Some of you may have watched the movie earlier tonight on CBS. If you haven't watched the movie and don’t want to read anything spoiling the movie; Then I suggest that you hold yourself back from reading this. Also, I have to emphasize that this blog entry is not about the cochlear implants. It is about the movie and what I thought of it.
Jeff Daniels and Marlee Matlin play the leading roles in this TV movie. I just finished watching it on CBS. It was quite an emotional roller coaster ride. So were the Hallmark commercials. All of them were basically short films with a touch of heartwarming story to each of them. Hee hee.
Anyway, back to the movie. This kind of movie is rarely made. Tonight, this movie was aired to millions of viewers. It may open up some people's eyes to a whole another world that some of us live in. I reckon that quite a few bloggers, both deaf and hearing will be talking about it for the next few days.
The controversial subject of cochlear implants is not the focus of the movie. It is a subplot, which entails the struggles within the couple's marriage to unravel both emotionally and politically.
As many of you know, the deaf world and hearing world are two whole worlds apart. Many of us share a role in both worlds. The husband is a hearing person and he is married to a deaf woman who he truly loves. Their son, Adam was born hearing. He went deaf when he was a few years old. One day, the father becomes interested in the technology of cochlear implants after bringing Adam to the emergency room. A doctor made the suggestion that he should consider the surgery. He was hesitant at first.
After a while, he started making a few decisions that doesn't settle too well with his wife, Laura without any prior discussions. Therefore, their marriage begins to struggle. The parents of Laura's are both deaf, her father holds a lot of pride in Deaf Culture and even wrote a book on it. I can see some people jumping the gun to label him a Deaf militant. Truth is, I don't feel comfortable using these labels to describe people. The thing is, I don't see people with labels on their foreheads. I see them as human beings. All of us have our flaws. We have our opinions. Everybody is different and unique in his or her own ways.
What I really liked about the movie is how they made every single character appear human, simple and plain. They don't make anyone out to be a heartless monster. The movie itself is neither supportive of nor against cochlear implants. It is because it is not the focus of the movie. It focuses on the political and emotional clashes between the couple that are acting in what they believe to be the best for their son.
I do have to mention a few flaws that I had spotted in the movie. For instance, the signing isn't always fully shown. In many instances, they are cropped off and they used a narrator to do voiceovers for the non-speaking characters. I realize that it may put some people off because they used the same voice for some characters. So I can see why it may be confusing.
Myself, I would have preferred that they subtitled the signing rather than doing voiceovers. Although, we all know how some people just cannot stand reading subtitles. As ridiculous and ignorant that may had sounded, but it's true. If you ask me, I think some people are just taking too much for granted to appreciate life.
Also, one thing bothered me about the movie. Why didn't they ask Adam if he wanted a cochlear implant? The parents nearly destroyed their marriage because of their political differences. I wonder if the screenwriter even thought of this during the process of writing the screenplay, which was based on a play. Really, just think about it. The boy is eight years old, I am pretty sure the boy would have been able to answer the parents' question.
A friend just mentioned the same thing to me. Great minds think alike, I must say.
My biggest disappointment was how they ended it. I felt that it was rushed and rather abrupt. That's Hollywood for you. They usually go for the happy ending. I wonder why they chose to end it the way they did. At least they showed that it is important to keep a family together and that love triumphs all.
Overall, I did enjoy the movie despite its flaws. You will be able to buy the movie on DVD this May. This movie really hit close to home for me at some points during the movie. This is one of the best portrayals of the Deaf culture I have seen in a long time.
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4/21/2008 1:05 AM
Agree .. I was hoping for parents to ask Adam if he is interested in getting the CI or not. And ... the final result of Adam's plans to get the CI or not. I love seeing Deaf grandparents in the show. It is a perfect example for the hearing viewers to see this. The show is pretty good after all. :)
4/21/2008 1:11 AM
Yes, I am with you. I don't understand why the son was never asked if he wants CI or not. That should be the most important, Adam is at the age where his concerns should be considered or matters.
Well, It was so wonderful to see Phyllis Frelich played in the movie. I just adore her.
4/21/2008 2:00 AM
I watched it tonight. I think this is good show. I agree with Kydeafie on why the son was never asked if he wants CI or not. I'm gonna purchase a movie as soon as it arrives in the store :-)
4/21/2008 2:01 AM
Albeit unanswered in the movie, I have a sense that Adam hinted to his family and maternal grandparents by trying to pronounce "Dadee" and "Thank you, Dadee" -- something that he had not pronounced since he was 3 when he was taped to have uttered ABCDEFG. Adam sensed immediately that what he did upset his grandfather.
