Representation or stereotype? Deaf viewers are torn over ‘CODA’

’In many ways, the success of “CODA,” a drama about a deaf family with a hearing daughter, is a breakthrough moment for deaf audiences: The movie won best picture at the Oscars on Sunday night; its writer-director, Sian Heder, won best adapted screenplay; and Troy Kotsur took home the prize for best supporting actor, making him the first deaf man to win an Oscar for acting.

But in interviews and on social media, some deaf people and children of deaf adults, known as CODAs, say they feel torn: While they hope this moment will lead to better recognition and open doors for more representation throughout Hollywood, they argue that the film views deaf people from a hearing perspective in its approach to interpreting for deaf people and to their relationship with music, among other issues. In some cases, this “hearing gaze,” as some have called it, led to scenes that may resonate with hearing viewers but fall flat with deaf viewers or even upset them.

Jenna Beacom, a deaf media critic who often works as a consultant on writing projects with deaf characters, said she had wanted the film to “win every award.” But, she added, “There’s so many actually harmful messages in this movie, so that’s the conflict. I don’t want those messages out there. I don’t want them taking root.”

Based on a 2014 French film called “La Famille Bélier,” the remake centres on the tension between hearing teenager Ruby’s desire to sing and her deaf parents’ refusal to support her dream. Ruby’s parents, Frank and Jackie (Kotsur and Marlee Matlin), rely on her to interpret for them at work, in town hall meetings, at the courthouse and at the doctor’s office, and worry about how they will support themselves without her.

When Beacom first saw the trailer for the movie, she thought the story must be set in the past. It was the only explanation she could think of for Frank and Jackie’s dependence on Ruby (Emilia Jones) instead of on professional interpreters, which have been mandated since the Americans with Disabilities Act passed in 1990.

Acknowledging that interpreting services aren’t always provided and that many children interpret in a pinch, Beacom pointed out that the script made no mention of this being a last resort for the family. The movie also rarely showed deaf people communicating through other methods, like video relay services, mobile phone apps, lip reading, or just plain old pencil and paper.

“Deafness is seen as a burden for both the deaf people and their poor, overworked CODA daughter, and it’s not,” Beacom said, adding that many deaf people are extremely independent and competent.

Heder, the director, declined to respond to questions about the criticisms raised in Deaf circles. In other interviews, she has said that she researched Deaf communities while writing the script, learned some American Sign Language, hired interpreters who were CODAs and used consultants throughout the filmmaking process.

In production notes for “CODA,” Heder said three children of deaf adults on set had positive reactions to the film. “That’s such a good feeling because there’s always hesitation when you’re stepping into a world and someone’s experience that you don’t know,” she said in the notes.

Moreover, Heder has been credited, even by some critics, for her decision to cast deaf actors in deaf roles and to clearly showcase ASL on screen.

Leala Holcomb, 34, of Frederick, Maryland, is deaf and nonbinary, and said the Deaf experience can be complicated. Because many deaf people are raised in speaking environments, some don’t learn ASL until later in life and experience language deprivation, so they may have limited knowledge of their right to an interpreter or may never master English, Holcomb said.

Still, “CODA” was hard for them to watch. “It’s so obvious that the movie is not written by a deaf person,” they added.

Holcomb said they cried at some scenes but not because they were moved by the drama. The breaking point was a moment in which Frank wants to know what Ruby sounds like and puts his hand on her throat as she sings. While that might seem like an emotional gesture to hearing people, Holcomb said that for deaf people, the act carries no significance; the vibration would feel similar to that of a phone ring tone and wouldn’t clue in Frank about whether his daughter’s voice was beautiful.

Instead, the gesture reminded Holcomb of one used in speech therapy to try to teach deaf people to speak, a fraught effort that can be embarrassing, difficult and often end in failure. These sessions, they said, “are known to be traumatising for many deaf people.”

Like Frank in the movie, Beacom and Holcomb have children who love to sing. To find out what their children sounded like, both said they simply asked hearing people to describe it. And despite the fact that many deaf people love music, the idea that they cannot enjoy it is a trope seen again and again in Hollywood. It’s predicated on the idea that deaf people are missing out, even though most aren’t overly focused on their inability to hear music, said Lennard Davis, a CODA and the author of numerous books on disability and Deafness. He calls it a “fake issue” in the movie.

Davis said he wished instead that the movie had focused on issues that real CODAs experience, like being unable to easily call for their parents in a crisis or interpreting in moments that are upsetting or emotionally charged for them.

A scene that especially upset him was one that was meant to be funny. Frank, experiencing jock itch, and Jackie are at the doctor, with Ruby translating for them. After Frank shares comical details about his genitals, the doctor rules out sex for two weeks. But Ruby tells her parents they need to avoid sex forever. To Davis, the deaf parents became the butt of the joke, and the scene made light of what CODAs go through when interpreting in a pinch.

“I had to tell my mother that her father died,” Davis said. “That’s more of the tragedy of the difficulty of being a CODA, not this kind of ha-ha let’s laugh at the parents and this situation,” he added.

Adrian Bailey, 39, a CODA from Bristol, England, also said the scene was upsetting. A few years ago, his father was admitted to the emergency room and Bailey had to translate, telling his father that he had nearly died.

Bailey acknowledged that while some children do get put in funny or awkward interpreting situations, he said that “as a community, we can laugh about that together, but to expose that to a hearing world that doesn’t understand these things, that’s not OK. I think that crossed a line.”

But he’s not angry with Heder. He acknowledged that it could be difficult — especially for an outsider — to make films about Deaf culture, which can encompass a range of experiences. But he also said he didn’t want Hollywood to shy away from the challenge. Instead, he urged the industry to provide more support for deaf and CODA creators.

Caleb Robinson, a deaf student at Gallaudet University in Washington and an aspiring screenwriter, agreed, citing a scene he said a deaf person would never have written. Toward the end of the movie, Frank encourages Ruby to leave for college by saying one word out loud: “Go.” But, Robinson argued, that makes using one’s voice seem more meaningful than using ASL, and speaking feels out of character after Ruby and her father have communicated with each other in ASL up until then.

Overall, he said that “CODA” “wasn’t bad” and that a lot of deaf people he knows support the movie because it showcases deaf actors and ASL. But he said they also may be afraid to openly criticise it because so few movies centering on deaf people have reached this level of mainstream success; nobody wants to see the movie shot down.

“But I think we could push a little more,” Robinson said, adding, “It’s time for us to write our narratives, not hearing people.”

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