A Quiet Place – A Film, Critique
McCullough
Six Not-So-Great Messages Found in A Quiet Place – A Film Critique
Jehanne McCullough
Gallaudet University
**SPOILER ALERT: The following contains some plot details about A Quiet Place.**
To start, let me say I am thrilled that A Quiet Place features the endearing young Deaf
actress, Millicent Simmonds, in one of the lead roles. Too many Hollywood productions fail to
cast Deaf actors for Deaf roles, so it is refreshing that producer and lead actor John Krasinski
insisted on casting a Deaf actress in this movie. It is also wonderful to see ASL on the big screen.
Even though I wasn’t able to watch an open-captioned showing of A Quiet Place, it is an easy
movie to follow without much reliance on captioning devices.
If I didn’t want to think too deeply, I would agree with all of the positive reviews and
comments about how novel and thrilling the movie is. It could be a blast to go and watch simply
for the sake of getting scared. On a surface level, it is a fun horror movie.
I can’t in good conscience say nothing, however, about what I find problematic and
exasperating about this movie.
Here are the six not-so-great messages found in A Quiet Place:
1. ASL is a last resort.
In the movie, ASL is portrayed as a last resort means of communication in a worst-case
scenario. ASL is not used by choice. It is a feature of the movie’s dystopian setting, the only option
for survival in a very negative situation where people will get killed by terrifying creatures if they
make noises. Luckily, the Abbott family already signs because their daughter is Deaf. In the
framework of a dangerous and frightening world, ASL becomes a benefit to them.
Unfortunately, signing in a bad situation parallels the real-life scenario that is all too
common: ASL being presented as a communication option for Deaf babies and children only as a
last resort (Hall, 2017). Medical professionals and so-called education experts usually discourage
the use of ASL among Deaf babies and children. This is done out of the incorrect assumption that
spoken language development will be impaired if ASL is used. Only when all other options fail,
do many Deaf babies and children receive exposure to ASL. When they finally are allowed to sign,
the effects of language deprivation have already made their mark.
The movie misses an opportunity to show ASL in a more positive light, as a chosen
language with many benefits.
2. ASL is only good for basic communication.
The movie does not show ASL as a full language that is useful beyond crises. Most of the
signing is limited to basic communication. Characters turn to speaking when their conversations
become deeper. For instance, the father would sign “no”, “stay” or “be quiet” to his son, but they
would speak to each other when discussing whether the father has told his daughter he loves her.
Even if this difference in language usage may have been unintentional, it subtly links ASL with
primitive needs and voice with more abstract conversations. In the movie, the siblings play a board
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