Jiro

c'mon - let's face the truth. If the deaf glee club competes in hearing glee competition, they will fail. that deaf black guy's singing was terrible. if the hearing glee club competes in deaf (and hearing) glee competition, they will fail. they were CRAZY and their dancing was very sexually-suggestive.

together - they performed beautifully. it was beautiful for both deaf and hearing glee goers. they signed beautifully. they sang beautifully. the song was beautiful. all of it amplified the art of glee. in the end - I was happy.

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jillio

There you go. You got the message they were sending.

Jiro

oh btw - I didn't even know there's a deaf glee club but one of the reasons why I'm happy is because of deaf glee club participating in this popular tv show on major tv network channel watched by millions of people. Imagine the shock that hearing population got after that episode! As long as that episode dispelled the hearings' negative stereotype about deafies - mute, limited, dumb, dependent, etc.... I'm HAPPY!

oh I bet nobody thought there would be a wheelchair person in glee club either. I didn't either! This episode did a good job showing that whatever the disability you have - you can do it. to quote after this woman from Glee show - "Never let anything distract you from winning. Ever."

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jillio

My son's deaf school had a signing glee club. He performed with them for 4 years. They not only did performances at the school, but they did performances for the public at things like ball games where they would sign the National Anthem. I have always found the performances to be very moving.

Yes. I think it went a long way toward showing that one does not have to hear to enjoy music.

TWA

But what message do you think they were sending when the HoH director kept making mistakes hearing and became a source of buffoonery humor? I had a much bigger problem with that part than I did with the actual signing, and for me, it's hard to watch the signing scene without letting that influence my perception.

While I still think this scene was not as inspiring as it was trying to be, I do believe it's open to interpretation. You choose to see the good intentions in it, but for me the negative connotations outweighed the positive. Different strokes for different folks...

jillio

To answer your question, I believe they were sending the message that this quite often does occur in real life, and perhaps we should all be more aware of the effects of such.

Definately open to personal interpretation, but anytime we show deaf and hearing students engaged in a cooperative effort we have made progress in the protrayal of the deaf student, and we have sent a positive message that it is possible.

TWA

Oh c'mon Jillio. You don't really believe that, do you? What HoH/deaf person acts the way the deaf director was portrayed? Perhaps someone's late-deafened crazy uncle or something, but do you really think we go around making fools of ourselves like that all day? That scene did nothing to raise awareness. It was only trying to elicit humor at the expense of his hearing loss.


This, I am much more inclined to agree with.

Lighthouse77

didn't they do that with everyone on that show? It seem like majority of people on that show don't act that way in real life. but I don't know, I've only seen a clip (and haven't seen the ASL part at all)

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Jiro

to watch whole thing - it can be found at Hulu site (only for American)

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JClarke

thank you for sharing with us

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Frisky Feline

oh? you couldnt seen it??

JClarke

I am in Australia, remember?

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Frisky Feline

I remember pretty well. I find it so interesting that others can't see it due to where they live. It is only online but.. well Iam learning about technologies everyday.

TWA

I only saw that one episode, and it did seem like all the characters were unbelievable, but that still doesn't make it okay to use a bad stereotype of a hard of hearing person, IMO.

Now that Jiro has posted the signing scene, and I watch it again without the influence of the part with the director, it's a lot more appealing to me. That first scene making fun of the HoH guy really left a sour taste in my mouth.

anakin

if you watched the series, you'd know that glee uses a lot of stereotypes - it's been like that since the beginning. i only keep up with it because i like the plot and i wanna know where the baby drama ends up.. haha. it's a guilty pleasure of mine.

souggy

That's what people said about the House episode with the cochlear implants. I thought the same too until I met an avid watcher that honestly believed the stuff on the episode were true. He called the Deaf culture a "stupid subculture" where insecure people retreat to.... in response to why the guy with the CI ripped them out. So... it went to "yay, they got deaf people on House even though it was heavily stereotyped" to "oh wow... didn't realize what a negative influence it has on the viewers."

