Here are some scenes from the documentary called, "Sound and Fury". This documentary was made in 2001. Comment on your thoughts and feeling in regards to what you see. I know that you do not get to see a lot but what you see in these scenes are powerful and will give you an overall idea of what this is about.
This is a very unique situation that left a family divided. Read on.
SOUND AND FURY documents one family's struggle over whether or not to provide two deaf children with cochlear implants, devices that can stimulate hearing. As the Artinians of Long Island, New York debate what is the right choice for the two deaf cousins, Heather, 6, and Peter, 1 1/2, viewers are introduced to one of the most controversial issues affecting the deaf community today. One brother is deaf and the other is hearing. Both brothers have deaf children. Heather is born into a strong deaf family (mom and dad are both Deaf). Peter is a twin, his brother is hearing. Although his father grew up with a Deaf brother and his mother grew up with Deaf parents, they have decided to get Peter a cochlear implant. The family is left confused, angry, and very divided. Heather wants an implant but her parents after looking into it, do not feel it is in the best interest of their family. The grandparents are very involved and the discussion becomes very heated, leaving the families torn apart.
Cochlear implants may provide easier access to the hearing world, but what do the devices mean for a person's sense of identity with deaf culture? Can durable bridges be built between the deaf and hearing worlds?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s80N4o4ctxw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvvDf4RUtc8&feature=related
I've seen the entire film and it is incredibly hard to watch throughout most of the film in my opinion. Watching this family getting torn apart throughout the film and also in the community is at times devastating to watch, but we have to understand the issue at hand and how controversial it is in the Deaf community. Many would argue that getting a CI is taking away your true Deafness.
ReplyDeleteI hope one day that bridge can be built and those who choose to get a CI will not be judged for it and still seen as Deaf, but I don't know how the Deaf community and culture would react to that thought or possibility.
I have also seen the film in its entirety and agree that it is very difficult to watch this family be torn apart by the decisions they make. You can really see how it affects everyone in the Deaf Community. This film does a great job showing the differing views among Deaf families. It seems to be thought that getting a CI is being taken out of the Deaf World entirely.
ReplyDeleteThe judgement that people face on both sides in their decisions to get or not to get a CI is devastating. It not only tears apart families, but the Deaf Community as well. I can't imagine making such a difficult decision with strong pressures from both sides. In this situation there really is no way to please everyone and it makes it more difficult that it is family that is directly involved in this conflict.
For anyone who has netflicks (or access to it) you can watch it as a free/immediate download. I'm going to watch the whole thing this weekend sometime.
ReplyDeleteWatching those short clips, now I really want to see this film. Even thought I could not believe that a family was fighting over this but I can also see how it would be very difficult for the family since some are Deaf and some are hearing. I think that the grandma really should have no say in weather the girl gets it or not its the parents decision and she should be happy and support her son through it. Not fight with him on what it is like to be deaf. She has not lived in the deaf world and doesn't know what it is like growing up deaf. She only knows the parents perspective on how she saw her son and they way some people may have looked at him or how some treated him. But different points of view bring out different opinions on things and this is just one of the major things in the Deaf community that the hearing world and the deaf world see differently sometimes.
ReplyDeleteI think this would be so hard and it is terrible that it is tearing a family apart. I think that the parents have alot of thinking to so and really decide what would be best for the kids and also take into consideration what they would want. Its hard to comment on a subject without being in the situation.
ReplyDeleteJenna
Hmm... This would be a very hard decision to make. While I was watching this I kept thinking, "Who's decision is it really?" Is it the little girl's or is it the parents? I definitely see how this could tear a family apart. The Deaf world and hearing world are very different. Each is a culture in itself. Yes the little girl may experience hardships without the cochlear, but at the same time even with the cochlear she will experience hardships. I haven't watched this film before, but I can see how hard it would be to watch this film. Just the little bit I watched was hard.
ReplyDeleteTaking this class has been my first exposure to Deaf Culture, so this is my first time really thinking about this issue. I just finished watching the film on Netflix. It seemed like both families (that were making the decision whether or not to use a CI with their child) needed to view their decision as either right or wrong--both used the term abusive at some point. I don't see how either argument could be right or wrong; either way, it is an extremely difficult decision to make (for so many reasons), and the child's (and family's) life is going to be drastically impacted by that decision--which all parties involved seem to realize quite well. It seemed like both families made their decision based on what was best for their particular family, so it was sad to see that they needed to make the other people wrong in order to justify their decision. I'm really glad that I watched this film. I have a much better understanding of why this issue is so controversial. In addition to this, the film brought up so many other issues--including the role of culture in family life (or in our lives in general)--anyway, it was a good, thought-provoking film.
ReplyDeleteI only saw the two clips provided and like everyone else it was a little hard to watch. The argument they were having was very heated and you could really tell how mad the father and grandma were getting at each other. We have talked about cochlear implants in class before and it is really had to justify any single approach or opinion to the topic as being the right or correct one. I can see where both the grandma and father are coming from but i really feel bad for the father in this situation. It is almost like he is viewed as the bad guy where this is totally not the case. I am much for the dad and how he wants his daughter to grow up in a deaf world. That is what she is, deaf, and there is nothing wrong with that. A cochlear might be easier in the long run for Heather, but it is not going to be the end of the world if she doesn't get one.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching these clips it doesn't seem like a durable bridge could ever be built between the hearing and deaf world. I don't really think there ever will be because neither side knows what it is like to experience the other and will always have their opinion because they have never experienced the other.
