Through Deaf Eyes

Through Deaf Eyes is the most informational movie about Deaf people. Most hearing people are completely clueless when it comes to Deaf people, the Deaf community, and Deaf culture. This film on PBS probably opened thousands of hearing people’s eyes to the intriguing lives of Deaf people.

Through Deaf Eyes not only emphasizes how funny, talented, and lively deaf people are, but also how hard most of their lives have been.

Deaf people have been through a lot. Just check out our Deaf History article to learn more. This film doesn’t hide anything from us about the oppression and difficulties that Deaf people go through.

The documentary is blunt, and that’s what hearing people need to hear and what deaf people need to know.

Watching this documentary is truly a special treat. You will see interviews with well-known members of the Deaf community like Marlee Matlin and I. King Jordan. If you don’t know who these people are, please read our Famous Deaf People article. You will get excited about seeing these interviews.

You will also see 6 amazing short documentaries in this film. Not only do you get to watch an amazing full-length documentary, you get to watch short documentaries made by other Deaf filmmakers and media artists as well.

> Watch Through Deaf Eyes PBS Documentary (DVD)

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If you want to read information about the film from PBS, visit the PBS site for this film.

Of course, there was some controversy in the Deaf community about this film. Some people weren’t sure what the goal of this documentary was, what the director wanted the audience to get out of it, and if it held tight to the beliefs of Deaf culture…

But we will leave that up to you to decide for yourself.

Michelle Jay

Michelle Jay is the founder of StartASL.com. She earned a Bachelor‘s Degree in Deaf Studies, with an emphasis in teaching, from one of the nation’s premier programs at California State University, Northridge. Michelle is a published author and has contributed thought-provoking articles to academic publishers such as Greenhaven Press. Her unique articles have done much to support Deaf Culture, and have been printed in resource publications such as American Chronicle and Perspectives on Diseases & Disorders: Deafness & Hearing Impairments.

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