Inclusivity in Hollywood

Looking for a good movie recommendation?

I highly recommend the movie CODA. 

As of February 27, 2022, CODA won Outstanding Movie Cast at 2022 SAG awards - this is TOP honors. And Supporting performance went to Troy Kotsur for his role in CODA! As for the Oscars, they are currently nominated for Best Picture, Troy for Best supporting Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay! Let’s see if this film makes HISTORY!

In the deaf community, CODA stands for “child of deaf adult."

The movie is based on the child of deaf adult. The main character, Ruby, has 2 deaf parents and a deaf brother and realizes she wants to sing in the choir.

There's a lot of controversy around why they had deaf actors -- which is FANTASTIC, however, the actor who played Ruby was not an actual child of a deaf adult. There are MANY CODAs in the U.S. that could have been considered, and certainly one that can sing as well. 

The movie has a lot of positive aspects to it, but the primary focus was around Ruby, so it’s not a true deaf centric movie, but it’s really nice to be able to watch a movie, and see that there are people like me being represented. 

The other thing that is important to understand is that seeing Ruby interpret for her parents in settings such as school, business, doctor, and legal settings. This does actually happen in the real world, which is why many of us have to continually fight for our right to access and ensure that the businesses do provide support without relying on hearing children to interpret for them. 

It's the same as having a hearing parent interpret for a deaf child. It shouldn't happen, but it happens ALL the time. My parents occasionally would sign for me and my sister who is also deaf. They’re not fluent in sign language, but they’re proficient enough to be able to communicate with us. The challenging part of having family interpret for deaf members is how much of the information will get relayed properly. If it’s in a medical or legal setting, there is so much terminology that needs to be used, it’s highly likely that the proper information will not get interpreted. 

Resulting in much miscommunication, and lots of frustration and aggravation that could easily be resolved by hiring professionals. 

I personally feel like the star of the show was Frank (played by Troy Kotsur), who was hilarious, and just had this poetic way about his signing. It's a must-watch, and a SMALL peek into the deaf world. 

Please check it on Apple+ and let me know what you think!