The Deaf Man

In this ten minute film, the narrator provides a lecture on the protagonist: a solitary deaf man, and how this subject differentiates from the rest of the world’s ‘undeaf’ society: does he perceive the world differently to us by relying on his other senses?

As the subject of his own, very clinical documentary, the narrator asks questions of the audience rather than the protagonist himself as ‘text book’ example of what every deaf person ought to be and how they think. No gaudy poetry was used to tear at our hearts for this man who represents the deaf community as it seemed to list both the positive and negative viewpoints from the average bystander’s point of view and their typical questions and judgments for no more than an outer perspective.

The positive and quaint viewpoints began as we were told that he was completely deaf, yet they became condescending and judgmental once we were told that our subject had had one cochlear implant. This meant that the subject could hear to an extent, but chose not to speak. Once this assessment is made, he becomes trapped inside the lecturer’s documentary, who makes unfair and condescending remarks without allowing the protagonist to give his viewpoint. By choosing not to speak with a cochlear implant he is then not considered ‘deaf’ by the narrator, and thus, receives the types of unkind comments that you would expect from someone who believes that ‘someone like this’ is throwing away opportunities by not learning how to speak

The Deaf Man is a simple piece which points out: where are the borders with our perceptions of disability? How might we treat a person depending on their level of disability and why? I think that this sudden shift in perspective needed to be made clearer to the audience as it could have been seen as simply a list of the negative and positive viewpoints from a bystander rather than the opinions on the life of a deaf man as opposed to a man with a cochlear implant. By being able to hear to a degree but ‘choosing’ to still use sign language, the narrator decides that this person nominates to keep some of their disability and thus holds onto what is left of their disability as though they might lose their entire identity without having some of it left.

I felt that they could have gone into the ‘borderline’ argument much more succinctly. This piece does not provide the realistic viewpoint from the deaf man himself, but is purely from a clinical bystander’s perspective. I seemed to yearn to have more of an understanding of what it was really like to be deaf and without having noticed the sudden shift of ideas as mentioned, it would have appeared to have been very cliché, but it is actually a piece where you need to read between the lines and look back from a broader perspective. You are required to become more active than passive as a viewer, so unless you really notice that shift in attitude from the narrator – which does not change in the tone of his voice – it could be hard to pick up.

The Deaf Man (USA)
Written & Directed by DJ Kurs
Shot and cut by Wayne Betts
Jr. Starring Howie Seago & James K. Flynn
Music by Clay Stevenson
Sound by Rory Oleson

Part of The Other Film Festival
25 – 29 August, 2010