Through Deaf Eyes: Videoclips/Transcript
VIDEOCLIPS OF SOME INTERVIEWSÂ SHOWN ON THROUGH DEAF EYES
 http://www.pbs.org/weta/throughdeafeyes/resources/questions.html
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VIDEOCLIPSÂ OF SOMEÂ STORIES SHOWN ON THROUGH DEAF EYESÂ
http://www.pbs.org/weta/throughdeafeyes/about/filmmakers.html#videos
TRANSCRIPTÂ OFÂ THROUGH DEAF EYESÂ http://www.pbs.org/weta/throughdeafeyes/about/transcript.pdf
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WEB SITE:Â Â
http://www.pbs.org/weta/throughdeafeyes/resources/index.html
COMMENTARY: Overall, I feel it a well-balanced program, illustrating the differences between two different deaf communities and the struggles of the hearing people to ‘normalize’ us. Many of Clarke alumni use signing, just like many other ex-oralists, so that doesn’t surprise me. Some people disapprove the discussion of C.I. but whether we like it or not, it is permanently a part of the Deaf Community.
Antecodes of hearing people using different tactics to restore the hearing of deaf people made me smile ruefully. I remember many years ago a young friend narrated to me his experiences of being taken to religious revivals by his mom desperate for a miracle. He humored her several times, however to this day, he is still stone deaf 
Man, seeing the tapes of DPN brought back many warm memories for me as a DPN participant. We all looked so young!
In summary, I feel this program is a microcosm, accurately capturing the lives of prelingually deaf people, giving hearing people a better understanding of the deaf world.  It is neat seeing so many familiar faces there and also the artwork of people I know personally. Without a doubt, many deaf people share the same sentiments.
Overall, what do you think of this documentary?Â
P.S. Some wondered Unity for Gallaudet wasn’t covered except for a brief statement at the end. It’s my understanding that the documentary was already completed prior to the protest last fall.
If your cable system doesn’t carry PBS station, you may still view the show by using the old fashioned rooftop or a rabbit-ears antenna over-the-air.  MZ
email contact: mishkazena@aol.com
Copyright Mishkazena (TM) 2007
VIDEOCLIPS OF SOME INTERVIEWSÂ SHOWN ON THROUGH DEAF EYES
 http://www.pbs.org/weta/throughdeafeyes/resources/questions.html
Â
Â
VIDEOCLIPSÂ OF SOMEÂ STORIES SHOWN ON THROUGH DEAF EYESÂ
http://www.pbs.org/weta/throughdeafeyes/about/filmmakers.html#videos
TRANSCRIPTÂ OFÂ THROUGH DEAF EYESÂ http://www.pbs.org/weta/throughdeafeyes/about/transcript.pdf
 Â
WEB SITE:Â Â
http://www.pbs.org/weta/throughdeafeyes/resources/index.html
COMMENTARY: Overall, I feel it a well-balanced program, illustrating the differences between two different deaf communities and the struggles of the hearing people to ‘normalize’ us. Many of Clarke alumni use signing, just like many other ex-oralists, so that doesn’t surprise me. Some people disapprove the discussion of C.I. but whether we like it or not, it is permanently a part of the Deaf Community.
Antecodes of hearing people using different tactics to restore the hearing of deaf people made me smile ruefully. I remember many years ago a young friend narrated to me his experiences of being taken to religious revivals by his mom desperate for a miracle. He humored her several times, however to this day, he is still stone deaf
Man, seeing the tapes of DPN brought back many warm memories for me as a DPN participant. We all looked so young!
In summary, I feel this program is a microcosm, accurately capturing the lives of prelingually deaf people, giving hearing people a better understanding of the deaf world.  It is neat seeing so many familiar faces there and also the artwork of people I know personally. Without a doubt, many deaf people share the same sentiments.
Overall, what do you think of this documentary?Â
P.S. Some wondered Unity for Gallaudet wasn’t covered except for a brief statement at the end. It’s my understanding that the documentary was already completed prior to the protest last fall.
