Journal 4-4 Max Bardowell 4-27-08

Sound and Fury Revisited

After hearing that the director of Sound and Fury had made a sequel, we were asked to write a prediction of where the Artinian family would be after six years. After some thought, I found that I could write two versions of this prediction, but I fear only one of them is truly possible. In the first, the Artinian family has continued along the course that they set at the end of the movie, following their predictable divisive behaviors and reactions. In the second, they have reversed that course, coming together again as a family with both Deaf and Hearing members united by the revocation of the single choice that influenced not only Heather’s life, by the lives of all around her. I hope for heather and the Artinian’s the latter became reality. I fear that only the former version of their story is really possible.

At the end of the film, the Artinians had moved to an area of Maryland that was heavily populated by members of the Deaf community. In their words, they were driven by both their fear of inadequate schooling for their children in Long Island and by their desire to feel more accepted within their community. I believe the reality is that they, in essence, fled the judgments of their family members who were discouraged to learn that Heather was being denied the Cochlear implant. I believe part if the Artinian’s knew what they had done was wrong. They were running from guilt. They knew that if they had stayed in Long Island they would have been forced to watch as Heather’s cousin, who had been given the implant, grew up to become an individual with a foot in both worlds, and thus double the opportunities to excel. I think they feared having to atone for their short sighted decision each time they saw their brother’s son.

This tension, in a way solidified by the Cochlear given to Heather’s cousin, would be difficult to overcome. The distances the Artinians put between themselves by moving would only focus the problem. I believe they would still visit with their immediate family, the grandparents more frequently and the brother on holidays, but I believe that they will have lost that intimacy and mutual support that defined their earlier relationship. The Cochlear formed a rift within their family, a fact that I think is understated within the documentary. It is my hope that they can heal the rift, but I fear that the Artinians will never be able to recover the bonds which they broke by discussing the implant. Maybe it really was a bad thing in the end? Without it, she is still lacking sound, but her family is happy and together. I have never known such fear, or passion, that would drive me to cross a nation. Then again, I am not part of a dying culture. If this is truly genocide, would I too not fight or flee with my family to higher ground?

Heather never received the implant she desired. Her parents, in their wisdom or folly, chose to let her wait. Now, if she is twelve, her future has been irrevocably altered. Heather’s romantic vision of her being able to single handedly bridge the gap between Deaf culture and the Hearing world, is now also changed. Her dream was the product of a five year old mind, a mind free of bias or persuasion, and thus in its innocence it gained a certain focus. However, after six years apart from the hearing world, six years spent in a school for the Deaf, her dreams have changed. I doubt she has a strong recollection of her earlier plans, or a strong attraction to them. If she has been indoctrinated into Deaf culture, her hope to have contacts within both communities, embracing both worlds as part of who she is, is lost. There is also the question of the implants effectiveness. After six years of Deaf education, the implants effectiveness is severely reduced, due both to Heather’s cerebral development and her attachment to the communication techniques of the Deaf community. Due to her parent’s delays, no matter how well intentioned, Heather no longer has a voice in her future. She cannot choose for herself, because she has no options left.

This is the only future I can see for the Artinians. It is bleak and raw, and void of their earlier love and optimism. Each member of the family has recoiled into the familiar, and the one member that was ready to explore was blocked at each advance, without even knowing why. I prey they can reconnect, as their unique relationships can serve as a guide for how the two cultures, Deaf and Hearing, can interact and grow together. I prey they can reconnect, because Heather can do without the Cochlear, but she needs her grandmother and father, and her aunt and uncle. I prey they can reconcile, because all the Artinians, Deaf and Hearing, should be able to watch their family grow up together.

They are silent and they are loud, and that makes them worth fighting for.

Update

My prediction was later found to be false as, after watching the sequel, we found that Heather and her brothers received the Cochlear implant, and her family moved back to Long Island and reunited with the rest of her family. Apparently the first version of my prediction proved to be true. I happily stand corrected.