CT: The Great Scroll. This is the 23rd ASL video clip (03:19, 2:06:28) from Katz’s Deaf Child mythology on the “deafhood” (growth/process/history) of the deaf community (deaf experience/deaf history). Posted in thanks to one particular short story by Arthur C. Clarke and my Judaic heritage from our “people of the Book”.
click on screen to begin, wait if your computer is “older”, and click back.
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Questions: None as of Now
D - None as of now
DH- None as of now
DS- None as of now
Myth- (little or no myth questions until the posting of the last clip. They are to aid comprehension of the story)
Commentaries:
D (B) -
DH-
DS-
Myth - As you may notice, the title of the scroll comes from a short story, “The Nine Billion Names of God” by Clarke and the scroll was how books were first made, and the scrolls still are, today, inside the arks of Jewish people all over the world.
Bibliography/References/Inspiriations:
Jewish Works and Sacred Literature
Clarke, Arthur C. (1967) The Nine Billions Names of God. The Winds of the Sun, MacMillian New York: NY.
Clip Title: The Council of Gods. 22nd clip, 3rd of 3rd C., 04:25, 2:03:09 - . This clip is posted with my knees down on the ground and head bowed to _____________.
click on screen to begin, wait if your computer is “older”, and click back to read down.
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Questions - None for now
Commentaries - None for now - This clip employs highly metaphorical allusions to something sacred beyond/within us all - Silence within “Natura” explains God best, everything else inadequate.
Bibliography: . . everything . . .
ClipTitle: Ascenscion. (21st clip, 2nd of 3rd C.) 05:20 - 1:58:44 - Where was the human owl transported to?
This clip is posted in gratitude to what I call - science fiction in words and films. A blend of Arthur C. Clarke, George Lucas, and Steven Spielberg. Yes, grateful to those artists and their movies and books: Close Encounter of the Third Kind, the 6 Star Wars films, the 2001: A Space Odyssey books/films, and the Rama Novels by Arthur C Clarke. George Lucas was as inspired/influenced as I was by Joesph Campbell, the incomparable comparative mythologist. It is wondruous how ideas from different venues (from religion to the movies) play in all of our lives. Ideas, along with people, mold how we be.
click on screen to begin, wait to fully download if your computer is “older”. Thanks.
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Questions
Deafhood Questions: As a Deaf or/and Human, have you ever dreamt/thought of reaching into higher realm of any kind and meet/interact with superior beings of any kind - and beseech as a Deaf person? As a human seeking sustenance and salvation for our woes, sure, but as a Deaf person?
Commentaries
Deaf History Commentaries: There is no direct deaf history correspondence to this clip, probably indirectly if dug and ponder deeper.
Deaf Studies Commentaries: (Education and Rehabilitation) There is no direct deaf studies topics related to this clip, unless indirectly and metaphorically.
Bibliography/References/Inspirations
The 2001 and Rama novels of Arthur C. Clarke
Close Encounter of the Third Kind. dir. Steve Spielberg. Universal. 1977.
Star Wars: 1 - 6. dir. George Lucas. 1978 - 2005.
Smithsonian Institution. 1997. Star Wars: The Magic of Myth. Bantam Books. New York: NY.
CT: Into the StarLight. This is the 20th clip and the first of the 3rd chapter of the Deaf Child mythology. 1:53:24 - After encircling the planet, find out where next did the human owl go.
This clip is posted in gratitude to Ron and Hedy Udkovich Stern for “being there” at CSDFremont where the myth first, in 1992, became curricula for teaching deaf history to deaf students. I am grateful for the encouragment received at CSDFremont, especially from Hedy and Ron. Thanks.
click on screen to begin and please wait to download if your computer is “older”.
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Deafhood Questions
Due to the concepts and imagery used in this clip, there will be no deafhood questions.
Commentaries
Deaf History Commentary: It s upward the human owl went. There is no historical document to verify possible trips away by human beings from the planet before rocketry into space in the last 50 years. Ascension into heaven appears in world’s sacred literatures.
