Hey signers! Today's video is like nothing we've ever done before but we
have the best reason to switch things up. If you haven't heard CODA a movie
centered around a deaf family and their hearing daughter, has received wide
critical acclaim. This is huge in the Deaf community and we here at Learn How
to Sign wanted to take time to celebrate this.
So in today's video we are breaking down the ASL and culture within the movie of
CODA to help you better appreciate everything about this movie so
sit back, grab yourself some popcorn and let's
learn all about CODA.
Okay disclaimer I will be giving away tons of spoilers to this movie so if you
haven't already, you need to go and watch this movie, like now! But if you're not
worried about spoilers then you are in for a treat packed full of any of those
burning ASL questions. I learned that on YouTube! Also this is a mature movie and
rated PG-13. Please be aware of this before watching the movie and this video.
So first, why is this movie titled CODA? CODA stands for Child of Deaf Adults.
This was named since the movie is centered around Ruby who is a CODA.
So as you have seen from the movie, she is her family's connection to the
hearing world and this was not only true in working
with her dad and her brother on the fishing boat but also their voice
selling the fish. The movie even starts with what had to
be the most awkward doctor's appointment that a child would be mortified to know
that their parents are talking about.
Even as hilarious as it is to watch her have to interpret a doctor's appointment
for her parents, it also shows her responsibilities being the only hearing
person in the family. Throughout the movie the viewer gets
hints into Ruby's life. In this scene Ruby shares to Mr. V
what it's like growing up and having a deaf voice.
As one can assume she grew up around a deaf family so she mimicked what she
heard. Typically CODAs do have to go through
speech when they enter school or even before.
I talked funny when I first started school.
We even get a glimpse into her life in her house, like when she can play the music as loud
as she wants or when she's needing some quiet time to
focus but everyone in her house is incredibly noisy
or when her parents are too loud.
Did you notice in that scene that she had to flip off and on the lights to get
her parents attention? Throughout the movie we get to see
several examples of accommodations that are needed for deaf people.
In the movie there are a few quick mentions of what their day-to-day looked
like. Ruby mentioned them only seeing their
deaf friends once a month. In the deaf community there are
typically a scheduled night maybe once a month called a Deaf Chat or a Deaf
Coffee. It allows everyone in the Deaf Community
to have a specific night set aside to get together. You have to think typically
those who are deaf or hard of hearing don't work with others who are deaf.
In the case of Ruby's family they might be the only deaf people in their community
so having this time set aside is so important for their socialization.
You might have heard Ruby's mom mention a video phone.
The purpose of this service is providing a virtual interpreter.
A camera is attached to a TV in a common space in your home where you can see the
services of an interpreter for your phone calls you make a call with an
interpreter to chat with a hearing person or you can chat screen to screen
with another person who has one. Oh and did you catch the alarm clock?
Ruby's dad was using this is a light up alarm clock since a
sound alarm would not work. There are also devices that you can set
under your mattress and it vibrates when the alarm goes off.
Another vital tool we see deaf individuals using throughout the movie
is something you frequently use a smartphone. Just seeing how it is used
throughout the movie shows how vital of a role it plays today in the deaf
community. You can't imagine how difficult it would
have been back in the day before cell phones and video phones. For instance,
deaf people would have to go to the person's house that they wanted
to speak with and they would also have to carry around pins and paper to
communicate with other people. You might have noticed the entire movie was
captioned whether it was signing or talking. The goal was accessibility for
all viewers. The actors said during filming they were also provided with
interpreters so they would have complete access to communication. There are
specific parts the producers decided not to caption.
Like when Ruby signs to Mr. V what it feels like to sing because she doesn't
have the english words to express it. How do you feel when you sing?
I'll interpret it for you.
It feels…….light
and it's pulling from the inside
and it releases
I'm
floating away. The script itself had to be adapted into
ASL, of course, but included ASL idioms to keep with the
authenticity as well as the speed of the signing because it's their native
language. The conversation between Ruby's parents
gives us light into their personal struggle of wanting to keep Ruby home
with the realization that Ruby had never truly ever been a child.
This also shares deep insight into a conversation between two deaf people.
The open captioning gives their conversation in English grammar but this what they are sign in ASL.
As you can literally see ASL structure is completely different from English.
What I spoke is considered an ASL gloss, the written down structure of ASL, but as
you could also see the actors didn't just rely on their script.
They incorporated non-manual signals meaning, changes to their facial expression, mouth
movements and body language to communicate questions and responses, all
of this on top of their acting abilities! Now you might have caught the phrase
TRUE-BUSINESS that didn't quite connect with the English caption.
TRUE- BUSINESS is an ASL idiom. Yes ASL has their own idioms too. TRUE-BUSINESS
can mean absolutely or indeed or sure enough.
This movie shares some emotionally touching moments too. Just imagine for a
second that you're growing up with an incredible God-given talent and
everybody can witness it except for your parents.
How hard would that be for you? How hard would that be for your parents?
Ruby shares with her family her love for singing and she's great!
But her parents truly don't know how great she is.
Since they can't hear her, they use another sense, their sight, to see her
confidence on stage and how other people are reacting to her singing.
The smiles, the clapping to the music, the tears from one lady.
From that they can see what her daughter is doing is incredibly moving and is
evoking all of these emotions from the audience.
It was an incredible pause to allow us to get a glimpse of what her parents
experience. Let's just take a moment and experience
it ourself. Grab yourself a tissue. I’ve got mine.
Don't put your tissues away just yet. There's a special scene where we get to
see Ruby's dad ask her to sing and then in that moment he held onto her neck to
feel her vocal cords moving. The actor Troy Kotsur shared this idea
from his own personal experience. My daughter became addicted and just
immersed into this world of practicing the piano every morning, sometimes all
day long and I still couldn't hear the piano but I would walk through the room
and I would touch the wood on the piano to feel its vibrations and it was a
similar idea of feeling Ruby's voice in that scene. What an amazing connection!
Before we continue if you're liking this breakdown, please click the like button.
This will show us if we should do more content like this but it will also help
this video reach more people so they too can learn more about ASL and deaf
culture. Speaking of deaf culture a big phrase
you see is DEAF CAN. We get to see this statement through
Ruby's brother. Throughout the movie we see Ruby taking action and helping her
family but what her brother really wants is to prove himself and that DEAF CAN
do the exact same thing as hearing people.
We saw this go all the way down into an argument between the two of them.
He wanted her to leave so that he could prove his worth to his family and his
people.
At the end of the movie we get to see her brother and parents prove that deaf
can as their business thrives. This whole sequence is also so touching
because we get to see Ruby's parents release her to pursue her own desires.
She lived her whole life serving her family and setting aside her own
aspirations but ultimately her whole family saw that she deserves the ability
to pursue her own passions.
And the movie ends perfectly with ruby looking back to her family
and signing not only “I love you” but crossing her fingers and signing
I REALLY LOVE YOU
This movie was absolutely the best depiction of life as a CODA. I was blown
away by the authenticity presented by the script and the acting. I truly hope
this movie has opened doors for more deaf films, deaf actors and the
appreciation of ASL. I have loved being a small part of this
community and can't wait to see what the future holds.
I give this movie two thumbs up which is literally a 10 out of 10. If
this video piqued your interest in learning ASL, then subscribe and check
out our First 25 Signs video. This is a great first step in learning
your first signs. Until next time keep learning how to
sign!