October 28, 2024 - 10:26
For most of the movie silence (or muffled sound) appeared to have been used negatively- to create a sense of isolation or confusion. At the (very) end of the movie, however, silence was used to create a sense of relief, of comfort. I think that’s supposed to be interpreted as an acceptance deafness, but I’m not sure that’s the case. If the cochlear implant had returned sound the way Ruben remembered it, I doubt that last scene would have happened. I, however, was mostly relying on captions and subtitles, so this could have been misinterpreted. What do other people think? How was sound used in the film and what was it intended to achieve?
One think I thought was interesting is that as the movie progressed, the focus given to signing spaces increased. At the start of the movie signs were often cut off or uncentered, and they weren’t captioned; but by the time Ruben left the deaf community, signs were both fully shown and captioned. I think this was a sort of representation of Ruben’s growing knowledge/awareness of ASL.
After doing some research, it seems that a lot of people are supportive of the film’s portrayal of deafness, however there is some debate over whether certain characters (namely Ruben and Joe) should have been played by deaf actors. I think it’s a question of both representation and access. Obviously I wasn’t the person making the casting decisions and it’s hard to tell if the final casting choices were made due to skill or subconscious ableism, but I do think the idea of deaf characters being played by deaf people has merit. I’m curious if others think the roles were “stolen” or if the directors were justified in choosing the actors that they did.
As for other questions: is getting cochlear implants a rejection of the deaf community? If it is, is that rejection reversable? Do you think Ruben ever identifies as deaf and, if he does, when does that switch take place? What do you think the film’s overall message is?