Recently, there was a controversy surrounding the upcoming TV series, 'Bionic Woman' featuring a deaf character being portrayed by a hearing actress. Even though an executive at NBC made a request to restore the deaf character's hearing, quite a number of people still viewed the pre-air pilot episode. They often show the early episodes to the executives and critics before they air it. Most of the times, the pre-air episodes aren't completely done. The F/X effects are often incomplete for budget reasons; they will re-edit it and re-shoot some scenes.
I can confirm that the deaf character is an incredibly weak signer. I cannot say I'm surprised. They resorted to one common cliché, which is mostly talking with a few badly formed signs. If they can carry on a conversation between each other, then why are they signing at all? The older sister of the deaf character barely signs but she does sign better than the deaf character. Yes, you read that right. The hearing sister is a better signer, but she's still not a good signer, but it was definitely more understandable than the deaf character's signing.
The reason why I am looking forward to 'Bionic Woman' is because the producer is also responsible for bringing us the 21st version of 'Battlestar Galactica’, which I am a big fan of. I am relieved they decided to drop the deaf character. Even before Ridor made a public complaint regarding the deaf character being portrayed by a hearing actress. I don't blame him, as I know for a fact that hearing actresses often deliver unconvincing performances in these roles. The hearing audience may not notice that, but we do notice it.
People may say it's all about acting. Yes, it is acting. However, the true mission accomplishment of acting is that you have to convince people that you are the character, not the impersonator. Not many actors and actresses are capable of doing this in so little time they are given to research the roles. I'm not against hearing actors and actresses playing deaf characters. It's just that they often don't deliver the performance. Deaf actors and actresses are often better at portraying deaf characters because they have a better understanding of deaf characteristic traits than the hearing people do most of the times.
I'm what you call a nitpicker when it comes to movies. When they use a serious tone in a movie where deaf characters are involved, they are often poorly portrayed. They often act like they are doomed, depressed, angry and more. We rarely to get to see a truly happy deaf character in a movie or a TV program. Well, Sue Thomas F.B. Eye is an exception but it was quite a cheesy show. I have met the actress, Deanna Bray. She was pretty friendly and easy to talk to.
I don't know why I didn't mention this before but there were already rumours circulating that the actress playing the deaf character was going to be replaced prior to the public complaint generated by Ridor. I cannot remember where I got the information; there are thousands of sources out there so I'm just going to say it. The test audience didn't find the deaf character to be interesting, the character was found to be one of the weak points. Some also were suspicious to the character because of the older sister being the Bionic Woman.
Some speculated that the deaf character's hearing might get restored later in the show, which was somewhere too predictive. TV producers these days don't like the word, predictive because they feel it does more harm than good to the show, which is somewhere true. Unless we get a word from an insider within NBC, we won't know what the real reason was if there is one. So far, we only know that the creative team didn't feel too happy with the character and the actress. So they changed it.
Yes, I openly prefer that deaf actors and actresses portray the deaf characters because I believe they can do justice to them in comparison to the hearing actors and actresses. That's just my preference.
I'm glad they decided to drop the deaf character because I didn't like the direction they were going in with the deaf character to start with. It was too obvious and too much of a cliché for my taste.
That's all I have to say for today. Have a good day.
Pottermania is still alive and kicking in a big way.
'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' is a big hit. It has sold 8.3 million copies in the U.S.A. within the first 24 hours. Yes, you read that right. 8,300,000 copies of the latest installment in the novel series of Harry Potter were sold in the first 24 hours in the U.S.A. alone! There's still no word on how many copies were sold in Canada and the United Kingdom and other countries. I imagine it's a big number too as well, but not as big as it is in the U.S.A. due to the smaller population.
That means the previous record holder; 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' was beaten. The sixth installment sold 6.9 million within the first 24 hours in the U.S.A. back in July of 2005.
We have come a long way and now we are here at the end of a long-celebrated obsession. Though we still have two more movies on the way. To me, I see it as a bonus.
Harry Potter will be remembered for decades and possibly centuries to come. The novels are already classics.
This is a spoiler-free vlog and blog entry.
