This is the first of a series of posts that I plan to do reflecting some of my thoughts and discussions in regards to the February 3rd showing of “The Two Mrs. Grissoms” on the crime drama CSI.
I’m sure that this morning the “Deaf Grapevine” is all abuzz as folks share their thoughts on last night’s CSI program, which featured several Deaf actors/actresses – most noticeably Marlee Matlin and Phyllis Frelich.
Marlee is pretty well known to most people for her various appearances on television and film; but for those of you who are not so familiar with Phyllis – she has also appeared on television a number of times, but is probably better known for her work on the stage. She won a Tony award in 1980 for her role as Sarah in the Broadway production of Children of a Lesser God, the same role that Marlee was to win an Academy Award in 1986. Together Phyllis and Marlee are probably the best known Deaf actresses in the country. While I have met Marlee, I’ve never met Phyllis – although I did get to know some of her siblings while a student at Gallaudet (Phyllis comes from a large family with Deaf parents and nine Deaf children).
Anyway…what did I think of the show?
It was pretty good. I thought the acting was fairly well done, although Marlee was a bit melodramatic in this show. The plot was an interesting one and did keep my interest. It certainly took some twists and turns before coming to an end…although the ending to the “whodunnit” mystery was somewhat disappointing.
But was it totally believable? That’s the question.
Can a hearing person truly fake deafness for that long a period of time within the Deaf Community…and to a Deaf individual with whom he was having an intimate relationship?
That I have to wonder.
Oh, certainly I have met individuals who have left me pondering if they were Deaf or hearing when I first meet them – this is not too uncommon, especially if the hearing person is a CODA – Child Of Deaf Adults…a man or woman who grew up with Deaf parents. Such individuals may indeed be able to fool folks at first, since they have developed the signing skills and the mannerisms of the Deaf Community.
But can they really keep up the charade over the long run?
That’s the big question.
I just keep thinking that sooner or later something is going to trip them up. An inadvertent reaction to a noise, the automatic response to someone’s words spoken behind your back. Sooner or later they have to show their true – albeit hearing – colors.
A friend reminds me of the time a hearing police detective went “undercover” at Gallaudet University, portraying a man who recently lost his hearing and was at Gally to learn how to adjust to his new status as a deaf person. Apparently it was all part of a sting to identify and arrest those individuals who were dealing drugs on campus. So yes…it has happened and I suppose it is possible. But this happened back in the 70’s…forty years ago. With Deafhood and Deaf Cultural Studies and ASL programs and the like springing up everywhere, is it still possible today? Would hearing people still be able to pull the wool over our eyes, or are we Deaf folks more “savvy” nowadays?
Or is it in fact easier for a hearing person to fool us nowadays? There’s plenty of hearing people who are using text messaging on phones, or Skype on their computers. There’s email. Modern technology has brought some “equality” in certain areas, where perhaps being deaf or hearing isn’t such an issue any longer.
There’s more ASL programs out there for hearing people to study our language, more Deaf Studies programs to develop a greater understanding of our culture, and while there is still a lot of ignorance out there… I’d like to think that there is a bit more knowledge and sensitivity of the Deaf Community nowadays.
But there’s still a cultural gap there that I just can’t fathom that a hearing person – no matter what their background is – can fully close.
What do you think, Crossroads readers? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section!
Stay tuned for more posts on this subject…I’ve decided to “cut them up” into separate posts to avoid having a long rambling post here. I will be sharing more thoughts on different subjects touched upon in this episode, as well as feedback from others.
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A CODA could fool me…so it’s possible…but like Tyrone Giordano’s character last night said, “Something is off…” it still likely would be difficult for someone to carry on a charade that long.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, J.J. I agree with you – I could possibly be fooled by a CODA, but as you say…I think it would be difficult for someone to continue such a charade for the long duration. Sooner or later something would have to clue us in.
My biggest problem with the show last night is that the whole motivation for the crime — that disabled people are getting all the money and grants, and they don’t have to do anything for it.
And that wasn’t challenged at all … yes, it was said by the bad guy, but everyone just believed the criminal when he said that. If something like that had been said about a racial or religious minority (going by CSI’s track record), that would have been the jumping off point for a set speech on tolerance and bigotry. But the rights of the Deaf and Disabled are treated like charity.
But at least they did make a point that Sign Languages are full-blown languages in their own right, and not “substitutions for English.” And there seemed to be at least some effort to get the signs right (I’m not fleunt enough to catch all the nuances).
Excellent point, Ann. A Deaf friend commented on this same line as used by the bad guy. In fact, it will be one of the topics I plan to discuss in my next post about this episode. Stay tuned!
I enjoyed the show. Marlee and her melodramatics is nothing new and umm, I think it’s okay because out there in the deaf community we see all kinds. Certain deaf people have certain personality that have them being melodramatic or not.
As for a hearing person being able to pass off being a deaf person, is that possible? I think so. In the show, the hearing person is a CODA, so that wouldn’t be too hard.
I have an interpreter friend whom passes off being a deaf person every time. I have had people shocked when I tell them he is hearing. They’re like, NO WAY! It’s true, he could fool people easily. As for reacting to sounds, many deaf people have some residual hearing so, some react and some don’t. Not to mention I know a hearing terp whose deaf family passed her off as a deaf person and she attended a deaf school, even Gallaudet. Back in the day they do not test kids’ hearing before enrolling them at deaf school. Easy for CODA to pass off being deaf than non-CODA, yet, is it possible? I think so. ;o)
I cant hear chalkboard scratching even with my CI, but it annoys the crap out of people who have a lot more hearing. In public, I watched every single hearing classmates, They seem to can not ignore it. I can tell some is hearing if they react to certain pitch or decibel that we can’t hear because we are deaf.
I wonder if Matlin appreciate her acting is viewed as melodramatic ? I though she was fine.
Also, I think the ones who can pull it off as deaf probably have some degree of hearing loss, maybe not a whole lot hearing loss to be considered as hearing impaired but enough to pull off as deaf. Or have auditory processing disorder. My son have super sensitive ears, its never impossible for him to pull off as deaf.
My question is… WHY would anyone want to INTENTIONALLY pass himself off as Deaf for a long period of time? And can a person really get away with doing so?
I’m not talking about just one evening at some kind of Deaf event, where a CODA with crackshot ASL skills shows up and everyone assumes s/he is Deaf… and that person plays along with it for the evening.
I’m talking day after day after day for a year or longer, never letting it be known that you actually can hear – not even the person you’re sleeping with. That’s got to take some serious effort.
So why would anyone want to do it? Yeah… in the show the guy did it for the money. He was greedy. He saw this as an opportunity to take advantage of the Deaf Community.
Is this a symptom of some kind of mental illness? Some sort of internal anger against Deaf people? Was he trying to get even with them? The character did indicate that his mother was Deaf… was he possibly angry with his mother (maybe she was a bad or abusive mom) and this led to psychological problems that caused him to have this distorted perception of Deaf people in his mind – thinking that they all do get this money thrown at them, and he was entitled to some of it?
I know…I’m probably overanalyzing the whole thing.
How can we know what makes a criminal’s mind tick… what leads a person to commit murder?
But this character was willing to go to some major extremes… all in an attempt to earn some money that he may or may not get.
Fake deafness within the community for a extended length of time, seduce his professor, kill the guy who figured out his secret and stood between him and those big bucks.
Wow.
Was it really just about the money…or was there something else going on here?