ASL Film Review
Children of a Lesser God
Children of a Lesser God is a love story about a speech teacher who falls for a beautiful yet distant deaf girl in a small New England school for the deaf, and the obstacles that they face due to their differences. James Leeds, a renegade teacher with an unconventional approach to education and a resume that includes stints as a bartender and a disk jockey, begins to teach there. Upon his arrival, he is warned by school administrator Dr. Franklin not to get creative with his instruction. Naturally, Leeds already has his mind set on his teaching plan and proceeds to play loud rock music in class in order to teach the students to feel the vibrations of the music and get them to try to speak phonetically. But a new element enters his life when he meets the attractive custodian, Sarah. An exceptionally intelligent yet extremely bitter young woman, Sarah is a graduate of the school who has decided to remain there, in the confines of her world of silence; it's safer for her to be with her own "people" than to face what she perceives as a cruel and uncaring world. She hardly seems interested in James and will only communicate with him through signing, although she can read lips and even speak a little. James learns from Sarah's mother that Sarah was sexually molested as a teenager; this explains why she is so wary of his attempts to form a relationship with her and why she is so full of fear. Eventually, James does get through to Sarah and the two fall in love, although both have to learn new ways to communicate their feelings.
At first the controversy of this movie lies within Sarah’s unwillingness to speak because she feels that she shouldn’t have to learn to speak just because others do. She likes to be in her own world of silence because it makes her feel safe and that no one can make fun of her or hurt her there. She refuses to speak and is content just because others want her to. She refuses to learn to speak because she feels she should only do things that she is good at to prevent other from making fun of her as she was when she was a child. Everyone made fun of her voice as a child to the degree that she gave up speaking. She is scared to try to learn to speak because then she will be seen in a way that she thinks is not her own. Also, Sarah is dealing with issues with her mother because the sent her away because her parents didn’t know how to take care of her. She does finally visit her mother after years but she is still resentful of her mother. But the as the movie progresses it becomes more clear that the deeper controversy lies within her own deaf identity. She feels isolated and controlled because everyone always does things for her. For example James wanted her to quit her job, has to speak for her, and uses sentences like “me and her”. She feels like she has no “I” and that her identity is only what others give to her. She tries to make James understand that that is not her and she will never let him in her world of silence until he understands that. She will never want to know him until he can realize that she has to be allowed to be herself and create her own identity. Before she can resolve her issues with James, she must resolve her own personal issues in order to move on with her life.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
“The Kiss of Memory”: The Problem of Love in Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God is an analyzation of African American love that Hurston portrays throughout the novel. This focuses on the main character, Janie, and her third husband, Tea Cake. The article mainly covers the couple’s sexual desires, domestic violence when all hell breaks loose, and their jealousy towards others. Tracy Bealer (the article author) also analyzed racism within relationships, especially towards African American relationships.…
- 286 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
In the essay “God and the Strongest Battalions,” Richard Current stated that the North won because they had so much more than the South. The North had an advantage over population; near five to two. They had more wealth, manpower, manufactured goods, agriculture, transportation, finances, and the economic stability to fight and win a war. Current stated that “If wars are won by riches, there can be no question why the North eventually prevailed” (Current 15). Current then talked about the Southern advantages. “If statistics were on the side of the North, history seemed to be on the side of the South” (Current 17). The South had the internal spirit because they were fighting for their freedom. The South had the advantage on the geographical side because of the rivers and swamps and because most of the fighting was done on their home front. The last and most important reason that Current wrote about was cotton. He talked about how the South could have used the cotton as a major advantage, but because of bad management and human errors, the South lost all of their hope of winning. Instead of making the best use of the cotton, the South stopped their planting, burned some of the bales and discouraged the foreign trade associated with it. Current then brought up the point that a new light was thrown on the question of whether the Confederacy was more handicapped by human or by material shortcomings. That question was brought up again when Current wrote more about the Confederate leader’s failures when it came to the transportation, manufacturing, and finances of the South. The North had a better economy to start with, and the South would have had to do an immense amount of work to even come close to the North’s resources. Another point that Current brought up next was that the Confederacy faced problems of politics and government along with military and naval problems. Overall, the South could not compete with the amount…
- 386 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
The autobiography of Nate Shaw while hard to read due to what I would call old southern slang was interesting but saddening as well. Emancipation was intended to give the black man his freedom, but this was not accomplished with the mere passing of a law. It would take many years and many lives lost before progress would be made that would make a difference.…
- 625 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Get the Band-Aids out because you will be turning the pages so fast you will be getting paper cuts.…
- 359 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
The post-apocalyptic novel, “Children of the Dust”, was published in 1985 by English author Louise Lawrence. The most recognisable themes in the novel are survival and adaptation: it is an undercurrent throughout the entire novel. The novel details the journey of life inside and outside of the bunker. It details the journey of the three generations of a family and their description a nuclear war. In every section a theme is explored: survival, the misuse of technology, reliving past mistakes and prejudice.…