If your cable system doesn’t carry PBS station, you may still view the show by using the old fashioned rooftop or a rabbit-ears antenna over-the-air.  MZ
email contact: mishkazena@aol.com
Copyright Mishkazena (TM) 2007
March 22nd, 2007 at 5:32 pm
You are entitled to your own opinion about PBS’s “Thru Deaf Eyes” documentary.
I still feel that the PBS and Gallaudet University could do better than this one.
The first hour of “Thru Deaf Eyes” were poorly constructed without giving the in-depth report on the foundation of deaf education in America from the Greek philsophy of deaf people’s inability to reasonate to the Cobbs Plantation in Fredericksburg, VA as the first school of the deaf, not the American School of the Deaf (ASD) to the Lexington School of the Deaf in NYC as a response to the growing trend of residential schools of the deaf.
PBS said “The IMPORTANT conference was the Milan Conference. How can the PBS and Gallaudet people said that? Plz! The Milan Conference is one of most darkest moment in deaf history!
I could go further on this blog posting. I will write mine real soon this weekend.
Robert L. Mason (RLM)
March 22nd, 2007 at 5:43 pm
We all have to remember that this is the FIRST actual documentary being aired during the primetime all over USA and Canada. And at the same time, this is the first step in that direction for all kinds of deafness to be exposed and we need that.
I made an announcement to my hearing coworkers about this documentary the day before the broadcasting of this documentary. This morning, all of the responses are positive. Mostly just told me that they didn’t realize how much crap we have gone through. Some of them were telling me why bother forcing deaf people to speak? They have heard some deaf people using their voices in the documentary and it sounded awful. They just don’t understand why deaf people are forced to use their voices. So, who knows that we have potential allies coming out there now? The more the public learn, the more empowerment we get.
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:03 pm
I am glad that you thought the documentary was balanced and fair. I said the same thing and kinda created a can or worms.
I am just a different kind of person that my primary objective is to have a deaf child (way)before the age of 6 to start a cognitive language. And this documentary was a very good start to creep into the hearing society and win their respect and understanding.
But by all means, instead of me being a subtle quiet character, I can raise hell and help apply war paint on your face but I hope that situation never happens.
John F. Egbert
March 22nd, 2007 at 8:28 pm
Milan Conference is very important due to its devastating impact on the Deaf Community.
A good documentary will cover all side, rather than one part which will make it biased. The title “Through Deaf Eyes” means through any deaf people’s eyes, not just culturally deaf people’s eyes. For someone who wants a Culturally Deaf documentary, yes, the person will be disappointed. On the other hand, oral deaf people are probably not too happy about this show, either.
The pathological view of deafness in the second part unfortunately reflects the current trend. A large percentage of children and babies are already fitted with cochlear implants. Not to cover this aspect leaves the documentary seriously flawed. However, covering this modern trend doesn’t neceassarily indicates PBS shares this pathological view.
The documentary is designed to educate the hearing people ignorant of the whole world of deaf people, their culture, and history.
Of course there would be many who disagrees with me. And that is ok.
March 22nd, 2007 at 8:36 pm
I agree with you, MZ…I thought it was well done and well balanced. Such a program will naturally have to show all sides, and we don’t have to agree with all of them.
Overall, I thought as a way of opening up society’s understanding of the Deaf Community, it achieved its goal.
Good job, PBS!
March 22nd, 2007 at 9:37 pm
Awesome job PBS … Think of before and after the AGB’s incident. It is terribly sad to see many Deaf teachers were fired after the ASL was banned in schools. Lack of role models and many more. Oppression is big issue for all of us many years ago. If AGB wasn’t existed at that time maybe my life would be different? Who knows.
In Massachusetts, ASL was finally allowed in school in 1978!
March 22nd, 2007 at 10:55 pm
My opinion: Too much emphasis on cochlear implant and not enough on Deaf History, like Martha Vineyard where deaf and hearing people were equals and origins of ASL.
