The linked-to article in this post original appeared in The Huffington Post website, The Rise of #DeafTalent, by Lydia Callis, Contributor.
I always focus on diversity. The linked-to article is about the rise of deaf and hard-of-hearing talent in the entertainment industry. I was pleased to see that one of the featured creatives in this article is filmmaker Jade Bryan. I am a funder/associate producer of “#Resist Through Our Eyes”, a project now in production; and a funder of her released film “The Shattered Mind”.
The linked-to article begins below …
The Rise Of #DeafTalent
Under mounting pressure from a wide variety of demographics who feel underrepresented in film and television, the entertainment industry is finally beginning to show signs of diversity. It is important to recognize that this gradual movement toward a multicultural media is only the result of long and tiresome grassroots efforts. The fight for representation touches people from all cultural minority groups, and intersects in a powerful way. Here, we do not see change coming from the top down, but rather from the bottom up — we, the people, are dictating what the future of film and television will look like.
Considering National Association for the Deaf (NAD) is the oldest civil rights organization in the United States, it’s easy to see that the American Deaf community has long been involved with the fight for social justice. In film and television, specifically, there have been a number of highly influential Deaf actors who have left lasting impacts on audiences of all ability. One of the most well-known examples is Linda Bove, who exposed many generations of children to deafness and ASL during her 30 year role as Linda the Librarian on public television’s Sesame Street. […]
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The Rise of #DeafTalent | The Huffington Post
In conclusion, this article discusses the #DeafTalent movement, and how it fits into the intersectionality discussion about the way the media portrays different minority identities, and how they can all work together to bring about constructive change. I learned that intersectionality is the concerns about discrimination based on “intersecting” identities such as gender, race, social class, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, religion, age, mental disability, physical disability, mental illness, and physical illness.
Please provide your thoughts and questions in the comments. I would really enjoy hearing from you. If you have a topic in mind you would like me to cover, please let me know.
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Alan, this is such an important conversation. I appreciate that you are bringing it to our attention. Watching Nyle DiMarco dance on “Dancing with the Stars” – and win Season 22 – was remarkable. As a fan of the show, it was so hard to fathom how he was able to learn the dances and perform so beautifully although he could not hear the music. There is just no place for discrimination because we are all humans.
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