Through Deaf Eyes Reflection

Superior Essays
The Youtube video “Through Deaf Eyes’” is about how Deaf culture has changed in a positive manner throughout the years. It highlights special moments in Deaf culture, such as society attempting to teach Deaf people how to speak verbally, how Deaf people are no longer discriminated in today’s culture, and how technology has impacted the Deaf community. This documentary is a very educational video about the Deaf culture and how it has evolved. This video made me come to a realization of the Deaf Culture and how it has changed drastically over the years. In the 1800’s, Deaf people were completely misunderstood and were often seen as strange or mentally retarded (ASL IVC). People thought this way because it was something different than what they …show more content…
I notice the Deaf people followed facial grammar for every sentence they constructed. They raised or lowered their eyebrows and made a different facial expression for different words. That is something I am currently learning and defiantly need to improve on. I also noticed that Deaf people often move their mouths while signing. The majority of the Deaf people who were demonstrated in the film would move their mouths while signing. Even though I tend to do this myself, I am not sure if that is a correct way to sign, because I have been told to avoid mouthing. Lastly, I also noticed how the Deaf people signing were wearing plain shirts. This is something my professor has advised me to always do when recording myself signing. Now I see that it is very helpful, because exotic clothing really does distract the audience from the …show more content…
I never really thought about all the different challenges Deaf people and the Deaf community had gone through. I am still dumbfounded that the Deaf community was expected to learn a verbal language, instead of a visual one. When I saw that scene where they mentioned oral language schools, I was shaking my head and I said to myself “what kind of bullshit is that?”. I also reflected on my own life. Throughout my life, I have really taken for granted my ability to hear. I honestly never notice how good I have it until I watched this video and made Deaf friends. I am very happy that Deaf people are no longer seen as strange or inferior to hearing people. I am also very happy that technology has and still is advancing to help dissolve the language barrier between the Deaf and Hearing communities.
In conclusion, I really did enjoy “Through Deaf Eyes”. It made me understand the sort of frustrating situations a deaf person encounters on a daily basis, how deaf culture has evolved in a positive manner, and how deaf people are normal people like you and I. Furthermore, it made me appreciate my own life by admiring simple but yet soothing sounds of life. American Sign Language is an interesting and entertaining language. I plan to continue to expand my knowledge in this particular topic, and I also hope to become fluent in American Sign Language someday. I love signing and plan on becoming an amazing

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