Post #32: Chapters 66-70

Chapter 66:

                I also was confused on sign songs. I didn’t know if the videos we had watched in class were considered this or not. I learned that sign songs are to “present a visual harmony and counterpoint that complements the purely auditory dimension of a voice choir” (pg. 385). I decided that that the videos we watched in class were not considered sign songs. I came to this conclusion after reading that sign songs are “not a traditional part of ASL culture” (pg. 386). The ASL equivalent to this would be ASL sign-mime performances. “Signsongs, then are more of a Hearing form of expression than a Deaf one” (pg. 386). Another reason I came to the conclusion was because I read that “most signsongs are performed in straight signed English” (pg. 387). The videos we watched seemed to be pure ASL.

I agree that it would be more appropriate for a Deaf student to sign a song rather than a Hearing one if given the option. I agree that it is “their language”. I thought it was clever that the authors compared this to “Cultural Piracy” (pg. 386). I was glad to read about Sherry Hicks (pg. 387). I think it is awesome that she is hearing but yet signs so beautifully in ASL because of her background.

               

Chapter 67:

Never before had I heard that there may be some difference between a hearing person and a deaf person in their facial anatomy. I thought that this idea was pretty ridiculous. The authors pointed out that “Deafness has been called ‘the invisible handicap’” (pg. 389). They also say that they “found no evidence that they have thinner or more upturned upper lips than hearing people do. Or that their nostrils are unequal” (pg. 390). I wasn’t surprised by the author’s response. I never had thought that there might be a difference. The authors brought up a valid point by reminding everyone that this is why “so many deaf children get misdiagnosed” (pg. 390).

                “We do note, however, that deaf people (on the whole) use their facial muscles differently from hearing people” (pg. 390). After I read this sentence, I began to wonder if the person who wrote in asking about the difference in facial anatomy was confused by the difference in facial expressions. I too have noticed how a person using ASL uses more facial expressions than a hearing person does. In class we learned this was because they use their face as a grammatical marker. This chapter discusses that a little bit. “The eyebrows, for example, are used to indicate questions, and the way the eyebrows are raised or knit and the head tilted specifies what kind of question it is” (pg. 390). This idea was completely foreign to me before taking ASL.

Chapter 68:

I have noticed that when I go somewhere such as plays or church services the interpreter is typically wearing something very plain. This chapter states that interpreters do not always have to wear dark colors, “just as long as they provide an appropriate background to their signing” (pg. 393). I understand how this would be very important. You wouldn’t want your clothing to be distracting and lead to miscommunications. The authors go on to say that “any relatively quiet, unobtrusive color that makes a good underpinning to the play of the hands and face” (pg. 393) is acceptable. The most important thing is to make sure that your clothing does not interfere with the visibility of your signing.

                I had never heard of a “shadow” interpreter before. I learned that they are the ones “onstage right there with the costumed performers- clearly visible to Deaf viewers, but unobtrusive” (pg. 394). These interpreters are known for wearing black. Overall this chapter really just explained what most people would find to be common sense regarding appropriate clothing to wear while signing.

Chapter 69:

I found this chapter was very interesting. I never thought about how sensitive deaf people were to light. Not because their eyes are in particularly sensitive but because they are used to having light in order to communicate. Therefore, “Deaf people associate light with the need to be awake and alert” (pg. 397). After I read this it really did make sense. “We can only sleep in darkness- when there is a complete absence of visual stimuli” (pg. 397). This made me think about how important light is for a deaf person. Not only do they have to have light in order to see each other sign but also light can be used to signal an emergency. When there is an emergency one may flicker the lights in order to get their attention.

I thought it was extremely fascinating to read about the Deaf children who went to residential-schools. “Deaf children don’t choose to sleep in complete darkness; they’re forced to” (pg. 397). I also didn’t know that “some deaf people install red or blue bulbs in hallway fixtures near bedrooms” (pg. 398) because “red and blue lights are more easily ‘ignored’ by deaf sleepers” therefore the “colored light won’t be as bothersome as regular white light” (pg. 398). I learned a lot of new things from this chapter.

Chapter 70:

I have heard before that deaf people have more heightened visual senses. “They simply become more alert about taking in and processing visual messages. Paying close attention and noticing easily overlooked details is a survival skill” (pg. 401). This idea seems logical to me because they seem to be making up for a loss of one of their senses. “Deaf people use their eyes as hearing people use their ears” (pg. 401).

I had heard of Usher’s Syndrome before. We had talked a little bit about this syndrome in my biology class last semester. The chapter describes this as “a fairly common form of genetically linked deafness and progressive blindness” (pg. 402). “There is no cure or effective treatment” (pg. 402). I think that it would be extremely difficult to have this syndrome. Since it is the loss of two of your senses, I think that these people would rely a lot on touch. I agree that they should tell children who have this syndrome early on in life so that they can learn to cope with it. I thought it was really cool that “a person with US typically acquires a solid ASL/ Deaf Culture background” (pg. 403).

After reading this book for two semesters now, I have learned so much more about Deaf Culture. I have enjoyed reading this book and really think that it has opened my eyes to culture I didn’t know much about before.

Post #31: Chapters 63, 64, & 65

Chapter 63:

This chapter was an eye opener for me. I didn’t realize that there were “silent movies”. I thought it was cool that Charles Krauel and Ernest Marshall were deaf filmmakers (pg. 372). I guess I didn’t think about there being deaf filmmakers before since I hadn’t heard of silent movies. I realize now how out of the loop I was. “Captioned films didn’t become a practical reality until 1958” (pg. 372).

                Before reading this chapter I never really understood the difference between closed captioning and subtitles. I had always used  the two terms interchangeably. I see now that there is a difference. “The essential difference between subtitles and captions is that while subtitles simply translate dialogue into another language, captions also describe all pertinent sound effects, and specify who is talking” (pg. 372).

