Poetry and Identity in Deaf Jam

I had never seen Deaf Jam before, and I really enjoyed following the journey of this film.  As a student of Deaf Studies/ASL, much of the film's material was familiar to me; the signs, the unique and emphatic expression; the full-bodiness of ASL poetry.  I even recognized several of the artists and Deaf advocates in the video -- Terrylene and Lauren, who show up in my ASL textbooks, and Peter Cook/Kenny Lerner, whose performances I attended last year!  (Goes to show how tight-knit the Deaf World is.)  Most powerful for me was seeing Tahani and Aneta signing and speaking together, including the points in the verse at which Tahani joined in with Aneta's signing ('stop', 'peace', etc.)  I thought the meld of ASL and English slam poetry was heart-stopping to watch;  the dual modalities of language working together, using the full range of human facial, vocal, and bodily expression, makes the poems come alive.

This film reminded me of our discussions on disability as social/sociocultural, rather than just physical/mental.  In the scene at McDonalds, when one of the Deaf students is trying to order, the cashiers are struggling to understand her, and eventually the student resorts to using a pen and paper.  In this instance, her deafness is perceived as a 'disability' by virtue of the lack of communication reciprocity on the part of the Hearing cashiers (who do not know ASL).  The social conditions of her surroundings create the conditions of 'disability'.

Another interesting part of the film was early on, when Aneta and Shiran (in the group session) were having a back-and-forth on the pros and cons of d/Deafness and their lives as Deaf people.  Shiran comments that she enjoys the calmness of silence as the cacophony of city life goes on around her ("Airplanes go by, and I don't hear them.")  Then Aneta expresses her annoyance at hearing peoples' prejudices, and how there are some fundamental aspects of life she feels she can't enjoy or understand because of her deafness.  She also complained that the Deaf world is so small, and Hearing people get all these 'choices' in meeting/knowing/dating one another.  Shiran seems confused and frustrated by Aneta's focus on the "can'ts" and says that she should focus on the positives.  I felt that this moment was important to include because Aneta's honesty clearly conveyed one aspect of her Deaf experience.  Showing her frustration with what she can't or doesn't always get to experience, due to her deafness, reminds us that her Deafness is multifaceted.  Aneta is proud to be Deaf, proud to use ASL, proud to come from a Deaf family, but sometimes still feels shame, frustration, or annoyance because of it (or Hearing people).  Her identity is conveyed holistically, not one-dimensionally, and therefore feels realistic.  I felt very connected to her in that moment.