- 756 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
The books that we were required to read for Bible 115 class were Engaging God’s World – A Christian Vision Of Faith, Learning And Living by Cornelius Plantinga Jr. and The Call – Finding And Fulfilling The Central Purpose For Your Life by Os Guinness. Both books offered very useful advice for today’s Christians. Engaging God’s World is written for students and will help them make sense of their education in a Christian perspective. Both authors use scripture, humor and common sense to validate their points.…
- 1216 Words
- 5 Pages
Better Essays -
A Critical Review of Ali Eteraz's Children of Dust: A Portrait of a Muslim as a Young Man…
- 1052 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
The essay I am writing today explains the roles of fear and persuasion in two different stories. One is “Sinners In The Hands of an Angry God”, a sermon written by Jonathan Edwards which tries to convince people to be more god allowing. The other being “The Crucible” written be Arthur Miller, which is a story based on accusations and intimidation, which is made out to be a mock of mccarthyism.…
- 400 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
“Look deep into nature,and then you will understand everything better.”Albert Einstein.”Beast of the Southern Wild” was a film that was directed by Benh Zeitlin and was released by June 27,2012. “Their Eyes Were Watching God” was a novel that was written by Zora Hurston and was published in September 18,1937.The film and the novel had some similarities such as having connection to nature,mothers relationship,and what happened in the big storm.…
- 666 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
The novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston, illustrated how black women during the early 1900’s were constantly marginalized and silenced. In this time period black women did not have the same respect as men or white women when they gave their opinions and were often ignored. Black women were also perceived to be less intelligent and ____ by others. Hurston portrayed how black women were marginalized and silenced by others through the protagonists’ relationships with other people.…
- 501 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Through his narrator in East of Eden, John Steinbeck says that there is only "one story in the world", that of good and evil (Steinbeck 412). The original story of good and evil can be traced back to the biblical tale of Cain and Abel, from which Steinbeck picked his title and formed many central characters around. In his novel East of Eden, John Steinbeck explores the constant collision between good and evil and forms a parallel between his story and that of Cain and Abel.…
- 1528 Words
- 7 Pages
Better Essays -
The strong sense of belonging comes from relating one’s feelings to another’s. However, this belonging only happens when communication is mutual, especially for Deaf culture. The way Deaf children choose to communicate is often times chosen by their parents or a doctor, leaving it up to them to pursue down that path of communication. It becomes how they identify with certain groups in the Deaf or hearing world. In the movie, Children of a Lesser God, the main character Sarah struggled to distinguish herself in any particular social groups because of the disrespect she received from both the hearing and Deaf world. Similarly, a young girl named Allison was bullied and criticized by the deaf world for the way she “grew up… for talking…for not being deaf enough.” It began to happen in the hearing world too, and she felt like there was nowhere to belong, leading her to “walk away from the community” (Letters: Deaf Culture in America PAGE #). The cruelty she endured is not always the experience Deaf children go through, in fact many find a balance between both cultures and are open to learning and respecting them. This idea of respect is often mistaken for pitying or aiding those who are perceived as less fortunate. Respect is in fact not segregated to those views, but a widespread affair for each individual to become a part of. There is no limit to how respect should be shown, however many people use that to their advantage. The American society believes that every culture should become influenced or altered to become more like their own. For many years people have been “obsessed with fitting deaf children into the hearing lifestyle because they say it is reality and in the process, they deprive many deaf children of the opportunity to learn language and become fully functioning individuals with their own right,” (Letters: Deaf culture in America PAGE #). Deaf people…
- 1478 Words
- 6 Pages
Better Essays -
Empires throughout the world were taught that in order to have and gain redemption, they must first grasp the moral truths that surround communities. In and amongst the pages of Dante’s The Divine Comedy, we are educated of diverse ways to relate to life through Hell, Purgatory and Paradise. This voyage Dante takes his readers on is one of uncertainty, ambivalence and inconstancy, as if we are touring an encyclopedia to increase this circle of knowledge.…
- 430 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
individualism is “a social theory favoring freedom of action for individuals over collective or state control”. what this means is that the individual has control over what goes on in the society rather than a government or any one force controlling what the individual does, individualism could be shown in many different forms. examples of different forms individualism could be shown is through the way you dress, your moral beliefs, or even your actions.Individualism is shown through romantic, revolutionary, and colonial text in Sinners in the hands of an angry god, speech to Virginia conviction, and self reliance…
- 532 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
“It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.” (Page 304). The Parable of the Prodigal Son is a passage from the bible. Luke wrote it and in the literature book it is chapter 15 verses 11-32. The prodigal Son is about a father and two sons. The older son is responsible, while the younger one just wants the money that he inherits now. The money he inherits is ten million dollars. The dad gives him the money and the son runs off. He blows all the money and is forced to get a job. His job is feeding pigs. The son will soon become so desperate to eat that he will eat the food for the pigs. The son decides that it is time to return home. The father sees the son coming up the drive and gets very happy. During this time the older brother is out working. He works for his father. When he decides to come in for the night he hears commotion and asks a…
- 941 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays