PBS "Through Deaf Eyes"

[Reba]

The oppresion of African Americans was normal until the 1960's. So it doesn't surprise me. If everyone remembers, before the 60's, the US had a very firm segregation policy.

Not necessarily the US; most segregation policies were local or state laws, not federal. I wouldn't call oppression of black people to be "normal". It might have been common and accepted by certain groups of people but it wasn't "normal". When I was a kid in the 50's and 60's, I was taught that racism was a low-class, ignorant, unacceptable behavior. I learned this from my family, school, TV, and the movies during that time.

Giving African Americans the right to vote and all that changed things here in the US..,

They had the right to vote long before the 1960's. Local and state poll taxes, voter literacy tests, and local intimidation prevented many of them from registering and voting. Many of the federal desegregation laws weren't being enforced at the state levels. Remember Gov. George Wallace defying the President?

No offense to anyone. Just trying to show how it was before the 1960's.

Believe me, I know how it was before the 1960's. I was alive and kicking back then. During the 50's, 60's, and early 70's, I lived in the Northeast, Southwest, Southeast, and Midwest, and I knew what was happening in my country.

The marches, the riots, the strikes, the sit-ins, the Freedom buses, assassinations, the Great Society, etc., oh, yeah.

Right on!

Sorry, :topic:

 

[Reba]

I think PBS has no hands in producing this show. So they don't dictate what to include or not include.

see this film credits and scroll to the bottom..
Through Deaf Eyes . About the Film . Film Credits | PBS

It is just Documentary FOR PBS not BY PBS.

Thanks for the link.

I think this part of the credits sums it up:

THROUGH DEAF EYES is a production of WETA Washington, D.C.
& Florentine Films /Hott Productions, Inc.
in association with Gallaudet University.

Produced by WETA Washington, D.C. and Florentine Films/Hott Productions, Inc.,
who are solely responsible for its content.
© WETA Washington, D.C., 2007

 

[Interpretrator]

in one instance where they talk about black's sign language which was frowned upon and black had to use white's sign (after the segregation ) hmm..

If you're talking about the same part I'm thinking of, the woman said she *felt* that her black signs weren't as good as white signs, and tried to change her signing style. There was no mention that black people were forced to use white signs.

 

[Boult]

If you're talking about the same part I'm thinking of, the woman said she *felt* that her black signs weren't as good as white signs, and tried to change her signing style. There was no mention that black people were forced to use white signs.

maybe you need to watch again(that is if you recorded or taped..) I saw the part where white frowned on and though it was offensive. *shrug*


EDIT: or read the transcript... hehe let me know if you found that I am wrong or not..

 

[Reba]

I thought the black girl self-imposed the restriction on her "black" signs because she wanted to fit in with the white kids. It's still a sad situation either way.

BTW, in the rural South, "black" signing is still in use.

 

[Boult]

Alright, I had a look at the PDF of the transcript; anyway...

CAROLYN McCASKILL:
At the black deaf school, our black Deaf culture flourished. We had basketball games. We had our dances, we had
black teachers. Moving then to the white deaf school, we all used sign language. But the signs that were being used
were very different. The white deaf students would finger spell and then add some signs. As a black deaf person they
would look at my signing and say that doesn’t look like what they did as white deaf students. And so I found myself
humiliated. I thought I was inferior and that somehow our signs were inferior to the white signs that they were using.
And so I tried to put away my signs and instead adopt the signs that were used by the white students.

later on in documentary film;

CAROLYN McCASKILL:
I notice there are some signs that black deaf people use that white deaf people would not use. Black deaf people
show more expression and physically get more into it like when they sign girl, you see that with the head nod and the
body language to reflect that. And that’s just a black way of communicating as opposed to how a white person might
say it, just girl whereas a black person would say yeah, girl! I mean they’d really show that black way of signing and
that comes through very clearly.

