The ABC Family drama that took the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community by storm last summer is back, and with a vengeance. Depicting drama between Daphne and Bay (the two girls that were switched at birth) and their respective families, Switched at Birth tugs at the heartstrings of people of all types and is destined to positively change peoples’ perspectives of Deaf and hard-of-hearing people.
In my last blog post, I expressed my disappointment in ABC Family taking a patronizing view of Deaf people as they asked people on Twitter how proud they were of Emmett speaking on the show’s finale (this tweet no longer exists). After watching the latest episode, I’m happy to say that I believe the show has taken two steps forward in regard to accurately depicting the different experiences Deaf and hard-of-hearing people face on a regular basis.
First and foremost, as a Deaf person, it is nice to see how Emmett, a deaf individual, is shown on a subsidiary of a major television network and is an important part of a band. This inclusion in the band really shows the general population that Deaf people are not limited by their hearing loss and can do anything they put their mind to.
One thing I’ll note is that the show is making timely suggestions of showing how Deaf people have been suppressed by their hearing peers. This suppression happens for a number of reasons and is often a result of innocent ignorance.
This was explicitly shown twice in this episode. The first being the awkwardness in Emmett’s face when he was handing out flyers with Wilke and Toby, and was lost during the conversation with Simone Sinclair; and the second being when Bay ordered the tamales for Emmett without Emmett’s permission.
I’m quite pleased that the writers included this – it’s truly representative of what most Deaf and hard of hearing people have experienced at one point or another when around hearing people. On the other side of the equation, Bay brought up a good question at the very end of the first episode: how does she know the rules?
The answer given was “give it time.”
In essence, this is cultural assimilation and learning cultural norms – Deaf people know they are different and the responsibility is on both Deaf and hard-of-hearing people, and hearing people to figure out how to best communicate. These necessities are unique to the Deaf culture, but are further proof that each culture has their own norms.
With this said, my hope is that more parents and families of Deaf and hard-of-hearing children watch this show as it will shed some insight as to what their Deaf or hard-of-hearing family members go through.
Congratulations, ABC Family! Two steps forward this time around – I look forward to many more!
Purple Digital Media Coordinator Corey Axelrod is a regular contributor to the Purple Blog. Corey’s views and opinions are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Purple Communications. Watch for more reviews as Switched at Birth season two continues! Follow Corey on Twitter @coreyaxelrod.
This show was definitely nice to see how hearing/deaf people cooperate when both communities try to co-exist. I’m not sure how the script will go from here but hopefully it shows how deaf/hearing people can work together and the real life communities can use examples given in the show to fully understand thow hearing people can adapt to deaf people and perhaps vice versa. I believe both communities need to make concessions to improve relations since in my experience, there are areas of improvement. Hopefully with improved knowledge/education of the deaf community that things can only get better.
The one thing I can definitely agree on is there are times when I’m lost, when people converse. Commonly known as the dinner table syndrome, it’s vital to include any/all people at your table to make them feel inclusive. Definitely difficult if there are deaf people at the table but with technology these days there is no reason for not including deaf friends/relatives, etc from any/all conversations.
It’s interesting to note when watching the show, I’ve never realized about any “rules” when it comes to hearing people helping the d/Deaf people. I’ve had occasion to interpret for other deaf friends since I’m able to communicate via oralism as well. I’ve never had any backlash especially interpreting without permission. I’m surprised Emmett wasn’t the least bit thankful but I can understand him wanting some sense of independence, to show he can do things on his own.
I look forward to learning some new things I may not have been aware of as a deaf person. Having not experienced the life that Sean Berdy/Emmett has being fully deaf and not being able to communicate orally it is tough to put myself in his shoes but I can definitely feel his frustration.
Great article, Corey! I agree, ABC family did a great job portraying the deaf culture in this episode, especially between Bay and Emmett.
However, a few things I disagree with; I wish they showed just how much information Emmett misses – my hearing mom did not notice it until I pointed out how un-deaf friendly his band mates were. Also, most deaf people cannot lip read, and I think thats an extremely common misconception people have. Plus, no matter how good of a lip reader you are, Bay definitely is one of the hardest to lipread, at least in my opinion.
