Top 10 Best Portrayals of Being Deaf or Hard of Hearing

everyone's always told me who i am and i left him she wants she thinks and most of the time they were wrong they had no idea what i said wanted thought welcome to miss mojo and today we're counting down our picks for the top 10 most effective portrayals of being deaf or hard of hearing in movies and tv for this list we'll be looking at the best portrayals of deaf or hard of hearing characters throughout different forms of media is there any character that you'd add to our list let us know in the comments number 10 millicent simmons as reagan a quiet place franchise set in a future where aliens roam the earth and the human survivors must live in silence in order to avoid detection a quiet place was the breakout horror movie of 2018. a deaf actress named millicent simmons plays reagan in the franchise she uses american sign language and lip reading throughout seeing her family communicate with her was great for representation by itself at the time watching reagan boldly tackle the world with courage and determination was incredible to see her character plays a significant role in turning the tide against alien invaders during the franchise [Music] and since simmons also helped teach her co-stars how to sign she's been a great influence in real and fictional worlds number nine general amaya the dragon prince i'm so glad you're safe extremely safe safe and alone the team behind this animated netflix series set out to create an inclusive fantasy world fan favorites at general amaya is a great example of representation done right amaya is a deaf woman who communicates through american sign language if the elf realizes we followed them she'll take the prince's lives we need to be careful she's the aunt and protector of central characters princess callum and ezran commander of an outpost and the kingdom's most trusted ally her loyal friend and deputy commander gren translates for the audience i don't believe in lux while her deafness is integral to her character it's not depicted as a weakness and she is never treated as an inferior because of it she's simply just a powerful and well-rounded character number eight shashana stern as dr lauren riley grey's anatomy i'm dr lauren riley right i'm here for a consult with dr meredith gray in 2020 shashana stern became the first deaf doctor on long-running medical drama grey's anatomy the show runners invited the actress into the writing room to help dr lauren riley feel authentic and realistic her character was created to be someone who is the best in her field not in spite of her deafness but because of it as well as lip reading dr riley uses american sign language and communicates with patients and other staff via an interpreter on a tablet it's mas macrophage activation syndrome her white cells are eating her other blood cells the character was popular with fans and real hard of hearing medical professionals while she may be the first deaf doctor on a network show we have a feeling she won't be the last you may have noticed that my ears don't work but because of that i have learned to listen with my whole body number seven ruby's family coder a remake of french film la fermi belliere coda follows a girl from a working class fishing family whose parents and brother are culturally deaf the film explores the experience of being a child of deaf adults hence coda and ruby's growing ambition to study music oscar-winning actress marlee matlin plays ruby's mother she fought for deaf actors to be cast in the principal roles daniel durant's leo was fantastic and troy kotz says frank drew golden globe buzz coda was praised for its performances and the nuanced depiction of the deaf characters they're small business owners that are also flawed funny and very physically active people and after you see ruby singing for her father in the film's most touching scene you'll fall in love with this family no looking back for us we got love sure enough that's enough number six roses couples choice dance strictly come dancing rose ailing ellis was the first ever deaf contestant on this star-studded dance competition she carried away the glitter ball trophy in a year of strong competition known for her role on long-running london soap eastenders rose also uses british sign language throughout the show an interpreter translates for her while she originally kept time in her dances by counting she grew in confidence and simply followed her dance partner giovanni while feeling the music rose taught geo some sign in return that helped with training and was even incorporated into their routines okay can i just say something crazy i love crazy for their couples choice dance they included a section in silence to give the audience a glimpse into rose's world rose's stunning season on strictly come dancing gave us a new and unforgettable perspective [Music] number five patty duke as helen keller the miracle worker [Music] based on helen's autobiography and the play by william gibson the miracle worker stars anne bancroft and patty duke this classic biographical drama tells the story of deaf and blind author and disability rights activist helen keller and her close friendship with teacher anne sullivan finally back to where i can touch you touch and go well no love last here we go and taught helen to read speak and understand language by using methods like spelling out letters on her hands although the journey forward is difficult and keeps breaking down communication barriers to help helen make sense of the world both lead actresses won an oscar apiece for their roles and the breakthrough scene where helen first understands the word water is still as iconic and moving today as it was when it was first released [Music] number four katy leclaire as daphne vasquez switched at birth you're a thousand times smarter than any of those hearing kids who used to tease you and make you feel stupid it's not