What does it mean to be part of a marginalized group that is rarely seen in the mainstream film industry? How does it feel to be yearning to see someone like you on the big screen?
For Deaf people, this is all too common.
For so many years, Deaf characters were played by hearing actors. This changed when Audree Norton became the first Deaf actor to be on television in 1968 for Mannix, and then Linda Bove for Sesame Street in 1971.
However, the actor to completely change the game was Marlee Matlin who played Sarah Norman in Children of a Lesser God. Marlee won an Oscar for this role, becoming the first Deaf actor to win an Oscar. This was a monumental moment for the Deaf community. This moment gave Deaf people hope.
Unfortunately, that hope dwindled as Deaf characters weren’t often written and Deaf actors weren’t being hired. Marlee had found some more roles, and Deanne Bray played Sue Thomas in Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye, but work was still difficult to find.
In 2011, ABC Family/Freeform’s Switched At Birth became a new phenomenon. Marlee Matlin and Sean Berdy became series regulars. Many other Deaf actors had guest roles. This series was so popular and got people interested in learning about Deaf culture and ASL. This show helped put Deaf actors and people on the map, paving the way for a more inclusive Hollywood.
But then we went backwards with movies like Hush, created by Mike Flanagan. Hush is a movie about a Deaf writer who moves to the middle of nowhere in the woods to write her new book. While she’s there, a masked man makes a night of attacking her.
This movie became one of the world’s favorites for horror, but there was one problem: Maddie, the Deaf character, was played by a hearing actor. Not just any hearing actor, mind you, but Mike’s wife, Kate Siegel. This caused upset within the Deaf community and Flanagan and Siegel were less than happy to take the criticism.
More Deaf actors have gotten roles, but they’re more guest roles as a one off in a TV series, or smaller films. And while these roles and characters are important to have, when will Deaf actors have a turn to break into the mainstream? Why couldn’t a Deaf actor get the role for Maddie from Hush and get the same recognition and praise that Kate received?
Moments like these are why Deaf people started creating their own stories in front of and behind the camera. It’s why movie festivals like Deaf Way were created. It’s why they are important.
Deaf writers, actors, etc. are able to properly and authentically show their stories. We know how Deaf people are. Hearing people don’t. We understand how it feels to grow up in Deaf families, grow up mainstreamed with or without Deaf families, and with and without access to sign language. We don’t treat ourselves as a background prop. We treat ourselves as the story.
The films that were shown at Deaf Way made me smile, made me cry. I grew up mainstreamed with zero access to sign language, only spoken language. I didn’t even have hearing aids until 2021. Watching films like Dinner Table Syndrome and Idle Hands had me feeling something: reliability, inspiration, belonging. I got to see myself on screen when a boy struggled to understand what was going on at the dinner table. I saw myself when a father was upset with his family for not learning sign language to better communicate with him and his child.
That’s why this festival is so important. We get to see the stories we have been wanting to see.
The downside is that it sometimes feels like a last resort, for lack of a better word. Or does it? This is what I struggle with. Festivals like these don’t really hit the mainstream and it still feels like we’re hidden away from Hollywood. But at the same time, we know we welcome hearing people to come to these events, to watch our stories. We want them to learn about our community, culture, and history.
So maybe it isn’t like a “last resort” after all, but a stepping stone to bust the Hollywood walls down to make room for us. The question is, how long do we have to keep making our own festivals before Hollywood decides to let down their own walls and let us take over a little more?
