Daniel Greene

Tag: accessibility

  • American Sign Language (ASL) Hangout On Air, Interpreted

    I participated in a Google+ Hangout On Air about American Sign Language (ASL) and Deaf culture by interpreting for Dylan, a Deaf man who shared his perspectives. I interpreted consecutively so that people could watch Dylan without voice interference; I also interpreted consecutively rather than simultaneously with the aim of providing a more accurate and natural interpretation. I interpreted for the first 15 minutes until 7pm PDT. For the rest of the Hangout, Dylan took questions in the Chat window and answered them using his voice. (more…)

  • The complex, attractive roles of dwarfs in Mirror, Mirror

    The complex, attractive roles of dwarfs in Mirror, Mirror

    (SPOILER ALERT: If you want to be surprised by everything in the movie, wait to read this until after you’ve seen it.)

    As I said in a Tweet after I saw Mirror Mirror,

    https://twitter.com/#!/danielgreene/status/189067921773961217


    But it wasn’t just the sight of the furry Sebastian Saraceno shirtless that impressed me about the dwarfs in Mirror Mirror. What impressed was that their dwarfism (or should I say “dwarfness”?) was actually a subject deemed worth discussing in the film– both comically and dramatically. There is humor in the way they best their enemies by attacking them in stilts, making them think they are “giants” instead of dwarfs. There is melancholy in the story about how they were driven from their village when the powers-that-be banished anyone not “normal.” At the beginning of the movie, there is some manly sparring in which a tall man slings all manner of short jokes at the dwarfs, and one of my favorite lines in the movie is when one of the dwarfs retorts: “Really? After a minute that was the best you could come up with?” At the end of the film, there is a heartwarming apology in which the character who at first mocked them avows a new respect for them. It is the only Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs story I’ve seen that ever tackled the issues of normalcy, disability, shortness, tallness, paternalism, and respect. Through it all, the dwarf characters in Mirror, Mirror (all played by dwarfs) maintain more humanity than one usually sees in dwarf stereotypes. They are, in turns, sad, scared, brave, hopeful, and sportsmanly. And the dwarf actors are good. I imagine it was a combination of screenwriting, directing, and the actors’ improvisation and character development that made the characters what they are. I, for one, thought it was a step forward in cinematic depiction of people who vary from the norm. And respect for diversity is something I feel strongly about.

    In my view, the fact that I found one of the dwarf actors attractive — and I’m not a dwarf fetishist — means that he is portrayed as a handsome, virile man who happens to be very short. And, regardless of whether the other dwarfs are featured as sex symbols, they are portrayed as men. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think this is progress.

    Related article

    Mark Povinelli: Mirror Mirror reflects frustrating times for dwarf actors

    Image Credit

    Featured image courtesy Cinema Squid / Mirror Mirror (2012) [US Fox Blu-ray 2012] / Screenshot #31 / 50, I-frame @ 1:10:33.525, #101503. Retrieved from http://www.cinemasquid.com/screenshots/sets/mirror-mirror-2012-us-fox-blu-ray-2012/a3f9b432-1e2b-4d64-b37e-cde0b9df251b

  • A sample video of English-ASL platform interpreting

    I’m posting this for anyone who is curious to watch an English-ASL interpreter at work on stage with a speaker. Dr. Johanna Blackley and the Honors Forum coordinator at Mesa Community College were kind enough to let me share this video my interpreting partner took of me with my phone. I asked my team to record it so I could use it for self-assessment in an interpreting studies class I was taking in graduate school. I’m sharing it because I think it’s important for interpreters to see real examples of other interpreters’ work — the hits and misses in this imperfect thing we call interpretation. Most of this sample is dialogue during the Q & A portion at the end of Johanna’s lecture.

    Oh, and one more thing– (more…)

  • When they talk about you, the interpreter, do-do*?

    One of the most uncomfortable things for me is when consumers talk about me while I’m interpreting. Here are some examples of things people say: (more…)

  • Why don’t we call ourselves interpreters for the Hearing?

    I mean, Hearing people are the ones who hire us, right? Hearing people need us to interpret for them because they are not fluent in sign language, and most of the time, Hearing people foot the bill. So why do we so often side with our Deaf consumers? We signed-spoken language interpreters probably all have our “Stupid Hearing People!” stories, but where would we be without them? (And remember, for the majority of us who are not CODAs, we used to be Stupid Hearing People ourselves.) Hearing people may be naïve about signed language, deafness, and Deaf culture, but most of them mean well. Hearing people who hire spoken-signed language interpreters want what we want: (more…)