SASL Newsletter - Spring 2020 Issue Issue 17 - Spring 2020 | Page 6

While some might wish to believe that Deaf culture is here to stay and it is stronger than ever,
or that deaf people have finally earned respect as signers after many years of oppression, I say not
so fast. Yes, society seems to acknowledge and recognize ASL as a human language. This means
providing televised signed language interpreting services for disseminating news on the Coronavirus
and other emergencies to deaf people. However, it is important to remember that signed language
interpreting is not the only factor in the relationship between deaf people and society.
Avon herself talks about the importance of hearing people learning and using ASL to
communicate directly with deaf people. Avon's analysis of Mr. Holland's Opus that came out of
Hollywood in 1995 produces additional insights. For example, Cole is the deaf son character who
has hearing parents that had to cope with ASL as a language. The father's name is Mr. Holland.
Avon writes as follows:
Mr. Holland and Cole are struggling with how they can relate to each other. Mr. Holland
needs his wife to translate, supporting the notion that not only does one need knowledge of
the language to understand, but the ideas expressed by Cole are not simple and limiting
thoughts. (p. 200)
Representative of the time when Mr. Holland's Opus was produced and for most of American
history, the public has had some misgivings about ASL. The signed language was thought to be
inferior to spoken language, for example. It is easy to understand that Cole's father took advantage
of the social misgivings about ASL, and he would not sign. Mr. Holland should have noticed that his
own wife was acting like any interpreter translating human languages, but he had put himself above
the needs of his own son.
Avon goes on to write about what Mrs. Holland sees in her son, Cole, that demands our
attention. The mother "does not see [Cole] as having limitations because of his deafness, much like
the situation on Martha's Vineyard. Deafness is not seen as a disability because of a mutual
understanding between Cole and his mother" (p. 198). The reference to Martha's Vineyard is
noteworthy as it is supposed to be our sociolinguistic model. Hearing residents living on this island
off Massachusetts had a healthy attitude about deaf people that included a strong willingness to
learn and use a signed language. The benefits for deaf islanders are understood to be abundant,
and the ramifications of their hearing loss are dramatically reduced.
It is interesting that Avon writes that, "[b]y the film's end, Mr. Holland's own effort to sign
authenticates his acceptance of his son and the culture of which he is a part" (p. 201), which
suggests the power of ASL. While Cole, the son may be deaf and not acting like a hearing person,
he is still a human being. Cole might have differences, but not necessarily deficiencies. This
includes the father, Mr. Holland's recognition that Deaf culture belongs to his son. All Mr. Holland
had to do is to support Deaf culture with ASL at its core, which he did by learning how to sign.
With this in mind, I realized as I watched so many clips of ASL interpreters during emergency
briefings on the national news that we need to do more. We do not need to just have interpreters on
television during the emergency briefings, but rather society needs to embrace deaf people, as Mr.
Holland did with his deaf son. So many hearing people in society remain ignorant of any signed
language, including ASL. Everybody learning and knowing ASL (even if only rudimentarily) can
make all the difference concerning the lives of deaf people and for the country's enrichment in
general. So, while this pandemic has brought many issues to light for all of us, an additional food for
thought is that we need more signers among us!
Reference
Avon, A. (2006). Watching films, learning language, experiencing culture: An account of deaf culture through history and popular films. The Journal of Popular Culture,
39(2), 185-204.
The Power of ASL
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Spring 2020 – Issue 17