Category: Entertainment

I got my high school diploma from the San Diego School of Creative & Performing Arts (SCPA), and to this day, I have kept the creative & performing arts close to my heart. I am also a bit of an entertainment aficionado and, sometimes, critic.

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Posted on in Entertainment, Language

Signed songs may be the appetizer, but ASL poetry is the dessert

In the spirit of saying Hey! Look at Deaf language artists! I’d like to share with you a Facebook Page I was turned on to today called ASL 1–10 Stories. 1–10 stories are a genre of ASL poetry using sign/classifier “rhymes” of the handshapes for the numbers 1 through 10. You have to learn to understand ASL on a sophisticated level to appreciate these stories, and I’ve never seen hearing people do them as well as Deaf people, so I like to think of it this way: if Paul & Tina are your appetizer, learn ASL from Deaf people so you can enjoy ASL poetry for dessert!

Posted on in Entertainment, Interpreting, Language

Paul & Tina’s Signalong: Haters gonna hate

I am not as offended or concerned about Paul & Tina’s Signalong as some people are. I think exposure to ASL can be a good thing, regardless of who’s signing. Personal experience: the first time I was truly impressed with the beauty of ASL was at a monologue competition in 1985, when a hearing girl spoke and signed a monologue from Children of a Lesser God. I have no idea, in retrospect, how good she was at signing; all I remember is I thought it was beautiful. The fact that she spoke and signed at the same time made it accessible to me. I don’t think I would have gotten the same impression at the time if I had seen a Deaf woman delivering the same monologue, even if it were interpreted. I might have been more intimidated than entertained. I might have seen more differences than similarities. I might not have been ready for the culture shock.

If you read the comments on Paul & Tina’s Signalong Facebook page post about taking down their donation site, you’ll see a variety of views, both supportive and critical, both from hearing and Deaf people. I think this dialogue is a good thing. The comments from d/Deaf people were more supportive than those from interpreters, though, and I think that’s telling. If Deaf signers want to be offended by Paul & Tina, and educate them about their language and culture, that is their job. It’s not ASL/English interpreters’ job to be offended for Deaf people.

It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish

Where you start isn’t necessarily where you end up. It’s not Paul & Tina’s job to be Deaf, and they’re not trying to be. They’re just being themselves and having fun with it. They’re not the be all, end all; they’re just doing their thing. Where people take it from there is their business. Time will tell whether future interpreters might have first thought ASL was fun by watching their videos. Eventually, we learn from Deaf people if we get that far. And if we don’t get that far, what’s the harm?