By: Corey Axelrod, guest blogger
A new show on ABC Family has taken the signing community by storm. Switched at Birth juxtaposes two teenage girls who discover they were accidentally switched as newborns in the hospital. Bay Kennish grew up in a wealthy family with two parents and a brother, while Daphne Vasquez grew up with her single mother, Regina, in a working-class neighborhood. When Daphne was a very young child, she lost her hearing from meningitis.
The plot has an added twist as Daphne and Bay compete for the love of a boy named Emmett – a classic love triangle. Much like the love triangle between Bella, Edward, and Jacob in the book turned screenplay Twilight, Switched at Birth viewers have been forced to pick between Team Bay and Team Daphne.
As a person with hearing loss, I understand where Emmett is coming from when needing to decide between Daphne and Bay. However, if I were in his shoes, I would have probably picked Daphne over Bay. As Emmett’s mother, Melody (played by Marlee Matlin), says, “…relationships are already hard enough,” it makes sense to opt for the “easier way out” and go for comfort over challenge. Despite his mother’s warning, Emmett chose Bay over Daphne.
Whether this will remain the case over the long run only remains to be seen, but the season’s finale is only a precursor of the drama that is about to happen in the coming episodes. My inkling is that in spite of the show’s many subplots, the writers had Emmett select Bay over Daphne mainly for drama, as the show uses subplots (like cultural assimilation, and the parents’ continued battle over power and money) to seemingly stir-up controversy.
However, the drama does not stop there – it has spilled into real life. ABC Family has caused an uproar in the signing community by asking people on Twitter how proud they were of Emmett speaking on the show’s finale (http://bit.ly/mOROca). I don’t want to be critical of ABC Family or of anyone handling the Switched at Birth Twitter account, but it is important that sensitivity is taken into consideration when considering a large number of the show are viewers in the signing community.
Regardless of the tweet from ABC Family’s twitter account, I’m okay with Emmett speaking as it is his prerogative. However, from a deaf person’s perspective, it is slightly condescending of ABC Family to imply that a deaf person should be applauded for attempting to come out of their comfort zone by means of speaking. A more appropriate question ABC Family could have asked is, “Were you surprised Emmett decided to speak?” While either question would likely elicit similar types of discussion, it is unfortunate that ABC Family had to take a patronizing view of deaf people, essentially taking a step backward after taking two steps forward.
ABOUT COREY AXELROD
Corey received his Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) degree in Marketing and Sales Management from Rochester Institute of Technology in 2010. With a profound interest in marketing and brand management, Corey started Synergetic Business Solutions to provide start-up and small businesses with creative and strategic approaches to creating solutions specifically for smaller organizations. Corey also spends his time working at Hager Productions as the Director of Strategy and Business Development, and at Rochester Institute of Technology as an adjunct instructor. During his free time, he enjoys reading, writing, listening to music, and playing and watching sports. You can find Corey on Twitter at @coreyaxelrod and @synbizsol.
Agreed – there shouldn’t be a focus on the deaf person’s ability to speak or not. This show does get better each week – both the acting and the inclusion of various deaf culture elements. Emmett is learning that he needs to interact with his hearing peers if he wants to have certain opportunities (like playing in a band).
I agree as well. While it was his decision to speak, thinking that a Deaf person should or congratulating him on it is a bit condescending.
Jamie,
Valid points that you bring up re: Emmett needing to interact with hearing peers if he wants to have certain opportunities. His whole life he has lived a ‘sheltered’ life, and I think is seeing these opportunities arise. However, what if Emmett is using these situations and Bay as a way of making Daphne jealous? It’s just food for thought.
Corey
AGREED!! Took the words right out of my mouth.
Deaf Power!
I’m all about not watching television but ironically, this is the one show I’ve allowed myself to watch this summer. The controversy in the deaf community surrounding the show (and all the commentaries friends make online about it) makes it kind of hard to avoid. The show just pulls you in!
I agree with you that the writers had Emmett choose Bay over Daphne in order to create more drama. However, he did say in the last episode that he was tired of waiting around for Daphne after her romps with other boys, so I don’t blame him for exploring new waters. And the choice the character made to talk? I don’t think it should be a big deal either way. I don’t know, I have such conflicted views about the whole situation! And of course, I’m biased as a speaking hard-of-hearing person. I’m all about having everyone do what they can to accommodate each other. Why has no one commended Bay for learning sign language? I think it’s great the series shows the whole family learning sign language for Daphne’s (and Emmett’s) benefit.
Shows aren’t created to satisfy everyone. Shows are created to stir controversy and make us think.
Laura,
You make a very good point that no one has commended Bay for learning sign language. I do want to point out that I did mention that ABC Family took a step backward after taking two steps forward. Like Jamie said in his message, ABC Family has done a solid job of including a number of deaf culture elements – I want to piggyback on this comment and add that I’ve never seen anything like this before on national television. The only part that has been disheartening to see is the tweet asking if people were proud to see Emmett speak. To support your argument, why didn’t ABC Family ask if people were proud of the Kennish Family (including Bay) for learning how to sign to best communicate with the deaf individuals? I think this would have been viewed by the signing community on a positive note.
Thank you for your thoughts.
Corey
Hey – I’m the creator of Switched at Birth. On behalf of all of the writers, I just want to say that we have nothing to do with the network tweets – in fact, I just found out that it’s an outside company that is hired to do those. We agree that that kind of statement is condescending and we have the utmost respect for ASL. Thanks for watching — we love getting your feedback.
-Lizzy
Hi Lizzy — Thanks for reading the Purple blog! We appreciate the clarification, and understand that much of the promotional advertising and marketing done for a show is beyond the writers/producers control. Keep up the good work!
nice post, very insitefull
I have to agree with you. Although I’m aware that one can’t speak for all in either culture, there seems to be this underlying mentality in hearing American culture that ASL is a secondary language for Deaf and that they should at all times strive to better communicate with the hearing in the way that hearing people are most comfortable. The overwhelming majority don’t seem to want to take the time to sign or write, preferring to change Deaf people rather than their own attitude.
That being said, I am hopeful that the insensitivity on the responsible party’s part was due to ignorance, which is much easier to correct than apathy.