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.
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