The movie ended with a note implying that it was up to more than 20 million TV viewers to do the guesswork before drawing a final conclusion. Although deaf herself, the grandmother used a strong conjunction, "but," whhen she -- albeit with a sympathetically motherly look --
said, "but you are a teacher."
I may be wrong.
4/21/2008 2:08 AM
As far as I a concerned,it was the best movie (so far) that I have ever seen concerning deafness. I understand that Ed and Phylis had a role in keeping hands within view, who knows, perhaps there will be more explanations later. I think we all need to applaud the whole cast. I didn't mind the ending at all. There is a time for romantic love and a time to show a mature couple who just made a major decision in their lives. I have a feeling that the parents,Marlee and Dan did not want the little boy to have to choose sides. That makes sense to me. I particularly enjoyed watching the interpreters in court. Man, they were good!
Lantana
4/21/2008 2:13 AM
I recall the mother asking Adam if he remembers hearing sounds, and he never answered the question and went back to playing. I think that says a lot about what he thinks about sound.
4/21/2008 2:33 AM
In watching, I seesawed between "Awww" feelings and rolling my eyes at some of the dialogue.
Two examples: the garden scene in which Marlee's Deaf parents confess that she was born hearing and she angrily asks, why didn't you put hearing aids on me?? I thought, how typically Hearing that was written.
The other: the Deaf grandfather's horrified reaction to Adam's voiced "Da-dee". Oh, please. Deaf parents and grandparents are happy if their children can talk some. Again, the Hearing slant.
Otherwise, this was one of the better dramas that included many contemporary ideas of Deaf thinking. The ending seemed chopped off, true, but considering that this was really about a family making a difficult decision together instead of breaking up, it was appropriate.
4/21/2008 7:04 AM
I watched the movie with my nine year old hearing daughter. At the end she turned to me and said, "Mom, it can't be over, they did not make a decision." I agree, it was a cop out and incomplete. For the nondeaf viewing audience, they most likely enjoyed and it. For me the acting was good, the same facts were repeated over and over. I wished for more!
valerie
4/21/2008 8:19 AM
As a Deaf person, I watched this movie with my Deaf husband and oh boy, it was an emotional roller coaster but an excellent portrayal of the Deaf/Hearing worlds. Kudos to the whole cast!
However, I noticed a couple of slants such as the signing being not fully exposed and the echo of the question...should Adam be asked the question of having CI or not? That should make an impact on the ending!
Regardless, I think that the movie is FABULOUS in my words! I don't care if Rachel from Cochlear Implant Online blasts the movie..I have read her major criticisms this morning. Again, I respect her opinion because she has not been experiencing the Deaf world.
4/21/2008 9:00 AM
well said :)
4/21/2008 9:04 AM
and I second Pany lighthouse :)
4/21/2008 9:15 AM
Hi ya all,
I watched the movie and I thought it was really good.
Have a great week with blessings.
Cheers,(with glasses clicking)
Katrina:)
4/21/2008 9:18 AM
I'd like to see all parents to have their child involved to decide about CI or not, but they have to be careful not making the child to please his or her parents. I like to see a child to make a decision on CI.
4/21/2008 9:30 AM
It was Elizabeth, not Rachel who wrote that post on Cochlear Implant Online. A different view, indeed.
As for why didn't anyone ask Adam. I think the movie was implying that a child is too young to know what he wants. And that the decision should be left to the parents. Whether that is anything anyone would agree to, is, obviously an individual perspective.
4/21/2008 10:03 AM
If parent don't make the decision on T.V. therefore kid will not make the decision. Otherwise it will be a mess on the BLOG! LOL. Leave it at your decision, Be Wise! And study more on C.I. and hearing aids.
4/21/2008 10:09 AM
And that's third television show for a year so far that involved with deaf on CI issues. Interest, eh?
4/21/2008 11:05 AM
I agree that this movie was not about getting a cochlear implant. It was about a child being caught in the middle of his parents' two worlds.
I got the impression that they would allow their son to make his own decision, or at least be included in the decision making, when they agreed that it needed to be a family decision. Perhaps that is just wishful thinking on my part.
