Journal 4-3 Max Bardowell 4-21-08

Sound and Fury

Answer to Last Week’s Question: There are many leading bioethicists, but most are associated with a major university, such as Pennsylvania University, which has a leading department of bioethics. They are also associated with independent medical or research hospitals, such as The Cleveland Clinic. The National Institutes of Health, a governmental organization, also has a department of bioethics.

This week we watched the documentary Sound and Fury, an in depth portrayal of one family’s struggle with accepting both Deaf culture and the Cochlear Implant, the device considered by many of the hearing impaired to be able to destroy Deaf culture. One of the most prominent issues presented within the documentary was that of belonging, and to which world, Deaf or Hearing, would the younger members of the family belong.

For Heather, a young girl at the center of the film who was considering the implant, the idea of belonging to both worlds was what drove her towards the implant. She hoped to have contacts within both communities, similar to a bilingual individual, embracing both worlds as part of who she was. Even in her five year old mind, she had this romantic vision of her single handedly bridging the gap between Deaf culture and the Hearing world, serving as both as a translator and diplomat for those ignorant members of both communities. Sometimes it takes a child’s mind, a mind free from prejudice, to truly see the correct course of action. Ultimately, I think she saw the prejudices of her parents, prejudices inherited not by choice, but by the unpredictability of nature, and she hoped to smooth them over. I think she saw the flaws in both worlds through the infighting between her family members, and she wished to spare others from the same struggle and pain. When Heather’s parents denied her the implant, I think they underestimated her perceptiveness and her resolve. They took away what she considered to be her destiny; to become one of the rare individuals possessing the gifts of both worlds. They justified their actions under the guise of being good parents, but in the end they were only selfish, clinging to their traditions in place of progress and the promise of a better future for their daughter.

You could argue that a five year old could know nothing of destiny or purpose, but then you would be denying the very prevalent truth; she was conscious of her decisions, and she wanted the implant. You could see the frustration in her face as she struggled to interact with children from the Hearing world. You could hear the longing in her small, underdeveloped voice and see the pleading in her finger movements as she signed the purpose she wished to fulfill. And, as her parents broke the news to her, you could see the pain in her eyes as they took her future, her dream from her.

Question: What happened to the Sound and Fury family after the documentary closed?