How Deaf Women are Demanding a Place in the Industry— and Creating Their Own

Originally published on CherryPicks

“We exist, and there’s plenty of us.”

Editor’s note: The Deaf community capitalizes the word when referring to a group of deaf people who share a language and a culture, and uses the lowercase version of the word to describe the audiological condition of not hearing, according to the National Association of the Deaf.

Director Jules Dameron remembers the first time she learned how a movie was made. She was seven years old and mesmerized by her uncle’s camcorder as he filmed their family reunion. “I was fascinated with the workings of it,” she said. “I was hooked after that, and I wanted one of my own.” She started making movies with her own camera when she was 13 and hasn’t stopped since. 

Dameron has been described as an actor’s director with a highly visual, detail-oriented style. Her award-winning resume includes television episodes, short films, and music videos, and she has just launched a new theater and film production company called Hypernovas Productions. Dameron signs her emails with the swaggering adage “be good or be good at it.” She also happens to be Deaf, and she knows firsthand what it’s like to come up against the film industry’s stereotypes. 

"'We need to break that barrier and help them to learn how to do the right thing,' she said. “Let both doors open and learn from each other."

“Naturally, it is a double whammy to be both a woman and Deaf. There’s a lot of sexism in the Deaf community, in some ways more so than American society,” Dameron said. “And as for being female—well, I like to think the entertainment industry is beginning to realize that women are true powerhouses that can do anything and everything.” 

Which is why, in 2011, Dameron founded Deaf Women in Film, a group with a simple but powerful message: “We exist. And there are plenty of us.” The group currently has over 300 members and is committed to helping deaf and hard of hearing women get work as actors, directors, and producers, as well as promote films that feature deaf women in prominent roles. It’s also about celebrating the unique perspective and skills deaf women bring to the table, including a highly visual sensibility and “a strong empathy of understanding characters,” she said. 

“I feel that the Deaf perspective is highly cinematic, especially if you know sign language,” she said. “As for being a woman—I’ve come to the inevitable conclusion that women, in general, are heavy communicators and are highly detail-oriented. That is an enormous strength for making film.” 

“I have had enough”

Deaf artists have always played a role in Hollywood. Silent films were a “golden era” for deaf and hard of hearing people, and represented “the one brief time that deaf and hard of hearing citizens had comparatively equal access to motion pictures,” professor and historian John Schuchman wrote. Movies were also a new tool through which sign language could be conveyed, and Deaf artists like Granville Redmond were recruited to help hearing performers like Charlie Chaplin hone their visual communication skills. 

“We were part of mainstream society, not outcasted at all. Deaf people were excited,” said Tracey Salaway, a professor of art and media design at Gallaudet University. “But the sound technology in 1930 was on the rise when deaf people were no longer able to keep up with the popular American culture media.” 

While some Deaf artists have been recognized for their work since the 30s (actress Marlee Matlin became the first and only Deaf actress to win an Academy Award for her performance in 1986’s Children of a Lesser God), Hollywood’s hearing directors and producers have largely not hired deaf people to play deaf characters (Sally Hawkins’ character in The Shape of Water is one recent example). 

Dameron and other Deaf artists began speaking out about that widespread practice in 2015 using the hashtag #DeafTalent, denouncing it both as an underrepresentation of Deaf artists in the industry and an appropriation of Deaf culture. It’s something actress Amber Zion said she now wants to see addressed as part of the broader #TimesUp movement. 

“But now it's 2019, and there are still many more hearing actors playing deaf roles,” said Zion, whose work includes TV series like CSI: NY and short films. “That's where #TimesUp comes in for me. I have had enough and it's time to give deaf talents the opportunity they deserve.” 

Zion, who grew up as the only deaf person in her family, said watching movies was a big part of her childhood. She gravitated toward The Neverending Story and The Goonies because she could “relate to those characters in the movies because the kids treated me differently and [I was] bullied by them.” When she was five, Zion landed her first role, as Dorothy in a production of The Wizard of Oz, and was hooked. 

Dameron, who also grew up as the only deaf child in her family with “highly supportive” hearing parents, didn’t feel the frustration of trying to make it as a deaf woman in the film industry until later. She graduated from Gallaudet University and then earned an MFA in film production and directing at the University of Southern California, where she learned how to direct hearing actors. “I already knew I had what it took to be a film director but wasn’t understanding why I wasn’t getting the opportunities that I should be getting,” she said. 

“We can use our voice but not in their language”

Zion said she feels “deflated” when casting directors ask her if she can speak and then end the audition. 

“It is really hard for me to show my talent without the need to speak,” she explained. “There are many deaf talents out there who don't speak but have an amazing talent. It's not like we are mute. We can use our voice but not in their language. I use my voice sometimes, but I don't speak well. I don't care because that's who I am.”

Faced with those types of situations, Dameron and Zion have made her own opportunities; Dameron wrote a web series, Reverse Polarity, and cast Zion and other deaf actors. She also directed Møkkakaffe, a seven-part Norwegian TV series. Both productions featured deaf and hearing actors. 

“If anything, I have more understanding of directing hearing actors than deaf actors. I have a strong understanding of English and hearing culture since I grew up with a hearing family and also watched so many movies and TV shows growing up,” Dameron said. 

When directing hearing actors, she uses a variety of tools to make sure the scene is just how she wants it to be, including visualizing how the words are spoken, studying the actors’ faces to see if they’re delivering, and using interpreters to get the information she needs. 

“The interpreter usually gives me the sound information, and I piece together the visuals with the sound and then come to my own conclusion on what direction to give the actors,” Dameron said. “I keep my script handy while watching them act on set, and sitting next to the monitor with my interpreter right next to it. It’s worked well for me.”

“I’m normal, not disabled. Get it?”

Giving deaf artists an opportunity isn’t just about hiring them. It’s also about giving them the support they need to thrive. Many hearing people incorrectly assume American Sign Language is just a visual representation of English, while ASL actually has its own “complex set of grammar rules and different properties since it is a visual form of communication,” she explains. 

There is also “an enormous cultural difference between Deaf and hearing people,” Dameron explained, and hearing people “need to realize that they can’t just translate what they know to impose on Deaf people.” 

“When films/TV hire deaf actors, they often think that’s all that’s needed,” Dameron says. “They need a deaf consultant to ensure the authenticity of all the elements involving a deaf person in the story and supporting the director’s vision, [and a] sign language interpreter for communication access between the deaf actor and the teams (depending on that particular deaf person’s needs). And if there’s sign language involved in the project’s vision, then you’ll need an ASL master, since there’s translations involved.” 

“The sad part is that people will balk at hiring deaf people because of all this,” Dameron said. “Please don’t. It’s a fun ride if you go through all this.” 

Zion, who is working on a short film that will begin shooting this summer, said hearing people must also get over their fear of and misinformation about working with deaf actors. She remembers getting in a Twitter fight with a hearing director who said it was dangerous for deaf people to do combat scenes or stunts because they can’t hear the cues. She fired back: but we can see them. “We need to break that barrier and help them to learn how to do the right thing,” she said. “Let both doors open and learn from each other." 

Salaway, who has also produced experimental shorts for Deaf film festivals, said it’s time for hearing people to understand that deafness is a part of an artist’s identity—not something to be changed. “I love being deaf because it is who I am today. I would never want to be a hearing person biologically. I’m normal, not disabled. Get it?”