“Through Deaf Eyes”, directed by Diane Carey and Lawrence R. Hott, and narrated by Stockard Channing features many stories of figures from the Deaf community that are interwoven (2007). They show what it is like to be a Deaf person from the 19th century to the present. The film features individuals who attended a school for the deaf, as well as prominent figures in the Deaf community, like Marlee Matlin. The documentary’s aims are simple: to show the evolution of Deaf culture and that Deaf people are, at their core, human and no different than anybody else.
There were many reasons that I enjoyed “Through Deaf Eyes.” Primarily I liked it because the documentary did not place focus on the viewer feeling sad for the subjects and their deafness. Growing up I knew a girl who had parents that were deaf. Her whole family knew sign language and her parent’s deafness did not seem to stop them from doing anything. In fact I was envious of the fact that she knew sign language, hence my presence in this class. However, I was aware that many people felt sorry for her. More people felt sorry for her parents because they felt that being unable to hear put them at a disadvantage. To me this said that my friend’s parents were not only different, but unable to live a full life like as rest of us do. I never understood this because they had jobs, a home, cars, children, and each other. They had everything everybody else had; the only thing they lacked was the ability to hear, and it did not seem to hold them back.
“Through Deaf Eyes” made it a point to show Deaf culture and some of the things Deaf people endure, but it was very careful never to portray being deaf as a disability. A similar attitude can be found in an article entitled "It Feels Like Being Deaf is Normal": An Exploration into the Complexities of defining D/deafness and young D/deaf people's identities", written by Tracey Skelton and Gill Valentine and published in The Canadian Geographer. In their article, Skelton and Valentine explore what it means to be a young Deaf person in the 21st century but they never portray it as a disability; it is simply another unique thing that some youths have and some youths do not have (452). The explore the challenges that being Deaf can present, but they compare these challenges to those that are had by individuals who are blind or depressed (456). I believe the aim of both “Through Deaf Eyes”, as well as the article, is to show that we all have differences. We have all been impacted by something, and though it may last a few months, or years, or the rest of our lives, the struggle does not have to kill us. The struggle can bring make us stronger and only serves to prove that we are that much more related as humans.
In conclusion, “Through Deaf Eyes” serves as a vessel to show us that being deaf is not the end of life; it can sometimes be the beginning. Many of the individuals featured in the documentary learned how to communicate in schools, gained lifelong friendships, and were given Name Signs that they carried with them the rest of their lives. The documentary showed that the Deaf community is full of bright, vibrant, lively, and, in their own way, loud individuals who live life proud and happy. Nothing stands in their way, and they do not let being deaf stop them. While learning sign language is a gesture of communication that I think more people should make an effort to learn, I believe it is time we stop assuming that being Deaf means that a person is disadvantaged.
References
Skelton, Tracey and Gill Valentine. ""It Feels Like Being Deaf is Normal" : An Exploration into the Complexities of defining D/deafness and young D/deaf people's identities." The Canadian Geographer (2003): 451-466.
Through Deaf Eyes. Dirs. Diane Garey and Lawrence R. Hott. Perf. Linda Gabriel, Stockard Channing and Ed Chevy. 2007.