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TWA

Using stereotypes in a show is never a good thing, for exactly this reason:

If Glee is trying to break down these stereotypes and get people to question their own perception, that's a good thing. But I don't see that with Glee. The ridicule that the audience feels for the director in the first scene is not assuaged by the signing scene because they're unrelated. Also, notice how that show ended? With the director still acting like a buffoon, and the cheerleading coach says, "read my lips" and gets condescending...

souggy

That's why I am a bit worried about it, because it has the unintended undertone that deaf people don't fit in the real world, and have to be in their own culture to be "normal."

I see that crap so often... "why don't you date deaf girls," "why you even bother speaking" and so on from a few biased members of society... and it hurts to see those perceptions are going to be re-enforced when they see Glee.

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Jiro

to show the positive view, you must show the negative view. I don't believe the negative perception is being reinforced... it's just showing you the truth that nobody wants to acknowledge it because they do it. We see bullying scenes in movies/tv all the time. in the end? the victim fights back and wins.

same thing with Glee. It had a surprising ending.

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TWA

Yes, true. But let's not be complete downers here. There are also plenty of people who were affected positively by this show and were inspired to make a difference. Notice the new member or two who joined up just because they watched the show? I think that's good. Even if they initially have the wrong perception, their intention to help is what matters, and they will eventually be shown the right perception.

This show certainly didn't create a perfect bridge between the two cultures, but at least it was trying.

souggy

Right. The responses to the Deaf glee club scene on YouTube is overwhelmingly positive overall.

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TWA

Nah, I disagree with you, J. The HoH director was not being bullied. He was making a fool out of himself and the hearing teacher was just quiet and didn't say anything in order not to offend or seem insensitive. It would have been better if the director WAS bullied because that would be realistic. But how often are you in a situation talking to someone one-on-one and you act like a jackass because of your hearing loss? C'mon, that's not realistic. It's just a stereotype.

Lighthouse77

actually, it is realistic. I used to sing for my public school choir in solo. No one made fun of my singing. In fact, they loved it (some even cried) even though I know deep inside i sang out of tune.

My director is hearing. He didn't say anything either. He liked it too and it didn't bother him at all that it was out of tune.

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TWA

I am talking about the scene with the HoH director and the hearing director when they are speaking in the office, and the HoH director keeps misinterpreting what the hearing director is saying, doesn't hear his phone ringing, etc.

You would have to watch the entire episode to see that part. It's not related to the signing scene.

Lighthouse77

Unless this HOH director is a teen, Why would kids bully an adult? I had lots of teachers who got made fun of, but NO ONE would dare to bully a teacher?

But for a hearing person not bother correcting a HOH (or we keep misunderstanding)is a fact of life sadly . Either that or the "Never mind"

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TWA

Hmm, I think we're still not on the same page here. Did you watch the whole episode, or just the scene with the signing?

Jiro

interesting different opinions going on here. sounds like half of us didn't see whole thing and half of us saw only youtube.

I better watch the whole thing! I've got my Dunkin' Donut Turbo Hot coffee and donuts.. time to tune into hulu! brb!

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souggy

Have fun.

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jillio

To my way of thinking, and based on my experience, it was not an attempt to illicit humor. Perhaps you have some bias there that is skewing your perspective a bit? I have seen students made fun of in just this way day in and day out in the mainstream for over 20 years. Yet, anytime such an occurrance is talked about, everyone is outraged and says, "Oh, come on! That never happens! People aren't that mean and insensitive!"

The fact is, yes, people are that mean and insensitive. And those that have not seen it firsthand need to be aware that students are often treated in a very disrespectful and hurtful manner. And, yes, teachers, too, even those deaf teachers at the collegiate level.

Jiro

hey - you too at SKA concert but I've never heard of it

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