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Children of A Lesser God

1) The document reviews the 1986 film "Children of a Lesser God" and discusses several issues faced by the deaf community that the film highlights. 2) It notes that the film depicts the love story between a new teacher of the deaf and a deaf woman working as a cleaner at the school. 3) Some of the issues discussed include the lack of work opportunities and career growth for the deaf, as well as lack of support for deaf education and affordability of college. The reviewer calls for greater inclusion and support for the deaf community.

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41 views

Children of A Lesser God

1) The document reviews the 1986 film "Children of a Lesser God" and discusses several issues faced by the deaf community that the film highlights. 2) It notes that the film depicts the love story between a new teacher of the deaf and a deaf woman working as a cleaner at the school. 3) Some of the issues discussed include the lack of work opportunities and career growth for the deaf, as well as lack of support for deaf education and affordability of college. The reviewer calls for greater inclusion and support for the deaf community.

Uploaded by

ilasr
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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MC REYNALD S.

BANDERLIPE II

MOVIE REVIEW: CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD

After watching the movie “Children of a Lesser God” by Randa Haines (1986), I
could say that this is one of the best love stories that I have ever seen on film. The
cinematic masterpiece depicts a story of a new teacher (James Leeds) in a school of the
Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing and a Deaf woman (Sarah Norman) working as a cleaner in
the same school. The initial encounter between James and Sarah spurred a different kind
of love that only those who know sign language can understand. Though the couple faced
several difficulties in working out their relationship that even led to their temporary
separation, the two emerged victorious in the name of love and became happy together
for the rest of their lives.

There are several issues regarding the Deaf community that was presented in the
film. One issue is that James Leeds' energetic persona tries to encourage Sarah Norman to
become like a typical hearing person by learning how to lip read. Sarah refuses to do so
because she wants to be identified as Deaf and like the Hearing, they have their own
language. For a Hearing person to be immersed with the Deaf community, one must learn
sign language as entry point towards communicating with the Deaf. In my encounters
with some Deaf acquaintances, I noticed that they do not want to be isolated in a group of
Hearing people. Such experience led me to a realization that we, the Hearing, have the
responsibility to learn sign language to allow us foster good relationships with the Deaf
as we break the barriers in communication.

Another issue that I found in this story was the lack of work opportunities for the
Deaf, since Sarah Norman was employed only as a cleaner in the school when, in fact,
she graduated there. Even from my personal experience in which I still do not know sign
language, I noticed that many of the Deaf are employed on a contractual or casual basis,
doing blue-collar jobs such as janitors, factory workers, and food handlers/food servers,
and other low-paying work. Only a handful of them are employed as office personnel or
executives. I felt piteous about their state of life because while their families are investing
a huge amount of resources for their education, companies and other institutions cannot
provide ample opportunities to further their career growth and become successful
professionals. This is because most companies in our country are not yet open to the idea
of accepting Deaf graduates to work in their company as front-liners because of their
lacking skills related to speech.

The third issue related to the Deaf that I have noted in the film relates to the issue
surrounding the lack of support for Deaf education. Sarah failed to go to college because
of the lacking funds that she need to pursue a college diploma. I knew that there is
Gallaudet University for the Deaf, but because of the high costs of tertiary education,
only those who can afford to go to college can avail such educational opportunity.
I have Deaf friends who were not able to go to college this school year because
the colleges that they applied for refused to accept Deaf undergraduates like them. They
could not apply to CSB because even though the college can subsidize them through
tuition discounts, their families could not afford to finance their everyday expenses. I am
deeply saddened with this scenario because many dreams of the Deaf students will be
shattered if they will not be given access to quality education that is being provided to the
Hearing most of the time.

Recalling my interview with a Deaf in my last paper, I would like to reiterate the
need of the Deaf community for more jobs that would enable them to enhance their skills
and their knowledge as they strive to become productive individuals in our country.
Despite being called Deaf, they know what it takes to contribute to the success of a
company and economic progress. Moreover, the Philippine government should provide
more schools, colleges, and scholarships for the Deaf so that they can pursue higher
learning. The schools should be required to institute programs that would cater to the
needs of their Deaf students. The government should also pass a bill obliging everyone to
learn the Filipino Sign Language because it will serve the purpose of bridging the gaps
between the Deaf and the Hearing.

The film, while it was said in most movie reviews as one the most romantic films
ever, has provided social significance to the Hearing community in defining their role to
effectively relate themselves to the Deaf community. In addition, I believe that the movie
will further inspire a Deaf advocate in finding ways to help the Deaf in making a
difference more than just learning to communicate using sign language. Personally, the
movie heightened my interest beyond learning sign language. Inspired by this film, I will
continue my advocacy and transcend my work towards enabling the Deaf community to
be known as a group of people who can contribute to the development of our society and
of our nation.

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