Deafula came out in 1975. It was written, directed, and starring Peter Wolf (not the Whammer Jammer), and was the first movie in ASL. This Peter Wolf was Deaf and a member of the Deaf Community. Which brings me to my first point: this movie is not for deaf folks.
There was a disclaimer in the beginning that the movie was entirely in ASL but there will be audible translations – but the disclaimer didn’t have open captions. So I couldn’t make it out. I turned on the closed captions and they appeared but that helped. And there’s more evidence of how Deaf isn’t the same as deaf. Hearing loss (or in this case, Deaf Gain) is a spectrum. Two of the defining characteristics of the culture of Deafness are usage of ASL and the importance of the visual. And after the disclaimer, this was in evidence.
There was a minutes-long panning shot of a cityscape from inside a building. We were treated to the view through a series of window panes. For Deaf people, windows aren’t a barrier to communication, not like they are for hearing folks. Signed sentences can be seen just as easily through a window. With that in mind, I understood and appreciated this opening shot. One thing I didn’t understand was the background music that played along with the shot. Maybe the movie was shown with speakers embedded in chairs so the audience could feel the music? (Sadly, no Tactus vests existed back in 1975!) There was also occasional background noise, including an off-screen scream, that also befuddled me. But then again, you just can’t please me because when the background noise and music stopped, I found the silence unsettlingly too.
(Quick non-hearing related aside: there was a dog in the beginning. I immediately started sweating. “Something better not happen to that dog!” I shouted to Julie. Naturally, little kid Deafula drank her blood. We almost turned off the movie right there.)
I’m not going to give you a blow-by-blow summary of the plot, and not just because I found it hard to follow. Sometimes it was due to creative choices, it always took me a minute to realize when we’d gone into a flashback. Sometimes it was being too familiar with vampire lore and taking umbrage at things like Deafula being able to mosey about in the sunlight and not being bothered by crosses. Sometimes I wasn’t sure if I was not being familiar with Deaf Culture or not being a fan of art-house style of movie making. What I will give you is some subtle differences between Deaf Culture and the Hearing World.
First, the cop had used a teletypewriter (TTY) phone, both at the station and in his cruiser. A TTY phone has a small keyboard. You place the handset of a regular telephone atop this one to make the connection and you type out conversation. Next, we were treated to a flashing doorbell. It was cool to see something I use in a movie! Then there was the scene in a bar. This dude was trying to pick up a woman and he told her how much his rent was. And it worked! Deaf Culture is much more blunt in all things. Including money. It’s not gauche to talk finances.
On a more subtly evil note: a character had no hands. That make communicating impossible. It’s common for Deaf people to be non-verbal, how can you learn to talk if you can’t sound out the words? A big obstacle for a hearing fellow becomes an impossible one for a Deaf one. Think about that, how hard would your life be if you were robbed of language?
Speaking of language, there was a cop from the UK that came to help catch Deafula. He had helped capture Dracula and knew a thing or two about vampires. But I was surprised to see him portrayed as a bit of a buffoon. Was that a commentary on a rivalry between the Deaf Culture of America and the Deaf Culture of England? If so, it backfired for me. ASL stands for American Sign Language, which the English dude was using. Which means he’s bilingual. Because British Deaf Culture speaks BSL, British SIgn Language.
We even learned a few things about ASL in the movie.
We learned that there’s no sign for evil or Satan. You simply fingerspell them. Does that imply a Christian influence? Did they not create signs as a way to prevent the devil from gaining any power over them? Or am I reading too much into it?
At the end, Deafula signs this long monologue. He put his whole body into the speech. Literally. It reminded me of Deaf poetry. ASL is such an expressive language. Non-manual markers are part of the language. You sign with not just your hands but with your face, your shoulders, your arms, pretty much your whole body. It was quite the spectacle. I rather enjoyed it. But was also confused by it. Because it took place in a church. Luckily, I was able to put my knowledge of vampire myths aside and appreciate it for what it was: a cultural highlight.
I appreciated the movie for what it was; dated and a tad confusing but my first exposure to Deaf forms of entertainment. Perhaps the thing I appreciate the most was the skill of Deafula. The dude wore white pants throughout the whole movie and kept them clean!
‘Tis duality:
to laugh but appreciate.
Different, not worse.
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