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:28 am
My cousin has said that most Clarke alumni’s voices are not understood and said that Clarke alumni should have been told honestly to use interpreters or to learn sign language so they would not have to experience humiliation of some people who make fun of their voices behind their backs. She has also said that hearing viewers, including hearing parents of deaf children would understand why learning ASL is of utmost importantance.
March 23rd, 2007 at 2:00 am
The point of the film was to try to explain Deaf History and Deaf Culture to Hearing people. And to that end, I think they did a MAGNIFICENT job. Of course, most Deaf people will find all this stuff old hat. You KNOW Deaf History and Deaf Culture. Most Hearing people (like me) do NOT.
It’s NEVER been talked about in the Main-Stream Media. Hearing people don’t know about the cruel imposition of Oralism, what it actually entails to go through AVT, the persecution of Sign, the validity of ASL as a true language, the vibrancy and richness of the Deaf Community. That’s NEVER been televised before. EVER!!!
Dennis L. Simpson’s point is INVALUABLE! Audism is perpetuated by IGNORANCE. Hearies never get to see Deaf History nor experience Deaf Culture. Once exposed, the LIES and BIASES that foster Deaf oppression can start to melt away.
I KNOW because I HELD these views and just learning a bit about Deaf History and Deaf Culture turned me around 180°.
It reinforces what I’ve always felt. The key to defeating Audism isn’t bitching and moaning about it. Nor trying to make it more palatable to Hearies.
It’s about presenting your TRUE SELVES over and over into “main stream” culture. Look at African-American Culture and Gay Culture in the 20th Century and how they stood up to oppression by showing the POSITIVE contributions they could make.
I think Deaf Culture has A LOT to teach us Hearies. SAY IT! SCREAM IT! And Audism will vanish before your eyes.
March 23rd, 2007 at 11:49 am
This two hour documenary crammed too much into too little time…the diversity that is in our little community far outstrips its size.
It was okay with me until the CI segment, which seemed to me suddently tacked on as an afterthought and, like the rest of the documentary, was not fully explored.
All said, it was an important documentary because it is one of a very few to present issues generally as Deaf people, not hearing people see them. Kudos, PBS!
(And it was so nice to see many familiar faces again…unsettlingly, many looking much older since I had not seen some in twenty or more years! Good grief, I am older than some of them!!!)
PBS, more of this, please! And try to keep it to one issue per show, so that each can be explored thoroughly in the ways they impact the Deaf community.
March 23rd, 2007 at 1:35 pm
MZ,
In the fourth passage of your commentary, you write
“prelingually deaf people”.
ASL is a real and true language of deaf people
(Stokoe, 1965). Therefore, deaf people who use ASL are not prelingual. English is deaf people’s second language. They are bilingual while most hearing Americans are monolingual. Or worse yet, semi-lingual according to the findings by NEWSWEEK in May 2004.
March 24th, 2007 at 9:15 pm
I agree with many comments on this site, no matter which side of the fence. I agree…PBS should have spent much more time on each position and focused a lot more on history. I envisioon a 5 part series or something. And let us all remember that auditory-oral and ASL are not the only 2 options out there. Others should be covered as well for the coverage to be fair and non-bias. This, of course, means that Gallaudet should not be involved in the making of a true documentary, Clarke-type schools either.
I do need to comment on one thing. Many of you wrote about the poorer quality of speech that Clarke graduates possess. I agree. Adults who went to auditory oral schools years ago had hearing aids that weren’t exactly the best, technolgically. Yes, they heard speech, and they produced it like they heard it.
Kids now are identified earlier, implanted earlier with much better devices… technologically speaking. They are learning language and speech earlier and IT IS within that important language learning window. They are producing it like they hear it.
And damn it.
They sound good.
This is another thing completely missing from that documentary. That segment with Patrick & his parents skimmed by a bit, but otherwise, it was missing.
Overall, though, Yay to PBS for introducing the topic to it’s viewers.
March 26th, 2007 at 11:04 am
I thought the issue of litercy was not addressed.
The guy at the end expressed the importance of reading to gain knowlege.But none of the parents or deaf adults commented on the failure of Deaf Educators to improve Reading and writing competency.