Deaf Studies commentary: The Deaf Studies dimension of the third chapter, Yairusaylim, is education and rehabilitation. Until the human owl meets the Deaf Child in the last two-thirds of the third chapter, there will be no Deaf Studies commentaries.
Bibliography:
Sacred literatures from all over the world. See Eliade, Campbell, Jung and other writers.
CT: Deep and Back Home. This is the 19th clip [04:20 mins.] and the last of the second chapter of the DC Myth. 1:50:25. Several new additions here: time counters, divisions of deafhood questions, addition of deaf studies commentary. Enjoy the conclusions the human owl arrived at after traveling all over the continents and observing four basic ways deaf people where treated.
click on screen to begin and click return to read down.
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(to vlog below is desired but will attempt after the posting of all clips of the next 10 chapters {some 100 more} probably in summer of 2008.)
Deafhood Questions
Deafhood Questions for signing deaf people: Have you ever contemplated what deaf people (like you) had lived in the past? How they have fared in their diverse lives all over the globe and across the span of our past? Have you ever experienced abandonment, within your family, or other realms in your lives? What about containment, with people saying (in various shades), “I’ll take care (of it) for you”? Are you , more or less, assimilated in the hearing society? How would you react if you learned there were and ARE hearing people who kill a deaf adult, a deaf teen, a deaf child, or if detected early, a deaf baby? Do you know anyone who left (”abandon”) deaf children? I was a big brother to a deaf boy whose father abandoned him in South America. Would you advocate a total integration of a deaf child in her/his own family? If so, how? By curing deafness or the family mastering sign language - which one? both?
Deafhood Questions for non-signing deaf people: Do you feel that deaf people should learn how to speak and improve your listening skills are the answers in order to be fully integrated with their hearing families, neighborhoods, and societies? If so, why? If not, why? What about the role of sign language in the whole rationale in your head?
“Deafhood” Questions for signing hearing people: As a person closely associated with deaf people in your lives (ranging from the home to the workplace), what should society try to do to better integrate deaf people within the “hearing” society? Fixing deaf people and/or the hearing world? How much on n/either sides?
Deaf Questions for non-signing hearing people: When you encounter situations, finding out, for the first time, that someone among your families, friends, neighbors, or in the community/media describe deaf people and sign language - what are the first reactions you have? Nowadays, curiosity prevail but any other? Utter disgust? Morbid fascination? Bewildering ignorannce?
Commentaries
Deaf History Commentary: In this section, the human owl observed the aboriginals of Australia and returns to its birthplace, contemplating on how best next to find/”help” more people like its deaf earth mother. The second chapter is a reflection of the four basic archtypal scenarios of deaf people’s lives before “history”. For examination into each of the 4 archtypal scenarios, please go to deaf history commentary of the last 7 posts (as of now, not yet done). To aid you in your visualization of prehistoric lives, check the two films (listed below) in order to start wondering about the lives of deaf prehistoric people before us. (films, articles, and academic treatises are still guesswork or therorizing - but variously approximate). Like for the rest of humanity, we can not verify our assumptions of the lives of our distant past. Archae Law, the second chapter, is a creative window into the lives of deaf people in those times.
Deaf Studies commentary: The deaf studies reflection of the second chapter is - Deafness in Families and Societies. The interaction between deaf persons and the whole wide world. The cardinal directions (scenarios) the human owl traveled (observed) is, in a way, a framework for categorizing basic relationship patterns for deaf people among their hearing families, friends, and communities. To see the list of myth chapters, stages of deafhood development, deaf history eras, and deaf studies topics, click TOC page at top of this website.
Working Bibliography:
Auel, Jean. Earth’s Children Series: The Clan of the Cave Bear, The Plains of Passage, and The Shelters of the Stone.
Kendon, Adam. 1988. Sign Languages of Aboriginal Australia: Cultural, Semiotic, and Communicative Perspectives. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Quest for Fire, director: Jean-Jacques Annaud, 20th Century Fox, 1982.
The Clan of the Cave Bear, director: Michael Chapman, Warner Bros. 1985.
