Unhearing
My first encounter with the issues of deafness was as a voice over for Claire’s film – a documentary about George entitled Tinig (Voices). The film documented the life of, George, a deaf student discussing going deep into high life, hi fighting spirit, challenges of attending school, note-taking challenges and popularity among girls.
Claire and her fellow film makers thought that giving George a voice through me would help audience understand the subject. But a critic disagreed. She said that a voice over, instead of just putting subtitles, didn’t give the audience a chance to enter George’s world. She felt it was a bit condescending. I was distraught because I disagreed. I was a medium to narrate stories in a manner that could be understood easily by the audience.
I believe that an educational material, has to be presented in a way that would make it easier for the audience to digest and understand. An hour long of subtitle would have alienated, meaning bored, the viewers.
The film Sana Dinig Kita (If I Knew What You Said) was a striking reminder of my friends who are born deaf. But this post is not about the film, this post is about my personal experience.
There’s something beautiful about sign language and something pure about those who can’t hear and speak with their voices. You can’t really whisper with sign language. Every hearing impaired person that I personally know is beautiful.
Needless to say, the topic is close to my heart. I have researched about workplace accommodation, support groups and equality for hearing impaired. It’s sad that I am already far away from my deaf friends and they seem to get along better with those who know sign language. I guess the reason is obvious. I would have difficulty communicating with someone who couldn’t speak the languages I speak. Though initially, I viewed it as a sign of rejection – that I wasn’t welcome. I have now come to accept that they probably didn’t reject me but just moved on just like many of other friends who have outgrown their university friends.
Is it impossible to reconnect with them? No. It’s a language issue – not ability. I have to learn and adapt.
I think that those who are able to hear and speak are actually more impaired that some of those who can’t. We no longer hear voices. We’ve lost our ability to listen. The advent of technology has minimized our face to face interaction – we now just type what we want to say so we can email, tweet or text them. We no longer listen to the conversations around us or interact to the next person in the bus as we have our headphones on to listen music on our ipods. We sometimes don’t look at people when we’re having dialogue as we continue to play wii, read or check our phones.
In fact, the deaf has an advantage over us. Once again something pure, something more intense, something more meaningful… They look at each other when they speak. They had to look at me to determine what I was trying to say. Some of them had to read my lips.
It’s not the case for many of us. How many times have your friends checked their cell phones while you’re talking to them? How many times have you spoken to someone who begins (or continues to) read in the middle of the conversation or check the computer or writes?
I must admit that there were times that I felt that being deaf can be an advantage. And sometimes I wish I were deaf so I couldn’t hear people nagging, or hear the latest murder on the radio or hear people complaining. If my deaf friend would find out about that it had entered my thought, they would tell me that I’m lucky to hear and speak. But I don’t think I’m luckier than them. I have my own struggles – having a sense of hearing has its own disadvantages. And just like any other, I have my own physical challenges.
The film has not only made me think of the parallelism and difference between the deaf and the hearing. But it has also allowed me to explore their culture more. I have ended up spending time on the internet looking for more resources where I can learn sign language. To read more about deaf artists, actors and writers.
