"And Your Name Is Jonah" Movie Review

This week in Deaf Studies and Interpreting 111, my view of Deaf culture and the struggles deaf people encounter was widened. My classmates and I watched the 1979 CBS television movie "And Your Name is Jonah." This film was a delight, and very enlightening. It takes its viewer on an emotional roller coaster, portraying the hardships a deaf person encounters as well as the happiness that is felt upon one's accomplishments. It introduced me to many biases, opinions, and practices related to the Deaf community that I was previously unaware of. As the film began, I felt very bad for deaf persons, noticing how hard it must be just to live in a “hearing” world. By the end of the movie, however, I realized how rewarding it must be to live in such a tight-knit community where personal communication comes before anything else.

And My Name is Jonah is a story about a young boy who was misdiagnosed as retarded and institutionalized for three years. The film begins with his mother and father, both completely ignorant regarding Deaf culture, picking him up from the hospital to take him home. He is greeted at home with a surprise party thrown by his entire family. The poor child has no idea what is going on. It's just the beginning of a very confusing and strange environment for Jonah. As the film proceeds, Jonah's father leaves the family because he can't handle the pressure. He calls Jonah a “freak,” and is more concerned by what the public will think of Jonah than with actually seeking out assistance for his son. Once his father leaves, his mother is free to explore new opportunities for Jonah. She eventually decides to let Jonah learn Sign Language, a move that allows the boy to communicate with others in his life. At last, he begins to learn about the world around him.

The movie revealed many biases held by people in the Deaf community. Mrs. Marquardt, the director of Jonah's school, said, “Unfortunately, it's a hearing world ... Unfortunately for the deaf.” The only unfortunate thing about this statement is the statement itself. It really struck a chord with me. Nothing about the world has to be unfortunate for a deaf person, as long as they have caring and understanding people in their lives. This was Jonah's biggest road block. His father wanted him to disappear. He would rather send Jonah back to the hospital than deal with his condition. His mother, while seemingly caring and compassionate, didn't exhibit the willingness to understand Jonah's attempts at communication. I was really saddened by the scene where Jonah tries to tell his mother he wants a hot dog. He was pulling on her coat, desperately trying to show her what he wanted. Instead of letting him lead the way, she kept on screaming, “Jonah, I don't know what you want! I don't understand!” If she would have only gotten up quicker and let Jonah lead her to the hot dog cart, she could have bridged the communication gap. I think many times it's not the inability to understand a deaf person, it's the lack of a desire to communicate with them.

I think Jonah's father leaving was the best thing that could've happened. Once he was out of the picture, his mother was free to look outside of the box for alternatives to helping Jonah with his condition. She was more empowered to help her son because his father had been so demeaning of him, and she found new determination to live a “normal” life, or as normal as possible with a deaf child. When she saw the deaf couple and their child at speech therapy, she realized that her family could be just as happy, and that there were other ways to teach Jonah to communicate. I really liked the scene where the ladies visit the library. My husband and I both work in libraries, so I'm all about “knowledge is power.” When Jonah's mother saw the two books with opposing viewpoints side by side, she realized that there were other options to explore.

I'm glad to know that society has begun to accept Sign Language as universal and necessary. I couldn't believe the attitude of the school instructors who insisted on lip reading and speaking as opposed to a communication device as uncomplicated as signing. Especially for people like Jonah, who had no English correlate to learn from, Sign Language is a perfect visual tool to use to communicate. At the end of the movie, when the man began teaching Jonah signs, it was like putting puzzle pieces into place. Things made sense. While Jonah didn't have a word for “tree,” he now had a sign that actually visually looked like a tree. What's so difficult about that? Mrs. Marquardt said children shouldn't be taught Sign Language because they'll only be able to communicate with other deaf people. However, when Jonah tried to learn the methods taught by her school, he was unable to comprehend. It was refreshing, once he began learning to sign, to be able to communicate with anyone, not particularly deaf or speaking people.

As I said before, it must be rewarding to be a part of a community that regards personal communication above all else. In today's day in age, we rely on so many other forms of communication – television, Internet, print media and radio. It's nice to get back to the basics and to have to look someone in the eye to listen to them. Not to say that I don't treasure my hearing, but I am a tad bit jealous of the Deaf. They are immersed in such an intimate community, while today's general society is so detached and individuals are so independent. It can be quite depressing to value your personal space more than the act of sharing it with other people.

My favorite part of the movie was when Jonah's mother and her friend go to the Deaf club meeting. Most people have some sort of unfounded fear of deaf people. It was amazing to see how personable, how animated, how interesting these people are. I'm very eager to attend cultural events now that I've had a taste of what they might be like. I now understand that I don't need to be afraid of failing in the communication process. Most deaf people will be happy that I'm attempting to communicate with them in the first place. I'm sure that much patience will be allowed while I'm learning to sign proficiently. I truly can't wait to try to have a conversation with someone who is culturally Deaf, and I'm even more excited to learn more about American Sign Language.