(I think that is pretty much the same as hearing white and black folks would speak back then as well as now)

 

[Interpretrator]

But the signs that were being used
were very different. The white deaf students would finger spell and then add some signs. As a black deaf person they
would look at my signing and say that doesn’t look like what they did as white deaf students. And so I found myself
humiliated. I thought I was inferior and that somehow our signs were inferior to the white signs that they were using.
And so I tried to put away my signs and instead adopt the signs that were used by the white students.

This is the part I was talking about. She doesn't say that the white people claimed her signs were inferior; she said that is how she felt when she found out their signs were different. It's not clear from just this part whether or not white signers really did look down on black signing.

 

[Interpretrator]

Anyway, here's a cirtic of this show that appeared on YouTube

Thank you for posting this clip!

I understand what he's saying, but I think he may have been expecting too much. This documentary was intended for the general hearing population that knows NOTHING about deafness. Also, it tried to show the wide variety of deaf people, from Deaf people who only sign to oral deaf. And I think it did a fine job. I would like to think many people were educated about a world they didn't even know existed.

I believe the documentary did show some of what this guy wants to see more of -- that film "Vital Signs," for example, or the poem by...oh man, I can't remember who now, was it Bernard Bragg? About the moonlight on the water? (I had to mute it at that point because the voiceover was so disruptive.)

I don't think the documentary was overly biased, myself, and I also think it's unrealistic to expect it to have shown only one aspect of Deaf culture without including the wider spectrum of deafness in America today.

 

[deafsqrrl]

Good But Very BIASED!

I think this pgm was good - good enough to teach the hearies generally about the deaf here in America.

But I think it is very biased. It is mostly targeted for the hearies. That is why we feel very mixed about this program. It has not mentioned that we have been STILL suffering. We are still very much discriminated in almost everything even on job and in the community. There is a HIGH percent of the deaf still out of work and most of us who have jobs don't even get decent pay. We are still very much left out in the community.

 

[Interpretrator]

It is mostly targeted for the hearies.

Right. I totally agree, the show was made for hearing people. It wasn't called "How Deaf People Are Oppressed." You can't start out educating people like that. It's very easy for all of us who are conversant with Deaf culture and deafness to nitpick the program for not being more militant, but by doing that we forget that most people watching the program didn't know ANY of that. They didn't know that ASL is a language, they didn't know that all deaf people can't lipread, they didn't know about DPN or anything. They thought deaf people were mentally retarded or fit that saintly "Johnny Belinda" stereotype (which I just saw in some horrible made-for-TV movie with Kellie Martin as The Poor Deaf Girl).

Hearing people have to see deaf people as PEOPLE first. That's what I believe this show was trying to accomplish. It showed the positive aspects of deafness as opposed to the pathological side. That in itself was probably a mind-blower for many people (like the movie "Sound and Fury" was).

NEXT, people can be made aware that these intelligent, productive, normal people (who happen to be deaf) are still undergoing difficulties in society. But when you come out fighting, people are not willing to listen.

I'm reminded very strongly of a conversation I had with an idiot acquaintance who argued STRONGLY with me that "deaf people are wrong to be happy if their babies are deaf." He argued with me about it! Because he hadn't been made aware first that (many) deaf people are fine with their deafness and don't see it as a handicap. You just can't throw everything at ignorant hearing people right off the bat.

 

[shel90]

I thought it was great! I really related to the deaf girl at the sleepover party hiding her hearing aides. I used to do the same thing at sleepovers.

U know what I noticed...the contrast of classroom settings at Clark School and MSD..I noticed that the students at Clark School seemed stiff and uncomfortable while at the MSD classroom, it seemed very lively and I could see dialogue happening in the classroom unlike at Clarke. Many of my hearing co-workers said that the girl who was doing the presentation at Clark sounded like she was seriously out of breath while speaking. I thought that was interesting cuz I noticed that whenever I talk with hearing people, I find myself gasping for air sometime. Just was interesting.

 

[dkf747]

Hope they show it again. Missed it for so,me reason.

 

[cdmeggers]

I really enjoyed watching this documentary at the hotel where I was staying at in El Paso, Texas when the documentary was on. Learned a few new things, and just thought it was great! And I also taped the documentary too, so I'll watch it again and make my mom watch it with me.