As a hearing person married to a deaf person, I loved how the movie portrayed the deaf/hearing marriage relationship. The only thing I didn't like was when he interpreted for her while they counseled with the doctor. I think they should have made it as difficult for him to interpret for her as it is for me to interpret for my husband. We don't need more people thinking it's ok for the hearing spouse to interpret in every situation. They should have counseled with me on that part :)
My husband and I were both moved to tears in several parts of the movie. So from our perspective, it was well done.
4/21/2008 12:53 PM
Hi...
I have 4 friends who have cochlear implants. Each has his or her own reason/ type of deafness. All 4, loved their implants, the longest one, having it over 8 yrs, and the most recent almost 2 years. I have a couple more friends considering it. A couple were born deaf due to rubella, one due to sickness as a young child, and one unknown reason. All have benefitted. I have heard successful stories of little ones benefitting as well. A CI is just like ANY other surgery, they all have their risks.
Again, the child, Adam in this movie, SHOULD have been asked his opinion. He is of age, where he would have fully understood what the parents were antagonizing over. The mother took him aside at the WRONG time to ask if he remembered sound to which he did not reply. Who , what child, would disrupt playtime to answer a question he/she is not interested in at that time of play? This is a serious topic, one that the parents should discuss with their child at home, at the table, in a serious tone, and at a time, made just for this , not just yanked off a playground to ask.
Just my opinion.
4/21/2008 4:02 PM
I agree that this was more of a movie dealing with two cultures and just how difficult it is to blend the two. I also want to add that I have an 8 year old child and I can honestly say that there is no way that he has knowledge enough to make that kind of decision. As sad as it is, a child at that age just wants to please his parents and do what his parents ask. So you can imagine how confused a child would be if the parents couldn't decide. You saw Adam at Thanksgiving dinner. He was torn. He could feel the tension and so to help his father he spoke. That is typical of a child his age. Do you honestly think that a child CAN make that decision on his own? That is why it is so important to EDUCATE parents about what an implant really does and doesn't do. That way parents get a better understanding of how the decision they make for their child will have a huge impact on that child's life.
4/21/2008 7:03 PM
I thought the "Da-Dee" was shocking to the Deaf Grandparents, but they felt that he was being pressured, and was feeling like he was the cause of the stress and trying to please his dad.
I enjoyed it, and it helped my daughter and my wife understand the deaf culture a little more.
4/21/2008 9:52 PM
It wasn't too bad...although there were some things that were rushed or glossed over...
Still, it was much better than Cold Case or the Law and Order episodes in the past year...
But give me Soshannah Stern blasting away Ravenwood a-holes any day over this...
4/22/2008 12:14 AM
I agree with Bill ... Not worth to pressure Deaf kids to talk to appreciate their parents. It is the kids' choice.
It is a BIG trigger for Adam's Grandfather who was being abused for not be able to talk when he was a young boy. As I recall, During Thanksgiving dinner in the kitchen, he mentions to Laura (MM) about his personal trauma when he was a student.
4/22/2008 12:15 PM
I thought the movie was great, but I was very very upset at the end. I just can't imagine not doing what is best for the child and that being getting him the best chance for a social and employable life. I felt the mother was a very selfish lady wanting to keep him in a quiet life just because she is in it....great movie..lots to think about..
4/23/2008 4:07 AM
All of you missed the part in that movie when he was asked. Poor you. Since you solidly understand Deaf Culture. You are all hardheads!
4/23/2008 6:27 AM
The grandfather was Mr Briggs, The Lawyer was Ms. Deanna Bray ( Now Married to Deaf Actor Mr Troy Kotsur.
My Step Grandma had me tape this so I terp it in ASL for the Hearing parts.
Grandma is also glad they are showing more of her Deaf World!
When the do movie's about Deaf, They get Deaf children who play parts from the Deaf Schools.
The Deaf actor's & Actress in this movie are very close Friends. Grandma & I know this for sure. we have meet them & others. Grandma take's me in her World. I'm Pround to be a part of it. We wouldn't change Grandma for nothing. Plus she can be mean...LOL
It was good for Grandma to see her friends in this Movie! not just some hearing people playing part of a Deaf person!
Grandma's Granddaughter
4/27/2008 4:18 PM
I think the way they ended the movie was the right way to end it. They couldn't pick a side because it would ruin the moral legistics of the story. I think it was a beautiful ending.
I also don't think they should have asked Adam if he wanted to hear. At the thanksgiving dinner, they showed how he could not understand what was going on. Even though he was eight years old, he didn't understand the issue.
And I absolutely agree with you about the subtitles. It would have been more realistic, and it would have portrayed the silence from the other partner. That is the only thing I would change.