One of the words that was used over and over was "abuse." At the end of the film, the hearing brother who got the implant for his son was adament that his brother was 'abusing his family' because he didn't get Heather the CI. The abuse word was used the other way as well ... the Deaf brother called his hearing brother 'abusive' because he implanted his son. The use of this word exemplifies the deep seated feelings on both sides of the argument.
ReplyDeleteThe hearing grandmother is another story entirely - I'm not quite sure who she was more concerned about... the deaf children or herself ~ I think the intensity with which she pressured the Deaf couple to implant their daughter clearly demonstrated she thought she was smarter than them, and they were 'incapable' of making the 'right' choice (her choice). I think I would move my children away from her (hearing or Deaf) because her overbearing control issues go beyond the CI!
That looks like a very interesting documentary. I'd like to watch it in its entirety someday. The clips were pretty tough to watch with all the arguing and disagreement. Each side seems to be demonizing the other and that seems unproductive. I agree with the others who were saying that it's the family's decision and I don't really think the grandmother ought to be pressuring them like that. It's really not her place.
ReplyDeleteWell, I have ALSO seen this entire movie and would agree with those of you who have seen it, this was movie was hard to watch. The struggles each family went through were their own and the people in their lives that were only adding to the stress was extremly hard to watch. The families weren't always offering support, but rather adding fuel to the fire. And in this situation there was so much more going on. . . the Deaf Culture was also affected by both decisions. So much arguing and hurt feelings. This movie gives an insight to the Deaf Culture and Community, while also showing in great detail the daily conflicts that arise when society has such a closed mind about differences.
ReplyDeleteOn a side note I really like how Julie touched on the word abuse and how both families and sides used the word to hurt the other. It just makes everything hard and emotional.
In the end everyone is just trying to do the best for their family, we might not agree with it, but think about the time and effort the families put in to make that decision... they are doing what THEY feel is best for THEIR family. We just need to respect their decision, we don't have to agree with it.
Wow, it is difficult to watch a family be torn apart. I do not know if I would be able to choose between deaf culture or a CI. Like Becky said, it seems that getting a CI takes a deaf person out of the culture.. i don't know how i feel about that?
ReplyDeleteThe decision to get a CI feels like a burden in many ways to parents of deaf children. I agree with abby though and the decision is the parents when the children are of the best age, and that everyone needs to accept and respect their decision and support them.
Lindsey
Lori, I agree. It appears that both families DID make the decision they felt best for their family and child ... and I think both families took some time to make the decision.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, I think both families could have gone together to ALL areas of research (doctors, Deaf families with and w/out CI, hearing families with and w/out CI, etc.) and I bet that even with both families getting the exact same information, they still would have come to different decisions...
We all base decisions based on our own experience and bias (perspective) - its human, and shows there really is no right or wrong ... only what's best in our opinion.
Hearing/Deaf, Democrat/Republican, Male/Female ... If we could all learn to respect the decisions of others - even when we don't agree - the world would be a much nicer place. (all flowers and rainbows today! :P )
I love that Julie! Go flowers and rainbows! ;) It is also true about the families still hearing all the same information and more than likely coming to different final decisions. In the film both families went to see Shelby (the little girl with the CI that identified with the hearing world). And both families did take something different from this experience. The Deaf parents saw a child totally unconnected with the fact that she was deaf, while the hearing parents saw how excellent her voice was and how she communicated with the hearing students.
ReplyDeleteEvery family is very different. My ideas of what is right even differ from those of my parents, cousins, aunts and uncles. There have been issues in my extended family that emotionally tear people apart. I think oftentimes it is the families that are very close that can have the greatest disagreements. The family in the film seemed to be very close and influential in each others lives and I think this is why the debate was so heated!
All in all it really does come down to respect. Respect for others opinions, beliefs, and decisions!
After watching the whole film and seeing an entire family struggle is really eye-opening. I know it is a controversial topic but to watch a family be ripped apart by the disagreement was something I hadn't really thought about. I understand that the Deaf Community has/had it's problems with the procedure but I can't believe that families are so willing to move or go to other means because of Cochlear Implants. All the fighting in the movie was difficult to watch, partly because I've never been in a position with my family that would separate us because of our views on something.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Hilary. I thought it was a little over the top that the family felt they had to move because of the dispute and pressure coming from their relatives. Even though they said they moved because the town in Maryland was a better fit for their family, i believe it was simply an easy way for them to escape the pressure coming from their relatives. I don't think they should have moved if the relatives were the reason. They should have tried to find a way to work everything out...even though it seemed impossible for them.
ReplyDeleteIt was a difficult movie to watch, because of how the families are torn apart, but it really shows the two views on CI's and show why they seemed to be viewed this way through the families different perspectives.
I definitely agree with Abby and the others who said that each family researched their options and decided on what choice would be best for their own families and that their choices ought to have been respected by each other.
ReplyDeleteEach side, I thought, greatly over used the term "abuse." Neither choice is inherently abusive and the way each family behaved towards their kids wasn't abusive in the slightest, as far as the documentary showed.