Customer Reviews

Sound & Fury [VHS]

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"Sound and Fury" is a documentary film directed by Josh Aronson and produced by Roger Weisberg. The film tells the story of three generations of two families that are linked by marriage. Each family has a number of deaf members across the generations.

The family members find themselves challenged by the availability of cochlear implants, a revolutionary medical technology that potentially allows deaf people to be able to hear. At the heart of the film are the debates over whether two of the children in the extended family will receive the implants.

This is an extraordinary film--one that is both emotionally moving and intellectually challenging. There are a number of lively debates over various interconnected topics: deaf culture, deaf identity, what is or is not a handicap, being a minority, and parental decisionmaking. The film is also valuable in that it is a fascinating visual record of people speaking in sign language--the beauty, power and expressiveness of this mode of communication is superbly captured, and accompanied by useful voiceover translation.

The DVD contains additional footage that was cut from the film due to "weak" video quality. However, I feel that this additional material greatly adds to the debates in the film.

Can I give this documentary six stars? It's that good. It's a provocative story with even-handed treatment and thoughtful portrayal.
The idea of cochlear implants is amazing- that people deaf since birth can have a device implanted behind their ears that enables them to hear. You'd think that this device would be embraced by the deaf community, but the reality is not so simple.
This documentary follows the families of two brothers, one deaf and one hearing, who are divided over whether to have cochlear implants implanted in their deaf children.
The deaf brother and his wife passionately identify themselves with being deaf. They can read lips but cannot speak. Their misgivings grow over the consequences for their family if their four-and-a-half year old daughter receives a cochlear implant and is able to hear and speak while they cannot.
The second brother and his wife, both hearing, have newborn twin sons, one who hears and one who cannot. They feel their deaf son's life will be easier if he has an implant.
This documentary is most riveting when following the conflict between the two couples and their own parents as they debate whether or not to give their deaf children cochlear implants.
Profound socio- and psychological issues come to light over deaf and hearing identity and culture.
High praise goes to the "Sound and Fury" crew who found this family who have three generations of hearing and deaf members. Their different perspectives created a wonderfully rich dialogue that was a joy to follow.
And much thanks to the Artinian family for generously opening your homes to us and making us think about both sides of this intensely personal debate.
From a person who is new to the issue of cochlear implants I couldn't take my eyes away from this story. I have not followed a documentary so raptly since "Hoop Dreams."
This eighty-minute documentary is completely suitable and highly recommended for both academic and personal viewing.

SOUND AND FURY, directed by Josh Aronson, takes a good look at the deaf culture and the cochlear implant, a device that poses a great challenge and [even] a threat to their interconnectedness, as a community. The implant, if implanted in a deaf child, has the power to bring them hearing. Potentially, if an implant recipient receives it early enough, they can even grow up to speak and interact with the hearing world in a coherent and connected manner. Though, this sounds like a great miracle that all parents would potentially want for their children (especially deaf parents), this is not that case at all.

The film follows the Artinian family. The two Artinian brothers live very different lives. While Peter was born deaf, went on to marry a deaf woman and has a deaf five year old daughter, his brother can hear, married a woman whose parents are deaf, but she is also hearing. Together, they have twin boys. One can hear, but the other was born deaf. When the option of the cochlear implant is presented, the brothers react very differently, as do sets of grandparents. In the Artinian family's community in Long Island, New York, the cochlear implant is a very controversial medical phenomenon. For starters, the question of deaf people's perceived inferiority in the eyes of of hearing people is a huge issue. The cochlear implant poses even greater leverage in the favor of the hearing world's sustained stereotype--that is the feeling that Peter and many of his friends in the deaf community share. Whereas, Mrs. Artinian, Peter's mother, believes that denying a deaf child the opportunity to hear is wrong and not giving their flesh and blood the best opportunity to integrate into the hearing world, to have better opportunities. These opportunities would otherwise be denied.

The title of this documentary, alone, really made me anticipate a very fiery debate on the cochlear implant issue, and I was right. The separation between the hearing world and the deaf world is a great and difficult one. I am so glad that this film was made because it was sensitively done, and it also teaches the viewer a great deal about the intricacies of moving between the world of the hearing and the world of the deaf. It really is a huge cultural difference--bigger than you would imagine. Well worth the acclaim!

I just wanted to make a note concerning the reviewer that complained about the DVD's lack of subtitles- while the DVD for "Sound and Fury" may not come with english subtitles, it does come closed-captioned. I plan on ordering the DVD today! :)

This film takes on the question of deafness: if you could make your deaf child hear, would you? It looks at two related families, one hearing and the other deaf, and chronicles their responses to this question. There are no heroes and no villians in this film, and certainly no easy answers. The stories are told without bias or agenda.