In this vlog, I make an observation regarding the popularity of 'Harry Potter'. It's more of a question toward some people. I always get asked about what happens in the Harry Potter novels. They want to know all the spoilers, but what I don't get is that they don't even read the books. Yet they want to know what happen in the novels.
Don't you find that kind of perplexing that people would want to know all the details so they don't have to read the books? Reading is part of the excitement, you don't get that from reading the spoilers on a website. If you were to ask me such a question, I'll tell you to read the book. I'm not a walking Cliff's Notes book.
People also try to use the movies as an excuse to learn all the spoilers. The thing is, if you don't read the books. Why would you want to know what to expect from the movies? Not knowing what to expect from a movie is part of the excitement. There's no fun in knowing what's going to happen in a scene. I don't like having people telling me the boogeyman is going to pop out of the closet in an upcoming scene because it deflates the suspense.
People also try to use the excuse of not having enough time to read. That is one of the most rubbish excuses they can possibly think of. If you have the time to read my blog and others', read your e-mails, the news and watch movies. Then you can find the time to read a book. I don't want to call anybody lazy, but people who want to know all the details in order to avoid reading are lazy.
Reading and writing is the best way to refine and preserve your literacy skills. Nowadays, too many people try to take a shortcut on everything. Every choice has consequences, especially if they are bad choices.
If you feel offended. I'm sorry but that's what I'm seeing here. I am interested in what some of you have to say on the subject because it is a subject that doesn’t settle too well with me.
That's a picture of me in the parking lot of Kwik-E-Mart. You can simpsonize yourself by going here.
Last night, an article was published over the internet. This is good news for the deaf communities across the province of Ontario in Canada. The government of Ontario is making a promise to improve the learning environment for the students who are deaf or hard of hearing. They are going to allow ASL and LSQ to be used in classrooms. This is for public-funded schools, not just schools for the deaf. The schools for the deaf across Ontario have been using ASL for years.
McGuinty Government Delivering More Support For Students Who Are DeafThis is excellent news. I'm glad that we're finally making some progress. The deaf and hard of hearing students need to be given the opportunity to be in a learning environment where there is no barrier. 100% access is incredibly important. I think it's a good move by the government to offer the teachers and interpreters courses on learning ASL and LSQ. Maybe not many teachers will take it, but you never know. The more, the better it will be.
Teachers Can Use American Sign Language In Ontario's Schools
TORONTO, July 12 /CNW/ - The McGuinty government is improving the learning environment for students who are deaf or hard of hearing by permitting American Sign Language (ASL) and Langue des signes québécoise (LSQ) to be used in Ontario schools, Education Minister Kathleen Wynne announced today.
"We are committed to ensuring that students who are deaf receive an education that helps them reach their full potential," said Wynne. "I'm proud of the partnerships we have built with the deaf community to take this important step forward together."
Publicly funded school boards are encouraged to offer ASL and LSQ to students in the classroom if it will benefit their education. These sign languages can also be used for discipline or school management.
A number of initiatives are also underway to help school boards and provincial schools for students who are deaf and hard of hearing hire qualified staff. These initiatives include:In addition, the government is currently working with VOICE for Hearing Impaired Children to find ways to enhance the education of students who use an auditory-verbal approach to learning and communicating.
- Developing a sign language curriculum
- Increasing the number of colleges and universities that offer ASL and LSQ courses to teachers and interpreters
- Helping staff in provincial schools improve their ASL and English communication skills
- Working with the Ontario College of Teachers to offer a new qualification program requiring teachers to have some ASL or LSQ training before teaching students who are deaf or hard of hearing.
"Thank you to the government for working with us to find solutions that will help more students succeed," said Wayne Nicholson, president of the Ontario Association of the Deaf. "More teachers using sign languages in schools means more students who are deaf receiving a top-quality education."
"We are moving in the right direction to ensure all children who are deaf succeed - linguistically and academically," said Chris Kenopic, chair of the American Sign Language Services for Deaf Children in Ontario, a parent support group. "This announcement will build a promising future for students in their education and employment opportunities, and most importantly, provide students with greater self-esteem and confidence as deaf individuals in achieving goals to succeed in life."
Click here to read the full article.