 

[Boult]

Hey I thought I would let you all know about this interview in regard to this documentary...

LightKitchen Production Notes


and here's tidbit....

At end of the documentary where the deaf comedian signed "The End" scrolling credit then we see a 'notice' that they completed the documentary before the Gallaudet protest started... now you all know why it is not in the documentary. I was wondering why all of you didn't see that 'notice' hmm

(I'll try to post picture of that today)

 

[Reba]

... I was wondering why all of you didn't see that 'notice' hmm....

Yeah, I saw that.

 

[Gobae]

I "saw" it too. But it so on such a short time I couldn't read it. Thanks for posting a still.

 

[kaleidoscopeyes]

I saw the documentary, and I felt unsatisfied when it finished. I felt like it rushed through so many topics and I wanted more depth in the discussion. I was fascinated with the coverage of the G. protests and enjoyed the black comedian's final words at the end, but I didn't really enjoyed the brief films. I was hoping for a more extensive treatment of deaf history, but the film was pretty much limited to two or three generations back.

 

[jillio]

The 15th Amendment was passed in 1870. The civil rights movement was in the 1960s.

I'm well aware of the oppression of blacks in the U.S. What surprised me was that an organization like NAD, comprised of people who are so sensitive to the subject of oppression, would engage in such tactics, as Reba said.

Agreed. You would think that those who had been victims of oppression wouldbe less likely to engage in the act, wouldn't you?

 

[InTheGenes]

Agreed. You would think that those who had been victims of oppression wouldbe less likely to engage in the act, wouldn't you?

Sadly, you don't have to look very far on this very forum to see examples of some members of one oppressed minority not having an appreciation of a similar struggle experienced by members of another oppressed minority.

That was probably my #1 wake-up call when I came to All Deaf... for some reason, I expected the majority of Deafies to be more open-minded than I've seen. But in a way, I also learned that just as with society at large, not everyone thinks in lock-step with one another, and in retrospect, I see that as a good thing. We're all different, with our own opinions.

As for this documentary, I liked it a great deal. One of my ASL professors allowed us to use it as a basis for one of the papers we had to write this semester... but even if it weren't "required" reading, I'd have watched it anyway.

Initially, I, too, was surprised that some of the more controversial topics within the Deaf community (oralism vs. signing, CI vs. non-CI, the recent Gally protests, etc.) weren't covered in more detail... but then I realized that for a documentary of this nature, aimed at "the ignorant hearing folks", the producers did a very good job of raising the awareness of MANY issues important to the Deaf community, and there was a TON of historical stuff in there that I'd be willing to bet 95% of hearing America never knew about. I'll never forget the first time I learned about Alexander Graham Bells views on d/Deafness, and his stance on eugenics. I was floored that first semester... I'd been brought up, after all, to revere AGB as one of the many innovative early American heroes!

I also loved the short stories/films incorporated into the documentary, and the historical footage of the NTD performing.

All in all, it wasn't a perfect documentary; I could see where some folks in the Deaf community would have found certain aspects lacking... but I do think it was an excellent introduction into the Deaf World for many uninitiated hearing folks.

 

[LakeTahoe]

I went to Clarke...and at my 2 years I was happy then after that I wasn't. I hate using oral ALL the times! We hid ourselves in our rooms and used our signs. So I used both.

I thought it was great! I really related to the deaf girl at the sleepover party hiding her hearing aides. I used to do the same thing at sleepovers.

U know what I noticed...the contrast of classroom settings at Clark School and MSD..I noticed that the students at Clark School seemed stiff and uncomfortable while at the MSD classroom, it seemed very lively and I could see dialogue happening in the classroom unlike at Clarke. Many of my hearing co-workers said that the girl who was doing the presentation at Clark sounded like she was seriously out of breath while speaking. I thought that was interesting cuz I noticed that whenever I talk with hearing people, I find myself gasping for air sometime. Just was interesting.