Movie Analysis Essay on Children of a Lesser God

Introduction

The movie "Children of a Lesser God" is great but not the best film of its genre. The film features great actors in Hurt and Maitlyn, who portrays the role of a deaf woman who is in love (Haines, 1986). Despite the movie starring a deaf character in Maitlyn, its central theme is not about deafness but is instead being used to as a poignant device.

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The love story in this film is a legitimately predictable series of mandatory scenes, which were made different and unique by the manner the characters talked to each other. Children of a lesser God is not just a film but a tremendous step to the other side of life for the deaf population. The film helped the National Theater for the Deaf significantly since Maitlyn had inspired vast numbers of deaf people in America as well as in the entire world. The movie was of enormous importance to the American Sign Language (ASL) since it presented the general public to the language of the deaf, giving it the much-required respectability and legitimacy (Dooley, 2016).

Children of a Lesser God is an essential movie in the history of the deaf population in America since a major deaf film had not been produced since The Miracle Worker in 1962 (Dooley, 2016). The movie demonstrated that deaf people have aspirations, abilities, worries and feelings like the rest of us (Haines, 1986). The film also indicated that ASL was a completely independent language which has its beauty, like any other lingo in the world. Despite the technological advancements and the societal changes that have happened throughout history, there still exist false misconceptions and myths concerning the deaf (Quinlan, 2017). Their stigmatization has continued to escalate and the film "Children of a Lesser God" was a massive influence in changing the perspectives of the deaf culture. The image of the deaf in the community was sufficiently altered as people had not witnessed a significant film starring deaf characters. People started to view the deaf as normal humans and the stigmatization reduced (Quinlan, 2017).

The movie made people realize that there are a lot of individuals living with hearing challenges in America than previously thought. Since the movie lacked subtitles, it was previously viewed by some as a film for the hearing, and despite its happy ending, deaf people were still aware of the problems that face them in the world of the hearing (Quinlan, 2017). The majority of films today are equipped with subtitles to serve the entire market, even the deaf. The normalization of the subtitle policy can be seen as a direct consequence of the exposure of the deaf culture as well as their language, ASL, to the general citizens.

After evaluating the movie" Children of a Lesser God," it is evident that Maitlyn's role and the story are not only significant but also inspiring. The talent she showcased in filming the movie despite his hearing challenge was a massive wake up call to the majority of the deaf population. I like to believe that Maitlyn's role in the film challenged and pushed every individual with a hearing challenge. It was an evident assertion that disability is not inability and no deaf person should be stopped by their limitations to achieve big things. The direct impacts of the film to the deaf culture and how people perceive it is the most significant contribution. Despite everyone who watched the film having diverse views, the movie was essential for the deaf community and their culture because it educated those without hearing problems.

References

Dooley, L. (2016). A narrative on the token deaf character and how to dissolve it. http://cardinalscholar.bsu.edu/bitstream/handle/123456789/200858/A379_2016DooleyLogan-combined.pdf?sequence=1

Haines, R. (Director). (1986). Children of a Lesser God (Film). Paramount Pictures.

Quinlan, J. (2017). Three sides to a story: different perspectives toward the deaf community (Doctoral dissertation). https://dspace.sunyconnect.suny.edu/bitstream/handle/1951/69531/Quinlan_Honors.pdf?sequence=1