i-heart-art Blog

I am sure that it is because I didn't see this movie until last year, while studying ASL, and because we read the play before watching the film for class, but I strongly disliked this film - it completely misses the point of the play from which it is adapted. Furthermore, it is still quite controversial within the Deaf community that Marlee Matlin won an Oscar for portraying a Deaf woman that was fiercely proud of her deafness and did not want to be taught oralism (speaking and reading lips), then proceeded to voice her entire Oscar acceptance speech - she used no sign language. Both the film adaptation of this movie and the sadly ironic Oscar moment were slaps in the face to the Deaf community that I have come to care deeply for and with whom I sympathise. On the other hand, ignorance is bliss and I suppose that it could be an enjoyable film if one did not have knowledge of the Deaf community or the politcs therein.