I find it interesting that at the
beginning of the film, Peter and Nita were leaning towards the implant, but as
time progressed, their opinion took a complete 180. Nita starts out saying, “I want Heather to
have the best of both worlds: to speak and to sign,” and “More options would be
available to her if she were able to hear.
Life would be easier.” However,
after she finds out that it wouldn’t be in her own best interest to get a
cochlear implant, her opinion, along with her husband’s, begins to change. At the family gathering, Peter and his mother
go at it. I was left feeling a bit
overwhelmed. She argues the exact
opposite. “She will suffer more.” “The deaf world is changing.” “It’s not just a gamble.” All of these statements provided by the grandmother
cause conflict among the different Discourses.
The main Discourses are the connections
among hearing people opposed to the connections among deaf people. It is Deaf Culture that seems to be the most
prevalent. I always viewed deafness as a
disability, but after watching this film, I realized that those who are deaf do
not see it that way. It is not a
handicap, and they are proud to be who they were meant to be. However, Mary, Peter’s sister-in-law, is very
frustrated by this Discourse. She was
the only hearing person of her family and simply couldn’t stand it. As a child she rebelled and refused to
sign. I found this Discourse among her
family members to be very intriguing.
Personally, I was extremely frustrated
with the way Heather’s parents threw out and neglected the implantation of the
cochlear. Maybe it’s hard for me to
understand because I am a hearing person, but I think that children like
Heather would be provided with greater opportunities and could encompass even
greater potential if they could hear.
Because I am a twin, I agree strongly with the choice made by Chris and
Mari for their son. I can’t even fathom
how hard it would be if Lydia were hearing and I were deaf. Being at home, being out with friends, going
to school, going to work, and etc. would be extremely trying and
difficult. I would constantly feel one
step behind and not as good as Lydia. Just
because one can be implanted with a cochlear, doesn’t mean that they have to
neglect his or her Deaf Culture.
It
would be interesting to see how the cochlear in baby Peter has affected the
family dynamic. Are there any regrets
among Mary and Chris or Peter and Nita in regards the decisions they made?
