a woman, and as such, it is the man who takes it upon himself to save her. And boy did I wanna slap James some! Children Of  A Lesser God was an advance for its time, but, it remains a paternalistic film

Catherine is right when she states that,

There remains a huge gap between how deaf people perceive themselves and how they are perceived by society, and as a result the “deaf film genre” remains ghettoised and underfunded.

and the question we should be asking is, “WHY?” which Catherine doesn’t, and is one that some bloggers don’t. I’m not sure  how aware of Deaf Culture and Deaf History Catherine is, and while the article is good, it does raise more questions than it answers. She concludes the same paragraph, saying,

But if people can open their minds and help to spread awareness, there’s a wealth short films just waiting to be watched.

Which is all very well, but we Deafies are still struggling to access all the things that Hearing people take for granted. Sure, we have it better than we did, even ten years ago, but we are still being fed crumbs. AND, it is very unfair of MM,to turn the article around and blame on Deaf people for this state of affairs.

Anyway, let’s turn the question around, with more and more Deaf artists, and filmmakers coming to the fore, can Deaf Directors Make Hearing Films? I haven’t, as yet, seen such a film. It would be rather interesting to see a Deaf take on the Hearing world. The way Hearing people live and the way Hearing people [fill in your own idea of what it is Hearing people do, here].

With that, I bid you good night!

UPDATE: I have just been informed by See Hear, that Catherine Heffernan is deaf.

Linx:

Can Hearing Directors Make Deaf Films [Guardian Article]

Can Hearing Directors Make Deaf Films [See Hear Forum]

Elsewhere In The City:

Can Hearing Directors Make Deaf Films [G.O.D]

Hollywood Speaks: Deafness And The Film Entertainment Industry

Text, Batteries And Earwax

The Association

Coming Out

Four Deaf Yorkshire Men

Film Review - Bangkok Dangerous

Alert: Youtube Flik: Coming Out

Anders.se - TV-Series For Deaf and Sign Language Users

The Deaf Man: Movie Trailer

Hollywood Speaks: Deafness And The Film Entertainment Industry

Louis Neethling: Director

deafo.com: purveyors of quality Deaf comedy

Through Deaf Eyes: A Review

Through Deaf Eyes: A Reappraisal?

Powered by ScribeFire.

Sphere: Related Content

Tales Of The Deafhood - An Introduction

Spurred on by MM’s negative review and gross misunderstanding of Paddy Ladd’s Understanding Deaf Culture: In Search Of Deafhood, and the positive press and vibrant discussion of Deafhood in blogs, forums, and email groups, I just had to buy my own copy. So, I did. I could have read the online version over at Google Books, but I’m old fashioned in that I love to hold a REAL book in my hands. Besides, these eyes of mine are getting on a bit and reading from the computer screen strains them. Hence, a real book made of paper, finds happiness in my hands [and vice versa].

This post is the first of what I hope will be a continuing dialogue about deafhood, deaf culture and self realisation inspired by Paddy’s [and other similar] book [s]. As well as sticking the boot in any dismissal of Deaf Culture and Sign Language as valid and right, this series will be a refutation of MM’s negative review and his [and other like minded people] wanton disregard for the hard work that Paddy and other people put into showing there is nothing wrong with being Deaf. After all, their hard work results in maps and guides that help us [ALL, including the snotty little oralie who prides themselves on speaking well and not doing much else] along the rocky path towards salvation and redemption.

But first, dear reader, a short diversion.

We all know that “life is difficult, and that personal growth is a complex, arduous and lifelong task”. Living one’s life is a herculean task that never stops until you draw your last breath. And at 46 years of age, my own journey towards self empowerment, self realisation, self actualisation, and ultimately finding my place in the world [grand scheme of things] continues unabated.

I walk the road less travelled because I have no other choice. My deafness and my sexuality, force me to eschew the pleasant diversions of the manicured curb or the speed of the open highway, in favour of a meandering and a wandering path that leads to, “God knows where, but I’ll know when I get there!” My hunger for knowledge, understanding and meaning, lead me to reject the received wisdom, which often leads to an oppression and a suppression of all that is good in life. More than this, my spirit and my body are in open revolt to the idea of entrusting my very being [health and happiness, salvation and redemption] into the hands of my benevolent benefactors who assume they know what’s best for me,

The road less travelled is a road that few ever travel. It requires that an honesty and level of introspection, that few willingly submit to. It requires that we have an open conversation with ourselves, and the courage to forge an alternative path, should the one you are travelling on, lead us astray. It requires that we ask questions and demand answers. It requires that we lay down a challenge to the dominant forces that attempt to determine the course of our lives. The road less travelled is not a highway, where speed will get you to your destination and back before sundown. There are no maps and very few sign posts to guide us as we travel along this road, and at night, no there are no lamp posts to light the way. The road less travelled is full of potholes and unexpected turns, and it never returns to the same point that you started from.

If you have read the books, The Road Less Travelled, Owning Your Own Shadow, or even Zen Guitar, [even though Zen Guitar is about playing the guitar and, why you play it, ultimately, it's about motivation and fulfillment, and not technique. Lessons which we can take and apply to living] will understand this very well.

