Deaf/Signing Community’s Focus in Film

Presentation Video

Transcript:

I would like to discuss films in our Deaf/signing community. Films are very significant because they document history, stories, experiences and cultural differences. In the Deaf community, it is even more significant because it is capable of documenting ASL.

And within our community, there is plenty of diversity and our experiences at intersections–each one holds stories within. Films help us bring the stories alive by documenting them. They also document the dynamics of signing cultures and how they interact, with each other and the world.

There are plenty of films out there, so how do we determine whether they are good? 


It’s the art of sending a message. How the story is structured to deliver the message, which has to be polished and clear. A clear message delivered helps prompt the audience to relate to the culture, history and experience. Some are even given a new perspective. There are various ways how you can present your message- but the bottom line is the impact has to leave a footprint on your mind. That is what makes a good film.

Now let’s look at the films within our own community. I’ve noticed that the spotlight have been taken by two filmmaking companies-ASLFilms with nine movies on their belt, and a new up and coming company, Rustic Lantern with only one film. Even though these companies produce films that document ASL–critics have noted several common tendencies among the films. The story arc is basic and “…elementary”. The plots usually build up false suspense, making the audience anticipate some lurking doom ahead. This false suspense is built off the empty characters, because it is common that the characters themselves are confused with what they are really doing–often in a secluded location to add more mystery. Characters contribute very little to the advancement of the plot, so the audience rely only on the events that occur directly in the movie and the long build up almost always leads to a weak twist at the ending of the film. By now the audience have mastered the predictable formula of these films. As a result, the hiring demographics are tame–usually of the same backgrounds, thus making the characters less relatable and unique to the audience. The films have become a blurry sensation.

Now, we really should pay attention to what films our community invests our time and money on. We are so focused on the same crowd even though their work poorly reflects our community. Their plots are far-fetched and empty. By limiting ourselves to these companies, we limit the world we build for our future generations, and even worse, we limit ourselves.

We really should utilize filmmaking as a tool to show the nuances of the complexities of our community. “Yeah! We do need more deaf filmmakers..” you may think. Is this really the case? Or are we creating barriers for the current deaf filmmakers that remain in the shadows?

We vote with our money by buying tickets for films that are produced by the same insipid companies, our schools & organizations host fundraising showings for these films, and some of us even splurge extra for the red carpet premiere events–even our VRS providers provide large amounts of sponsorships for production and tours. Our focus is so one-track that we miss the possibilities of other tracks.

There are other deaf film makers out there, and here’s the name of one- Jade Bryan. She has over twenty-five years of filmmaking experience, graduated from New York University, is also the first Black Deaf to receive a BFA from the film program in NYU. Impressive! I don’t think the other deaf filmmakers are as qualified, credential-wise. Jade has over fifty productions, varying from documentaries, films (short and featurelength), music videos and short videos. Nine of them are available on her website, www.jadefilm.com. Her most recent one is titled, “The Shattered Mind”. She has been making vlogs requesting for sponsorship in attempts to boost recognition of her films and has generated very little support from the mainstream parts of our community. Even VRS providers denied her sponsorship because she did not match their vision.. Strange, isn’t it?

This is how we create barriers for others from gaining recognition and climbing up the ladder. She has even mentioned that she doesn’t always require monetary donations, because support by providing spaces, helping with publicity and even posting a link on your Facebook page works just as well.

Why should this be important to us? I see potential and I strongly feel that we should raise our standards because films really can aid us in processing our thoughts and feelings which promotes growth and a better understanding of the world as a community. Films could generate much-needed dialogues amongst ourselves.

After watching this message, start thinking about what kind of future we want to create and invest in it.