Law and Disorder on the Deaf community?
April 12, 2007 by challymack
Tonight I actually sat down on my sofa with a bowl of popcorn and watched TV.. something which is rare for me. I don’t really do ‘channel- surfing’ and ended up watching a show I always liked.. Law and Order/ CI (criminal intent).. it was one of those channels that has back to back TV shows and this was one of them. One in particular really caught my eye because it was about deaf people and CI implants.. it was a murder mystery with a ear surgeon being shot to death and they thought a deaf person committed the crime. I didn’t catch the actors’ names but in thinking about it, I had to wonder if any of them were really deaf. I did spot a couple of actors who appear to be genuine.. 
correct me if I am wrong!
What really bothered me was the context of the message being sent. Several times - usually in ‘questioning the suspects and victims’, this phrase was used. (to the best of my memory) “You were afraid that if she had the CI operation, she would become hearing and leave you.” “So this type of operation can make a deaf person become hearing?”
Those kind of questions and comments were neither refuted or denied. This is the kind of public information sent out to a hearing audience that can lead to unrealistic expectations and misinformation - not to mention perpetuating a common myth that a deaf person can become hearing via an CI implant.
All of which you and I know, are untrue. What do you think happens when they take their hearing aids out? They have absolutely NO residual hearing left at all, due to being destroyed during the surgical process. Without their CI, they are completely deaf.
How - on - earth - can - any - screenwriter - FAIL - to - do - their - research???????
This is a sensitive subject and at best, an controversial one in the deaf and hearing communities. If hearing parents (at least those who do not have the in depth information) should happen to see this kind of myth being expanded on while watching TV.. what do you think is going to happen?
Did any of you happen to catch this show? I believe it was a rerun and it was aired on Wed night, April 11, 2007 on Fox 26 (I think).. otherwise, the show itself was good - and I enjoyed it. But..
Here.. I can do better than that.. here’s the link. You can see some of the video in that site. Be sure to look for the episode ‘Dr. Abel Strauss: Did Dr. Strauss silence Dr. Mallory forever? ‘
http://www.nbc.com/Law_&_Order:_Criminal_Intent/video/#mea=85837
What do you think? Am I over-reacting?
Anyhoo.. will catch ya the next time!
RFW
I don’t know if you are over reacting here-becuase I, too, was bother by the show’s content. At the same time-it was good to see so many deaf actors performed ( yes- my information says it was all deaf actors). I am torn here.
Raphael J. St. Johns
Hollywood is always going to be Hollywood. Whatever they show on the tv tube stays in the tv tube. There’s no reality in Hollywood.
Well, Raymond Luczak, for one, is an actor on the show who truly is Deaf:
http://www.raymondluczak.com/blog/index.html
I agree with your comments about cochlear implants not being the bee’s knees, but that’s not really what a commercial TV show is about. If you want a TV show that’s informative, watch PBS.
Hmm, like I probably mentioned elsewhere, why not just welcome the exposure and let it go at that? Eventually the world will wake up and realize that the deaf contribute a genuine and useful voice to general society.
‘Being a deaf juror a with deaf defendant would ruin the juror’s life, because no matter which way the juror voted, it would be impossible to make everyone in the deaf community happy and our circle is so small that no one would ever let you forget.
Lantana
Lantana’s Latitude
I hated L&O: Cochlear Implants as well. It perpetuated many Hearie myths about Deaf!
It seemed the more “militant” a Deaf person was, the more suspect in the crime. While the most Hearie sympathetic was the Coda cop, who helped crack the case, and the CI candidate who provided the clues necessary.
Then there was the Deaf theater professor who was willing to stand trial for Murder, even though he was completely INNOCENT because Justice could NEVER BE SERVED as long as there was no Deaf Judge, a Deaf prosecutor and an all-Deaf Jury.
Who, the HELL, on EARTH would do this??? NO ONE!!! This character was created with the sole objective of creating a STRAW-MAN, Deaf radical, that is supposed to represent the Deaf community’s views on the legal system. Which is complete and utter BULLSHIT.
Like the Weakly Substandard’s characterisation of the Deaf Community. http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/013/458tonjc.asp