I saw this film while struggling with the decisions of my mild high-functioning autistic daughter's education. The discussion of Deaf Culture resonated for me because my daughter looked profoundly handicapped and incapable when integrated into a class of Normal/Typical (NT)children. Now she is in a school specifically for autistic children and she is flourishing. Autism was not her handicap, my blind desire to integrate her into an NT world was.

Her school, Aalborg Skolen in Aalborg, Denmark, also works with deaf children. I bought this video as a gift for the director of the school because the questions raised in it are universal.

This film is gripping, thought-provoking, and uplifting. It is a must for anyone who ever wondered "where do I belong in this world". I highly, highly recommend it.

This doc features two brothers, one deaf, one hearing, and their families. Both families have children who are deaf and the parents must decide whether to have a cochlear implant surgery done on their child.

The cochlear debate is an emotional one for anyone familiar with the deaf community. Questions of identity, cyborgs, genocide, and disability are debated, sometimes rationally and sometimes with fear, distrust, anger and bitterness on both sides.

Going into this video I thought the answers were pretty obvious, but I left it with more questions and much empathy for the people who have to make these decisions.

I highly recommend this video.

This show begins when a fiesty five year-old deaf girl asks her deaf parents for cochlear implants, so that she can communicate better with her hearing friends. As a hearing person, it is difficult for me to imagine why any parent wouldn't leap at the opportunity for their child to experience sounds -- but the deaf parents, even though they are clearly bright & loving parents, are not at all eager "to implant" their child. In the end, they decide to move to a community with a large deaf population so their children can appreciate "deaf culture." The girl's father has hearing parents -- and the girl's paternal grandmother is a huge proponent of implants. Interestingly, the father's brother is married to a woman with two deaf parents. (So there are two brothers -- one deaf with a deaf family, one hearing with a hearing wife & deaf inlaws). The brother and his wife, both hearing, give birth to a deaf son, and despite protest from the deaf members of the family, they proceed with the cochlear implants. The decision causes a huge rift in the family. Even in the hospital, after the surgery, the baby's deaf grandmother asks her hearing daughter, with a look of disgust, whether she would implant again if she were to have another deaf child. Almost across the board, hearing folks supported the implants and deaf folks were staunchly opposed to the implants. It's as if the implants are a slap in the face to the deaf population and "deaf culture". One thing that came across from the deaf people depicted in this show is that deaf folks are almos proud of their deafness, and they are clearly proud of their beautiful, expressive language. They do not generally view their deafness as a disability, so they don't understand the need to cure or alter the condition. The deaf parents who elected against the implants come across as good, caring, loving parents -- in a way that is difficult for a hearing person to understand.

If you could make your deaf children hear, would you do it? Sounds like a no-brainer, doesn't it? Well, not quite. You'd be surprised (as I was) to find out that the deaf community mostly resents the idea of cochlear implant because they fear that this would destroy their unique identity and culture.

"Sound and Fury" does a tremendous job of presenting all different perspectives (deaf parents with deaf children, deaf parents with hearing children, hearing parents with deaf children, etc) and it's astonishing to see how each group of people feel differently about cochlear implant as well as deafness in general. The story is extremely emotional and often heart-breaking, and you'll no doubt develop a strong opinion one way or the other.

While I somewhat understand why the deaf community would be so reluctant to embrace the idea cochlear implant, I also found it very frustrating since I strongly believe that deaf children should be given the option of experiencing the hearing world, and developing their speech skills. But then again, that's easy for me to say -- I haven't the faintest idea what it's like to be deaf. It'd be interesting see a follow-up to this story in 5 years or so though, and see how the decision to (or not to) get cochlear implants has affected the lives of the children in this movie.

This is a wonderful documentary and it accomplishes what a documentary should accomplish: an objective, balanced documentation of people's lives through film. The subjects are extrememely endearing and human. The conflict is tangible and the concerns of all the people are real.

Anyone interested in deaf culture will be riveted by this film in one way or another, but it is important for everyone to see this film.

As a hearing person with little experience in the deaf community, I walked away from this film with a new-found appreciation for the deaf culture that is, arguably, disappearing due to important technological advances.

I highly recommend this documentary to everyone young and old.

This film brings to life the humanity of science, and the inhumanity of those who manipulate their families. Sound and Fury makes a person think. Are implants abusive? Is keeping your child deaf abusive? Who should make the final decision? I loved this movie, and can't wait to own my own copy. I was moved by the honesty of all those who participated. The families were willing to show their good sides, and their bad.

The argument of Cochlear Implants is a heated one. Each side feels as strongly as the other. This film may not change your mind, but it should at least make you think about the other side of the issue.