Danni Darrah discusses the Netflix reality show, Deaf U and its reactions and responses.
A brand new wholly signed show, Deaf U, was released on the streaming platform Netflix in September of last year. The reality show follows a group of teenage college students who attend Gallaudet University in the US, a university for education of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. It provides the mainstream teenage dramas of college life, including relationships, friendships, tears, laughter, make ups, break ups and everything in between all through American Sign Language (ASL), a language used by over a million people in the United States alone. Originally created by an alumni of the liberal arts college, Nyle DiMarco thought the conflicts and strong personalities of the college would make great television and wanted the show to “break the mould”, and rightly so! When speaking to The Guardian, DiMarco said, “[m]ost of the time when we see deaf characters or deaf personalities in TV shows or film, they’re very one-dimensional. There’s no real nuance to who they are. You don’t really deep dive into their experience; you don’t really see any layers to their character.” This show provides a chance to view the sign language as a language not as an identifier. Personally, the BSL Society at University of Exeter have come to be overjoyed by the use of sign language emerging in mainstream television, and believe that it provides a normalisation of the d/Deaf community and sign language amongst the millennial generation. It is shows like this, alongside campaigns and pledges, that will eventually see people becoming aware and open to the idea of learning sign language to communicate with the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
“Most of the time when we see deaf characters or deaf personalities in TV shows or film, they’re very one-dimensional.
However, upon further reading, I noticed that not everyone was as keen for Netflix’s Deaf U as others. Many have called the show out for a lack of diverse casting in the cast and crew, as none of the members of the writers or directors were deaf. An alumni of Gallaudet University who graduated in 2011 spoke out about her sadness at the absence of black women in the cast list. Another, a deaf activist, refused to watch the show because of the lack of diversity in the crew. Abigail Gorman, a trustee for the Royal Association for Deaf People and a member of the Human Rights Expert Group for the World Federation of the Deaf, agrees with the misrepresentation of d/Deaf students in this show. She spoke out about her annoyance the lack of nuance in the identity of these students, rather that the show “fails to present the cast as rounded individuals, instead giving the impression they are defined by their disability.” Despite the outcome of this show, we cannot overlook it’s ability to take us a step closer towards sign languages across the world becoming a conventional aspect of mainstream education and daily life. What did you think of this show, let us know via social media or send us an email!
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