CT: The Western Deaf Woman - 18th c.
NEW ADDITION: Bibliography! Come and find out why the human owl became overjoyed when observing a life of a deaf person in the Western Land. (Move your cursor to the each category on the right to read brief description of all 12 chapters - a peek inside the rest of the story).
This clip is posted in gratitude to Mitch Kurs, then a high school deaf studies/history teacher at CSDRiverside, for being the first person, in the fall of 1990, to invite the Deaf Child myth into a state residential school for the deaf (onstage as a storytelling presentation). Thank you, Mitch, for believing in the power of myth.
This was the beginning of my observation on how people view this myth. Their reactions ranged widely, from outright disgust and utter confusion to rapturous bliss. About 80 percent of the reactions fall in between - a mix of fascination and not understanding. 10 percent, maybe, is completely baffled due to different reasons, primarily to their lack of ASL skills and their rigidly entrenched beliefs. The other 10 percent experienced enlightment and joy. Believe me, I have been insulted a few times, congratulated many times, blessed a few times, and knelt to, once.
That was the beginning of an exhilirating and interesting journey I am still traveling in - observing how people, both hearing and deaf, respond to this mythology. Want some examples? Study the few comments made to the posts. Actually this is not the right time and place to get in-depth with reactions to this work. Maybe another post soon.
Before this 02.08 clip, I invoke the sacred message of an old Sioux.
William Tomkins wrote (see reference to his book below): An old Sioux Indian friend of mine once said to me, in Sign Language, at parting - “May the Great Mystery Make sunrise in your Heart.” Cordially Yours. Wm Tomkins
Play Quicktime version
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Deafhood Questions: Have you ever experienced being in an environment where everyone can sign? Not among all deaf people or all signers, but among hearing people who do sign? If you have experienced being in those surroundings, what are your feelings during those times, with understanding of your common prior experience being incommunicado (in all varieties) among hearing non-signers? Deaf people all over experience incommunicado at various times in their lives and how would you feel if you are in a room full of hearing people you can communicate with - how would you think you would feel?
Deaf History Commentary: The signing deaf woman Native-American being very much part of her hearing tribe represents the fourth and last of four scenarios the human owl saw in the Archae Law chapter. The four scenarios depicted in Archae Law can be interpreted as the four cardinal directions we live in, east, south, north, and west (and everything in between). The last “western” scenario is called Integration where deaf people are integrated in their societies because the people around them could sign, in addition to speaking.
Now, you (and the human owl) have witnessed the four scenarios in the past 6 video clips - Homocide, Abandonment, Containment, and Integration. We absolutely do not know for sure how deaf people fared in their lives during the prehistorical times. These four scenarios are, what I propose a new “theory”, an examination of the four basic archtypal lives of the prehistorical deaf people.
Not every deaf people in the prehistoric times were killed, abandoned, or contained (taken care of). A few or many of them were well-integrated in their families and societies. Only if we have time machines and go back to find out. We do have historical evidence in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts during the 19th century and among the Native Americans. The life of the deaf Native-American woman, depicted in this clip, is well documented (See below). There are books describing sign language use among Native Americans. The Martha’s Vineyard towns with signing and speaking people were also documented.
Bibliography:
Armstrong D., Stokoe, W., Wilcox, S. (1995) Gesture and the Nature of Language. Cambridge University Press.
Armstrong, David. (1999) Original Signs: Gesture, Sign, and the Sources of Language. Washington, D.C.: Gallaudet University Press.
Groce, Nora. (1985) Everyone Here Spoke Sign Language: Hereditary Deafness on Martha’s Vineyard. Boston: Harvard University Press.
Mallery, Garrick. (2001) Sign Language Among North American Indians. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.
Stokoe, William. (2001) Language in Hand: Why Sign Came Before Speech. Washington, D.C.: Gallaudet University Press.
Tomkins, William. (1969) Indian Sign Language. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.
