As part of my homework for my American Sign Language class, I had to drive up to Taylorsville, Utah to watch a movie acted entirely in sign language. I really didn't have time after Stake Conference to change out of my suit, so I went dressed up in my Sunday best.
Though this really shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone, deaf people are really nice. I walk in, fumbling with my hands and desperately mouthing words, and everyone expressed nothing but patience and kindness. When I finally located the ticket counter, the first thing anyone said to me was, "You look really nice!" That really helped to calm some of my general nervousness about being there, as besets anyone who is thrust into a situation they know little about.
I'm sure there aren't many movies performed entirely in ASL, so my fellow movie-goers were downright excited by the entire experience. Thankfully for me, subtitles were handily placed at the bottom of the screen so I could piece together what was going on. I was also surprised by some ASL humor thrown in there, a notable scene being where the main character is having an internal monologue of sorts. Seeing that the movie was basically silent, his 'internal monologue' was pantomimed with his hands, prompting one of the other characters around him to ask who he was talking to.
All in all, I actually found the experience similar to Comic Con in that both featured groups of people somewhat on the fringes of society. The difference was, I sensed some discontent in Comic Con, like the people there weren't really happy with either who they were or what they had to go back to. At the School for the Deaf, everyone was happy, bubbly, and friendly, and seemed wholly comfortable with who they were and who they represented. I feel like, if I lost my hearing right now, I would probably struggle at times to be cheerful and all that, remembering what I'd lost or didn't have and reviewing and regretting the choices I'd made that had led me down that path (Obviously, if I'd been born deaf, there would be no such choices to regret, but I'm talking about if I were to lose my hearing at this current point). Of course, if I had to work through that new stage in my life with people like those who I met last night helping me along the way, I really wouldn't have anything to worry about.
No comments:
Post a Comment