Hi Justin,
First and foremost, thank you for taking the time to read the blog post. I truly believe that Switched at Birth is an eye-opener for all individuals watching the show, including those who are deaf and hard-of-hearing. One thing I want to add is that there are internal differences within the deaf and hard-of-hearing community (i.e. sensitivity levels to the rules shared on the show). While the situations demonstrated in the show should not be perceived as the norm as they could be perceived as being extreme examples, I’m happy the writers included these situations as they are educational to all who are watching.
I strongly believe the bottom line is that deaf and hard-of-hearing people have every right to make decisions for themselves when it comes to deciding which method of communication is most effective for them. The example depicted in the show in which Bay spoke for Emmett basically exhibited that Emmett had his decision-making rights taken away from him. Some deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals are likely to respond to these situations in a similar fashion as Emmett did while others may be okay with the situation at hand.
Again, thank you!
Corey Axelrod
Purple Communications – Digital Marketing Coordinator
Hi Chelsea,
Thank you for taking the time to read this blog post and for responding. I think you raise an excellent point about the possibility of ABC Family doing a better job showing how much Emmett misses due to lipreading. One thought that comes to mind is that Lizzy Weiss and others involved with the production side of Switched at Birth could incorporate elements similar to the ‘garbled captioning’ shown during the Hamill movie when hearing people were talking to Matt Hamill and he did not understand what was being said. But then again, the show is really about the two girls that were switched at birth, not about Emmett. Nonetheless, I’m sure ABC Family can incorporate some degree of educating all viewers on the statistics and real life experiences deaf and hard of hearing individuals face when needing to lipread.
Again, thank you for your thoughts!
Corey Axelrod
Purple Communications – Digital Marketing Coordinator
Corey,
Great Article! I have to say I agree with most of what you had to say regarding this production. I am very happy with the attempt that ABC Family has been making in portraying deaf culture and what we has deaf and hard of hearing individuals experience on a daily basis. Overall I think its really about the attempt they are making which speaks volumes especially in our society which can be quite uneducated at times when it comes to deaf and hard of hearing culture.
I really want to applaude you Corey for mentioning something that was very important about the situation with Bay ordering for Emmet, and that was that it was less about Bay “interpreting” without Emmetts permission but more of the fact that Bay made a decision as to which “pepper” he wanted with his food. If Bay would have informed Emmett what the question was I think it would have been better. And while I understand that it is a sensitive issue with hearing people interpreting for Deaf individuals without their permission, in some situations I think that while they may not like it sometimes certain situations in life require people to “bite the bullet” and accept help. I believe that particular situation was one of those simply because there was a very long line behind them and it was a very hectic situation. With this in mind I still believe that the Deaf or Hard of Hearing individual should be the one making the decisions as to what they want so its important to understand there is a difference between “Interpreting” and “Taking over and ordering for someone”.
Like I said above, I applaud the effort and I’m looking forward to more wonderful ways of educating the general public!
I think it is worthy to note that they made a good point about hearing people on this program as well. There are times when hearing people experience confusion in a garbled conversation as well. We do not have the whole communication thing down. When Bay said that it was difficult not being able to “tune out”, and when the family was all talking at once I thought, you know no one else in that “conversation” really heard what everyone else was saying either. We do tend to talk over each other in excited situations and are not always “active listeners”. I supposed we are just used to our rude ways.
Kyle and Heidi,
Thank you both for commenting on the blog. I appreciate the comments that you both share – I want to reiterate that there is no perfect cure-all solution that will satisfy everyone. Nonetheless, as Heidi mentioned, we’ve become complacent with what we’ve been doing and that has become the norm. I believe people need to look within themselves before pointing the finger at someone else; nonetheless, if one is upset at someone else, use it as a teaching opportunity rather than lashing out.
Again, thank you both for your comments. Please continue to read my blog – I’ll be posting a weekly entry about the show.
Thank you!
Corey Axelrod
Purple Communications – Digital Marketing Coordinator