CT: This is the 17th clip of the DC myth. NEW ADDITION: deafhood questions and deaf history commentary. For each video clip (section/strophe), questions will be posed to viewers for reflection and commentary for elaboration on the connection between the myth symbols/events to deaf history and the deaf experience. That way, both hearing and deaf viewers can reflect, after viewing the clip, on their experiences being with dDeaf people or being dDeaf, respectively and interchangably.
Deafhood Question: (first few for deaf people and last few for hearing people) Have you ever experience extreme paternalism to the point when the other person do things for you simply because you are deaf (or anything else)? Have you ever experienced trepidation (concern, worry, alarm), just because you are deaf, when you about to leave your childhood home to start life on your own? Have you felt concerned for any deaf persons safety due to them being alone and deaf in the rough hearing world? Have you, when encountering a deaf signing person(s) on the street, felt you have to go to them and “help”?
Deaf History Commentary: In the past (and the present, too), deaf people were taken care of ALL their lives, never given the chance to learn to live independently. You probably have heard or know of one deaf person who never ever took care of her/himself. In deaf history, we do find scores of deaf people who were similiar to the three deaf characters depicted in this chapter - 02.07 clip. Two good historical examples are Junius Wilson and John Doe #24. Click on the names for more information.
Personal commentary: This is also special and personal for me. My late deaf father, blessed be his name, left his parents’ home in Brooklyn, New York at the age of 37. Reasons for this probably are few. The primary reason was because his hearing parents were concerned and worried that their deaf son won’t be able to fend for himself in the rough hearing world.
A picture here of the cover of the current draft of the The Deaf Child: A Mythology - A Deafhood Workbook. Notice something? The title of the book is in ASL when you open and close the book repeatedly! ASL Interpretations of the bookcover are numerous. WINGS: Seeing on the Wings of An Owl (bird or VisMa). ANGEL: Signing and Visicentricity are the Angel’s Wings (salvation) of the Deaf Soul (or, if I may humbly add, of Humanity). FLY: Visicentricity makes the Deaf Soul fly-soar. Now, let’s reverse the two pages and you have this sign, BOOK, when you open and close it. There are more signs - CLAP, HANDWAVE, FINISH. Any more?
Remember that this is a draft. The creative and scholastic enterprise of the Deaf Child mythology is still undergoing creation, revision, and expansion thanks to the vblog technology. The ultimate book jacket will be of brown leather, not reddish brown like here. The red flares will be removed to just the buff eyes onto the middle of two blue palms. Those of you who follow the DC myth, any suggestions?
This is the 16th clip of the DC myth (6th of the 2nd chapter).
After the Eastern deaf baby and the Southern deaf toddler, discover the tragedy the human owl observed in the Northern Land. This clip is posted in honor and memory of hundreds of thousands of deaf people who suffered the same fate as of the deaf teenager depicted here.
If you can’t download above, click the below link for YouTube
The 15th clip of the Deaf Child myth (5th of the 2nd chapter).
This clip is posted in gratitude to Barbara Goldman who gave me the opportunity, for the first time in early 1990, to present the Deaf Child myth as a stage play at UCLA. Three pictures of the performance here! And thanks to the performers, Anthony Natale, Koli Cutler, Vae, and Jacob Shamberg.
Now click away here to find out what happened to the deaf girl at the Southern Land.
Go To YouTube
Vae as the Mother of the Eastern Land with Anthony Natale as the human owl.
Anthony Natale as the human owl (VisMa) and Jacob Shamberg as the Deaf Child.
Jacob Shamberg as the Deaf Child and Charles Katz as the Singing Father.
This is the 14th clip of the Deaf Child mythology (4th of the 2nd chapter).
Find out what the human owl saw at the Southern Land.
For those who can not download the clip, click below.
This is the 13th clip of the Deaf Child myth (3rd of the 2nd chapter).
Enjoy finding out what the human owl discovered what the parents at the Eastern Land did to their deaf baby. Therefore, this clip is posted in honor of all the deaf human beings who underwent the same fate of the baby described here.
For those who can’t download below, go to youtube under the screen name of cnkatz.