CANVAS Arts: At the Academy Awards this coming Sunday, the film "CODA" is nominated for three awards, including best picture.
One of the main actors in "CODA," Marlee Matlin, has brought strong characters to the screen for 35 years.
Tonight, she shares her Brief But Spectacular take on uplifting deaf actors and others in the disability community in Hollywood.
3 comments:
I haven't gotten a chance to watch "CODA" yet but from what I have heard from friends it is absolutely wonderful. I think that in the demand for more diversity in the theatre and film industries it is incredibly important to remember to also be demanding representation for the d/Deaf community. The representation of deaf characters in a movie big enough to be nominated for best picture is so huge. And I love the point that Marlee Matlin made about the actors portraying deaf characters. It is undeniably wrong for an actor to portray a character of a different race, so why should it be a discussion to allow actors to portray characters of different disabilities? Using famous hearing actors to portray deaf characters also takes away from the community of deaf actors who need to be more appreciated on screen and on stage. I can't wait to see "CODA" and I really hope that it leaves the Academy Awards with many wins.
Marlee Matlin is an incredible actress and advocate for the deaf community. Her decision to not work on the film if the producers cast a famous hearing man as the deaf father should be inspiring to other actors. She risked employment and being a part of a film that would mean so much to her because she did not want to support a production that erased the narrative of a deaf person. Other actors need to follow her lead and stand up for equitable practices, especially when they are in a position with power. I think it is important to hear the perspective of someone who has lived with disabilities and understands what the character is experiencing. It is also important to note that the technicians learned to sign and that there were interpreters all around the set. Making the appropriate accommodations is not that difficult and can clearly make all the difference in the quality of a production as well as fostering a better working environment.
I got to watch CODA when it originally premiered in theaters and it instantly became one of my favorite movies. From what I have heard from the deaf community (from my ritualistic post-movie scrolling) it seems like it was a good representation. I think it's important when writers choose to write disabled characters to make the set accessible to them. Or else how can they be expected to do their jobs? Another thing I really loved about CODA was that it emphasized how disabled people should not have to bend to the rules of the able-bodied world. They should make a space for us, not the other way around. They, however, don’t portray disability as “something bad/ to be fixed/ an immense degradation to a character’s quality of life”, they simply talk about it as part of life. Not antagonizing it is huge – not only for representation but for the actors playing these characters.
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