                I found the alternatives from these movies very interesting. One of the alternatives was Action movies. These movies have less dialogue and tend to be easier to comprehend. In class we signed a scene of the action movie, Transformers. We learned the importance of role shifting and how perspective is important in order to accurately portray a scene in a movie.

Another alternative mentioned was to read the book. “Since so many contemporary best-selling novels are automatically made into movies, and literary classics are constantly being filmed and remade, this sometimes works out OK” (pg. 373). The next suggestion was too “wait until the captioned home-video or digital-videodisc (DVD) version is released” (pg. 373).  The final suggestion the authors offer is to get the “promotional tie-ins”. “They can buy some of the tie-ins, and decrease the amount of ‘lost’ dialogue and plot- somewhat” (pg. 374). All these are good alternatives but I still think it is disappointing for those deaf people who want to see some of the mainstream movies.

Chapter 64:

                I find that it makes perfect sense for some Deaf people to like to dance and others to not. “While some hearing people are terrific dancers and some are incredible klutzes, the same applies to deaf people” (pg. 377). I think it boils down to the individual and their personal preference. I didn’t realize that “deafness can affect the sense of balance whose center is in the inner ear, many deaf people must struggle especially hard to achieve coordination and grace- and sometimes this makes them better, more motivated dancers” (pg. 377). I had heard before how deafness could affect balance because it dealt with the inner ear but I had never connected it to dancing.

“Dance classes set up for deaf students use visual cues, amplified music (with vigorous bass section), and a lot of percussion-like tambour drums- that sends strong vibrations through the air and can be felt in one’s  bones (particularly the breastbone). On stage, without the help of the drum, they can keep mental count” (pg. 377-378). Before reading this, I had heard of deaf people being able to feel the beat from the floor which is why they listened to music with a lot of bass or drums. I found out that the information I had been given was inaccurate and that they feel it through their breastplate instead. It was pretty neat to see a myth that I had once believed debunked.

Chapter 65:

The chapter starts out by stating that deaf people “often enjoy watching MTV for the visual rhythms and body language of the performers. Many music videos are now closed-captioned, so Deaf viewers can join in the fun. Even if they can’t hear the music, the vocals, or the harmonies, they get something out of it” (pg. 381). I never considered MTV music videos as an effective tool for allowing Deaf people to experience music. Another method is how some “translate popular ‘Hearing’ songs into sign” (pg. 381). I love watching some of the videos of this on YouTube before class starts. I find it amazing how beautiful it can be. I also have attended a few church services where this has been done.

I thought it was neat that the authors pointed out Beethoven as being one who was late-deafened and who struggled not being able to hear music anymore. The authors stated that, “Beethoven, as we know, continued to compose symphonies long after he became profoundly deaf, even though he could no longer hear the notes” (pg. 382). I think is awesome how he continued on even when it must have been heartbreaking and frustrating for him. I also found the part about the percussionist Evelyn Glennie (pg. 382) to be a great success story.

“If they’re not exposed to it when they’re young, if the language of music isn’t presented to them in an accessible way, they’re not going to seek it out when they’re older” (pg. 383). I think this statement can apply both to hearing and deaf people.

 

Post #30: Chapters 61 & 62

Chapter 61:

Reading about all the different stereotypes given to the Deaf was sad. The people who believe in these stereotypes must be uninformed on Deaf culture and the Deaf community. The following stereotypes really stood out to me in this chapter.

-The Silent Sufferer: I was glad that the authors addressed this one because I have heard before that some people think that deaf people are lonely. The authors state that, “We have active social lives-visiting Deaf friends and inviting them over, participating in Deaf clubs and events” (pg. 359). I don’t really understand why they think that they are just lonely people; to me this stereotype just doesn’t make sense.

-The Incompetent Dum-Dum: “hearing folks still believe that deaf people can’t think, and treat them accordingly” (pg. 362). This stereotype is absurd. There is nothing wrong with a deaf persons mind. Just because they use a different language doesn’t mean they have some type of disability.

-Life’s Loser: This stereotype portrays deaf people as, “pathetic, victimized, weak characters” (pg. 362). They think this because “to succeed, you must be able to speak well” (pg. 362). This sounded to me like something an Oralist might believe.

-God’s Victim: It angers me that some people think that “deaf people are cursed” (pg. 363). I agree with the authors that this view unfortunately has a negative connotation.

-Tabloid Tragedies: This stereotype says that deaf people are “prevented from achieving our full potential because of prejudice” (pg.363). I do think that there still is a lot of prejudice that deaf people have to overcome but I do not consider it to be a tragedy.

I love the way that the authors summed up this chapter. They stated that, “stereotypical thinking is a symptom of ignorance” (pg. 363). I completely agree with that statement.

Chapter 62:

I had never really considered whether or not Deaf people have their own literature before. I read about Pierre Desloges. I learned that he was “the first known deaf person to write and publish a prose book” (pg. 365), titled “Observations of a Deaf-Mute on an Elementary Course of Education for Deaf-Mutes” in 1779. I had never heard of him before.

                “It could be said that the heart and soul of Deaf literature cannot be found in written books, but in the burgeoning library of ASL performances-stories, poems, song, plays” (pg.366). I think it would be really neat to see an ASL performance. I hadn’t heard of ASL plays before, I would be very interested in attending one. In class we watch some songs performed in ASL and I find it so amazing how expressive they can be.

                “The most popular Deaf literary genre is ASL poetry (in which the distinction between ‘writer’ and ‘performer’ is happily blurred, and the barriers between performer and audience are broken down)” (pg. 369). I don’t really understand this idea, about the barriers between performer and audience being broken down but I bet it would be a great experience.