September is Deaf Awareness Month, and while the month may be nearly over, the Deaf community deserves representation all year long! We've come a long way in media for accurate deaf and hard-of-hearing representation, but there's also still a lot of misrepresentation. Some of the biggest struggles today are when hearing actors play deaf characters or when deafness if portrayed as a tragedy.
It is so important for people to realize that the Deaf community is not suffering or broken. Deaf culture is a beautiful and rich masterpiece all its own. And representation in the media that shows that beauty is essential to ending stigmas and stereotypes. As a disclaimer, I am not deaf or hard-of-hearing, but I have tried to curate a list of films based on opinions from the Deaf community.
Through Deaf Eyes (2007)
Through Deaf Eyes is a documentary that shares many different deaf perspectives and the history of deaf culture. It discusses what it's like to be deaf in a hearing world, starting in the 1800s. It includes personal interviews with well-known members of the Deaf community, such as Marlee Matlin. Matlin is the first deaf actor to receive an Oscar.
This documentary also contains six short films that show Deaf culture in America. Through these short films, interviews, and documentary pieces, we can gain a deeper understanding of the Deaf community from those who know it best: the Deaf community itself. It's always best to go straight to the source if you want to learn something new, and Through Deaf Eyes does exactly that.
The Hammer (2010)
The Hammer is based on the true story of Matt Hamill, a UFC fighter and the first deaf person to win a National Collegiate Wrestling championship. Russell Harvard, a deaf actor, plays Hamill in the film. In fact, the creators of the film worked exceptionally hard to find deaf cast and crew members to tell the story as authentically as possible. They also worked with the real Matt Hamill when writing the script.
Telling Hamill's athletic story without talking about his deafness would strip away a huge part of his identity, so it was crucial to cast deaf actors who could accurately portray him and the people around him. The Hammer shows the battle to prove oneself as a top athlete with the added struggle against ableism.
Wonderstruck (2017)
Wonderstruck is based on the 2011 novel of the same name by Brian Selznick. It tells the stories of Ben (Oakes Fegley) and Rose (Millicent Simmonds), two deaf children living 50 years apart, and their quests to find their long-lost parents. The film continually switches between the two stories, with Rose's moments filmed in black-and-white to differentiate the time periods.
When Selznick wrote the novel, he worked with his deaf friends (via the National Endowment for the Humanities) to portray realistic characters. His friends, Carol Padden and Tom Humphries, were two of the people interviewed in Through Deaf Eyes. Wonderstruck the film also strived to authentically show life as a deaf person. Rose's point of view is shown mainly through pictures and is a unique way to shine light on the deaf experience.
A Quiet Place (2018)
A Quiet Place, and the sequel, are post-apocalyptic horror films about aliens with extremely sensitive hearing. The main characters have survived because of their deaf daughter, Regan (Millicent Simmonds), and their knowledge of American Sign Language (ASL). They've been able to adapt to the silence necessary to live in this world where the softest creak of floorboards could get you killed.
These films were some of the first globally popular movies to heavily feature deafness and ASL. John Krasinski, who directed the films and played the father, fought to cast a deaf actress to play Regan. The cast all learned ASL, helped by Millicent Simmonds, to play their roles accurately. The Deaf community did rightly take issue with the fact that some scenes did not have closed captions, so a movie that revolved so much around deafness was still inaccessible. But many deaf people still recommend A Quiet Place for the representation.
CODA (2021)
CODA is an abbreviation for Child of Deaf Adults, and that is the premise of this film. Ruby Rossi (Emilia Jones) is the only hearing member of her family, and she struggles to fit in everywhere since she's not fully part of the hearing or the Deaf communities. She also loves to sing and dreams of a music career, which is something her deaf family cannot relate to.
The reception to CODA is mostly positive from the Deaf community, but also a bit mixed. It gives an empowered and capable portrayal of deaf people, and unlike its French counterpart, La Famille Béliere, it casts deaf actors to play deaf characters. But some people don't like that the main character is hearing because they feel that the film is still hearing-centric. Others praise the film for telling the story of CODAs and sharing a little-seen aspect of being in the Deaf community without being part of it.
Deaf President Now! (2025)
Deaf President Now! is another documentary that shows the Deaf community's fight for representation. Gallaudet University, the first university specifically for deaf and hard-of-hearing people, had only had hearing presidents. Students formed the Deaf President Now Movement which led to deaf people around the world protesting on behalf of Gallaudet University electing a deaf president.
This documentary shows how crucial the movement was for Deaf culture and disability rights at large. It shows how deaf people fought to be seen as capable adults rather than be infantilized as so often occurs in an ableist society. This movement led to the first deaf president at Gallaudet, I. King Jordan, and revolutionized how the Deaf community participated in the world.
There are many other movies that give positive representation to the Deaf community, and there are unfortunately many more that missed the mark. The best way to celebrate and honor Deaf culture is to unlearn ableist ideas and try to perceive the world through the deaf lens. Learn ASL, or the sign language of your area, and talk to deaf people. Ask them to recommend films for you to watch. That is the best way to become more aware of a community different than yours.
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