I am midway through Chapter One: Deaf Communities, having read the Introduction, and already waves of recognition and nods of agreement permeate my reading. The last time a book on Deafness got me this all shook up, was Harlan Lane’s, The Mask Of Benevolence. Already, I have many questions, but they will have to wait until I have delved further into the book. Already, there is much misunderstanding and ignorance of what this book is about and what Paddy is trying to achieve, but this misunderstanding and ignorance will only be cleared up if we are willing to move beyond the idea that we must align ourselves with, and measure our worth as a people against our Hearing forebears.

The scope of Understanding Deaf Culture: In Search Of Deafhood is huge. The task that Paddy has set himself, is an ongoing one. A task that we are all invited to contribute to. And I hope, you, dear readers, will come along for the ride.

Reading Matter In The Meantime:

Understanding Deaf Culture
Culture Versus Awareness: Refuting MM
Deaf Versus Deaf Refuting Carl
Awareness Versus Culture
The Deafhood Review
Deafhood:A Process Of Self Repression
The Secret Order of Deaf Militants

Elsewhere In The City:

HFEB: BDA draft letter to Professor Marcus Pembrey
HFEB: Explanatory clause on deaf selection
Parliament: Deaf Embryo selection to be made illegal
Paddy Ladd email: UK bill to outlaw embryos with the Deaf gene.

Powered by ScribeFire.

Sphere: Related Content

STOP PRESS: NEW THEME SONG FOR “THE FIX YOUR EAR SO YOU CAN LISTEN TO YOUR REAR” CAMPAIGN

I listen all day, I listen all night
I still can’t hear a word you say
Say it again
I said this, and I said that,
I enunicated clearly
But you still said, “What?”
So I must start a new campaign
To change the world
For you and your friends
You’d have brand new ears
So you can hear your rears…..

Ears,ears,ears
It rhymes with rears,
Beautiful rears
Ears, Ears, Ears
Fucking good ears
So you can hear your rear
Ah ha, ah ha,
All those sounds you make
Are for you and your friends to enjoy
And maybe smell your rear

Under the surgeon’s Knife
I did submit,
But I was so afraid
When I woke up the next day
My head was in pain
And my bed drenched in sweat
The surgeon came
He smiled a lot
The op was a success
And soon I would hear,
But when he removed the bandages
I died of shock cos all I could hear, was

Money, Money, Money
For your ears
So you can hear your rear
Money, Money, Money
Give us money
So we can change your world
Ah ha, ah ha
Too much money, is never enuff
I want a Mercedes Benz
And a condo in New York………….

Further Reading:

New RNID Campaign: Fix Your Ear So You Can Listen To Your Rear
What’s Going On
Celebrity Rear of The Year
RNID
People’s Ear of the Year Awards 2007

Powered by ScribeFire.

Sphere: Related Content

NEW RNID CAMPAIGN: FIX YOUR EAR SO YOU CAN LISTEN TO YOUR REAR!

The current hostility, animosity, and derision directed at RNID’s new campaign, Ear of The Year, has inspired the RNID to redefine the campaign as “FIX YOUR EARS SO YOU CAN LISTEN TO YOUR REAR”. They have acquired the services of Dr Ima Earnosethroat-Specialist [much to MM's chagrin, who had been campaigning rather tirelessly for the job of leading the ] to lead this campaign. Dr Ima Earnosethroat-Specialist will launch the new campaign on Christmas Eve in Trafalgar Square [that's in London, which is in England, the other side of the Atlantic for all the geographically challenged Americans].

Dr Ima Earnosethroat-Specialist was inspired by a comment made by Tony Nicholas on the G.O.D blog. “Too right, you are.” She said. Furthermore, the campaign is drawing many of of its concepts directly from Intelligent Design adherents. A special song is being composed for the event, called Ears and Rears.  The RNID has kindly All The Young Dudes, permission to quote the following, but still incomplete lyrics, for people to read:

It was a windy, summer morning
When Heath was heaving on the moors
That were full of Ears and Rears
Ah oohh weee
Ah oohh weee
Frttttttt, Frrtttttttt
Ah oohh weee
Ah oohh weee
The rear that you hear
Could be with your very own ear
So let us all rejoice,
And change the world
For deaf and hard of hearing peeeee-puuuuuuuuuuuuuuuullllllll
Help them to hear
Their very own rears
With their, verryyyyy, own, e-aaahhhhhhhhhhhhhssssssssssss!
Frttttttt, Frrtttttttt

With a hammer, hammer, hammer
And a snip, snip, snip
A little screw or two
And your ear will be brand new
Then a wobble, wobble, wobble
And a jerk, jerk, jerk
And one ear becomes two…….

So now that your ears are fixed
You can listen to your rear,
La, la, la,la……………..

The song will be made available on CD or download on the RNID site. All proceeds will go towards hiring more Hearing people to help the RNID to continue its work of changing the world for deaf and hard of hearing people.

As this story goes to press, the RNID and RNIB are working on making this event accessible to the visually impaired, by incorporating Smellivision. Though, no decision has been made regarding access via the senses of touch and taste.

Further Reading:
What’s Going On
Celebrity Rear of The Year
RNID
People’s Ear of the Year Awards 2007

Powered by ScribeFire.

Sphere: Related Content