gonna be like that i'm not five years old anymore i don't need you to protect me this abc drama following two switched at birth teens was celebrated for featuring multiple hard of hearing regular actors like leading lady katie leclair and her best friend sean birdie after daphne vasquez and bae kinnish realise that they were switched at birth their two families are brought together their union leads to a bit of a culture clash because of daphne's experiences with hearing loss this is between me and regina no it's not we are all in this okay and we are all getting tired of you lashing out at her she communicates in asl and attends a deaf school both girls battle with their identities at the same time the families find it difficult not to judge the choices made for their biological kids ultimately they embrace each other and the knish's gradual use of sign language becomes the norm it's great to see a teen show highlight an underrepresented community [Music] number three marley matlin as sarah norman children of a lesser god you've been angry since you were a little girl you didn't want to hurt again so you used your anger to push me away marley matlin has grown into probably the most prolific deaf actor of recent years she had roles in critically acclaimed movies such as coda matlin was a series regular on switched at birth and memorably played as joey lucas in the west wing i heard how'd you hear her i hear everything it was a stupid joke but i don't get a sympathy laugh the film in which she made her name was the 80s romantic drama children of a lesser god during the story a deaf woman working as a janitor and a teacher fall in love despite their conflicting ideas admittedly the reception of the film from the community it was representing was mixed but most would agree that it was an important step forward until you let me be an i the way you are you can never come inside my silence and know me number two lauren ridloff as makari eternals [Music] while the original makari was a hearing white man the role was played by a deaf woman of colour in 2021's eternals lauren ridloff was a revelation as marvel's first death superhero makari has superhuman speed and strength because she is one of the immortal eternals who is tasked with protecting humans from the relentless deviants throughout the film she is presented as one of the funniest and mischievous members of the cast i'm sorry what are we watching because this is new because i hate it in the wake of her appearance there were reports that 250 more people searched how to learn sign language lauren ridloff who's been deaf from birth was blown away by the positive response to the character growing up i didn't see much of myself on the screen you know let alone being a superhero she definitely deserves every ounce of credit for her fantastic superhero debut before we unveil our top pick here are few honorable mentions sayori hayami as shoko nishimaya a silent voice the movie an award-winning animation with a deaf character in a starring role gabriella the little mermaid tv series a deaf latina mermaid who communicates in asl was extremely welcome i don't want to cry but i'm so sad i wanted to sing to express my feelings happiness sadness love you express yourself beautifully gabriella with sign language diane bray as sue thomas sue thomas fbi a drama based on the real experiences of a deaf fbi agent you don't hear anything are you reading my lips with you is a little tougher because of your mustache but yeah well i'll be done and the dog was trained to help he lets me know when the phone or a doorbell ring santa signs for sammy miracle on 34th street the most touching scene in this classic christmas movie do you know jingle bells jingle bells jingle all the way oh what fun it is to ride on a one-horse open sleigh riz ahmed as ruben stone sound of metal a critically acclaimed film about a drummer who loses his hearing and the hearing that you have lost is not coming back you have to understand your first responsibility before we continue be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos you have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them if you're on your phone make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications number one maisie sly as libby the silent child when you have a child you want them to be normal you want them to be perfect she is normal so she's just deaf this oscar-winning british short film was written by and stars rachel shenton it follows libby the youngest child in a hearing family she lives a life of silence until a social worker begins to teach her sign language deaf actress maisie sly gives a heartbreaking performance as the child branded as difficult and sullen while she comes alive when given that much needed attention her support system is removed by parents who fail to fully understand her needs the short ends with the statistics that 78 of deaf children attend mainstream school without specialist support in place its plea for sign language to be recognized in schools was tremendous but none of it would have worked without the film's complex portrayal of a deaf [Music] character do you agree with our picks check out this other recent clip from ms mojo and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos [Music] you

Channel: MsMojo

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Keywords: a quiet place, children of a lesser god, coda, deaf, deaf characters, eternals, film, hard of hearing, hard of hearing characters, list, marlee matlin, mojo, most effective portrayals of being deaf or hard of hearing in movies and TV, movies, msmojo, representation, strictly come dancing, the dragon prince, the miracle worker, the silent child, top 10, tv, watch mojo, Deaf representation in movies, Deaf representation in media, Movies with deaf characters, Deaf and hard of hearing

Id: 9UjpuzfAKHU

Length: 14min 36sec (876 seconds)

Published: Mon Mar 28 2022