Culture is something that is held sacred by different societies all around the world. Culture can take shape in many different forms. In the video Sound and Fury, culture is displayed between two groups of people: the deaf society and the hearing society.
Before I saw this video I had no idea that the deaf culture were such a proud group of people. They hold true to their disability and they are greatful for being deaf. If this discourse had the choice of hearing or not hearing, they would choose to not hear 10 times out of 10. The basis of this video was the conflict between members of a family with a history a deafness. Two different families, one with deaf parents and one with hearing parents. Both families gave birth to a deaf child. With modern technology there is a procedure that can help these children hear. It is called a cochlear implant which is surgically implanted in the brain behind the ear. It allows these children to distinguish vibrations and make out sounds like words. It is much more beneficial if it is done earlier in the childs life so he or she can develop speach properly.
The deaf culture despises the idea of taking away one of their own by giving someone a cochlear implant. It seems insulting to deaf people to take away their identity like this. This leads the major conflict of the video. The two families are related and the side with the hearing parents, wants to give their child the implant, but the side with the deaf parents is completely against it.
Most of us are not deaf, so we do not know why anyone would want to keep his or her child handicapped throughout life. Personally I would definetely give my child the cochlear implant. I know for a fact that if you can't hear you will be a huge disadvantage in the world. Any handicap puts a person at a disadvantage so that's why I would go to any lengths to help remove it. That's why it's hard for us to understand why those parents wouldn't give their child the best possible opportunity to succeed. It all comes down to the pride and joy they feel from being apart of the deaf community.
It is their culture, their way of life, but what is culture anyway? Why do people constantly feel the need to put their own culture up on a pedestal? I believe that it is because of all the things people may own, the only true possesion of any value is their culture, their identity. It is soley their own and no one elses. Although people may be apart of the same culture, nobody is the same person. That brings culture to the next level: being apart of the same discourse like the deaf culture is one thing, but within that community you are your own person and no one can take that away from you.
I think that is what the film makers were trying to show with this film. They used the different perspectives to show how different communities function and view life. Giving the viewers both sides of the arguement, they allowed us to explore and learn about both cultures and why one would want the cochlear and why one wouldn't. Their was much emotion that they caught on tape. Also going outside the family and showing classes and parks full of just deaf people gave us in the hearing world a picture of how these people function. It was a great culture shock that inspired us to branch out from the hearing walls.
We in the hearing world have never known life without sound so obviously we can't understand why a deaf person would be against wanting to hear, but that's the point of culture. Even though I'm open to change, I find it valiant that the deaf culture would stand so strongly against the cochlear implant. People need to value their own identity and hold it proudly in the air.
