Down the Tubes Productions

We finally did it. 

We found a block of time, sat down, and watched the award winning film, “CODA”. 

I have thoughts. 

As with the other films, it was challenging for me to put my impressions and feelings into a flowing narrative, so we will be journeying forward with a bullet point list this week: 

• Similar to “Deafula” and “Children of a Lesser God” there is a long opening sequence panning the setting of the film. Is there some secret symbolism hidden here? A clandestine agreement between filmmakers of the d/hh movie genre? Who knows – but it struck me funny enough to mention it. 

• Troy Kutsur and Marlee Matlin are stupendous in their roles. I was initially bitter and thought “Once again, rolling out the only deaf people they can find to fill the roles…”  I was wrong. The fact that we finally have two deaf (*disclaimer: I do not know if they identify as culturally Deaf or medically deaf so I will default to the lower case deaf) talented and accomplished masters of their craft in pivotal, titular roles of a major film nearly brought tears to my ears. I was struck by how meaningful it was to me to see this representation after a lifetime of treating my hearing loss like a nuisance, preferring to instead identify with the “hearing world”. I had a flood of bittersweet emotions ranging from pride in seeing people that were similar to me to frustration that I still cannot see myself fully in these characters to a tiny sliver of grief about how long it has taken me to step into my complete hearing impaired identity. 

• Marlee Matlin and I first became acquainted after her star turn in the film “Children of a Lesser God”. I was too young to see the film upon its initial release back in 1986 – it had mature themes for a 12 year old, but all I heard about incessantly was “Did you see the new actress? Marlee Matlin? She is DEAF just like YOU!” Once again, the well-intentioned sharing of information but the impact of those uttered enthusiasms set my teeth on edge. And has for many years. I never saw myself in her – and never saw myself as “disabled” for the majority of my life. 

• Now on to Troy Kutsur. That man is fire – both in his prowess as an actor and an advocate for the d/hh community.  His portrayal of the character Frank Rossi, a determined, weathered, and defensive Gloucester fisherman was pure magic. It is an understatement to say that he nailed it and brought to life a composite of Massachusetts natives that work the sea. He won the Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in 2022, and I stood up and cheered in my TV room. And I hadn’t even seen the movie yet, ironically enough. There is just something about his energy that I have resonated with since he first came to my attention just before the Academy Awards. I rarely desire to interact with celebrities, but he is at the top of my list as someone I want to sit down and have a beer with – preferably at The Crow’s Nest in Gloucester. Speaking of the Academy Awards, Will Smith’s immature, childish, and violent attack of Chris Rock during that ceremony became the night’s headline – completely overshadowing Troy Kutsur’s win as well as a rare acknowledgement of our d/hh community. Once again, we were pushed to the side in favor of sensationalism and controversy from the hearing community. Ableism at its best, however unintentional. 

• I am not a CODA (Child of a Deaf Adult), and the portrayal by Emilia Jones of the only hearing family member in a family of deaf people was incredible. Emilia Jones learned ASL and how to sing for the role which shocked me because I truly thought she was either a CODA herself or a native ASL speaker. I was blown away by her skills and her performance. It gave me pause to reflect on the burden and responsibility that is likely placed on some CODAs to translate for their parents in all situations – awkward or otherwise. There were a few scenes that really illustrated this point where translations required were both benign and a bit personal. I will not give away anything further, but will highly encourage viewing of this film. 

• I loved that in this particular film, the ASL dialogue was captioned. A major irritation of mine while viewing the very short segment of “Children of a Lesser God” was William Hurt’s character “translating” the ASL with his speaking voice – fabulous hair notwithstanding. It felt so disrespectful, ableist, and demeaning. Kudos to the film makers for treating this language and the dialogue of the characters with the respect that it so deserves, especially for a largely hearing audience. 

• There are several moments in the film where there is a shift to complete silence to provide a point of view of the deaf characters to allow us viewers to experience the situation and scene through their ears, if you will. I will not drop any spoilers – but watch the film, and I would love to “hear” your thoughts! 

• I will mention that there were several scenes that hit me hard, one of them being a moment where the deaf characters are attending an event and notice that others around them are laughing at something happening. They join in the laughter even though they clearly have missed the moment that caused the jovial reactions. I felt a tug on my heart as I resonated deeply with this moment considering how often I have bluffed my way through situations that I did not understand for the sake of being “one of the crowd”. And I bet that anyone reading this who knows me well had no idea until this moment that this is part of my reality. 

• There is a moment where Emilia Jones’s character asks her mother, portrayed by Marlee Matlin, if she wished that she were deaf. The response was, “Yes”. This knocked me backwards and I mustered the courage to ask my own Mom if she and my Dad ever wished if I was hearing – of course it was a resounding “NO!”, but it was worth the ask. I am going to spend some time personally turning over in my own mind if I truly wished if I was hearing – or if I had ever felt that way when I was younger. I am blessed to have bumped into Brad who helped me beyond measure to take a giant step forward and claim my authentic self. Never could I have imagined that a shrug across a noisy room would have led to all we are doing in service of our community through our company, Down the Tubes Productions. It is never too late to live your best life and change the world. 

• Finally, keep the tissues handy. I will leave it at that. The end of this film managed to melt both of us into puddles – no easy feat. And I have Troy Kutsur to thank for that moment.