CODA Film Review: Part 3

Intersectionality, Inequality, & Inclusion

If you have yet to see my initial review of the new CODA film, please click here to start with part 1. Then click here to find part 2 of my review. Going in chronological order of my reviews of the CODA film will allow you to find out more about my background. Yes! I'm a Coda, with three Deaf parents, and five other Deaf members in my family such as grandparents on my mom's side, aunts, uncles, and so on. 

​At the end of my second review, I discussed inclusion. However, one really can't examine inclusion without looking at intersectionality and inequality. In this third review of CODA, the most awarded film in Sundance history, I share insights and themes I've learned about my identity, as well as factors related to intersectionality and inequality that have impacted Deaf families and their children. 

As I mentioned in part 1 of my review, I must share A to Z! This blog represents some real facts about Codas and Deaf people, so I invite you to consider what it means to be a Coda from an authentic perspective. 

So, join me here for part 3! Let's explore some factors that have contributed to the Rossi family's dynamics and how Ruby has also been impacted as a "Coda." (I put parentheses here because I'm referring to the fact that she is an actress who plays a Coda, but does not authentically represent Codas). 

Codas = Resistance to Eugenics!

So, you may gather by the images of the scenes above, I'm going to talk about sex. 

Parents have sex...Deaf people have sex. Whoa! Say what?!  ​Let me go even further... Disabled people have sex.

Why am I emphasizing this? Because I'm attempting to co-construct some normalcy for those who are able-bodied to consider reality. Please note that I am not the first, nor the author of constructing normalcy around sex and disability. Google it, seriously! My hope is that you will find beauty in love, in all types of love and sexuality. You may find documentaries or films like Sins Invalid or  Somebody to Love - Sex and Disability just to name a few.  And you may discover beautiful principles such as disability justice that can guide our society to cross-disability solidarity, interdependence, collective, access, and collective liberation as outlined by Patty Berne here in this document (click here).

Disability justice means looking at the inequality and intersectionality of us all.  The scenes above are also most likely why this film is rated PG-13.  Outside of the obvious fact that parents have sex, here's something that you may not know...  

Eugenics was developed during the 20th century to "improve the human race." Sir Francis Galton, largely responsible for developing eugenics, stated that human reproduction needed to be arranged or controlled to decrease the characteristics of the "undesirables." Eugenics was adopted as Nazi doctrine as a justification for murdering Jews, disabled people, queer folx, and other minority groups. Have your doubts about eugenics and how they were adopted by Nazi Germany? Read Crying Hands by Horst Besold, and you will find a lot of heart-breaking history on how eugenics devastated the Deaf community...not just the Deaf community...personally, some of my family didn't survive.  However, that's another story for another time. In a nutshell, eugenics basically stated Deaf people, disabled people, and other "undesirables" should not have sex to eliminate genetic deafness or other characteristics from the future of the human race. Eugenics resulted in the sterilization of Deaf men and women, including deaf children.

The very existence of Codas...my body and existence of Codas is proof that eugenics is false! This is something that makes me beam, cause they were WRONG! A shout out here to Erik Witteborg for planting the origin of this thought in his poem, Painting Apples (2016): 

My Body is De’VIA
My body is resistance art.
Coda bodies are resistance pieces, in a society that tried to prevent Deaf people from marrying Deaf people,
or marrying Hearing people,
or marrying,
or being people.
I am a product of resistance.
I am a resistance piece borne from the labor of love,
which then had to ironically labor for love.
So I am a resistance piece twice made.
(This is only an excerpt of Witteborg's poem, please click here to see the entire poem)

Inequality & Socioeconomics

In my first review, I reference this scene where Frank and Jackie are arguing. The one thing I left out was that the argument was over finances. This type of argument may be commonplace for blue collar families that struggle to make ends meet, however, there is another layer of intersectionality when it comes to the inequality of workplace opportunities here.

Deaf people and the community around the world often face audism, behaviors, or attitudes that illustrate negative stigma or discrimination toward anyone who does not hear. American society and many others around the world value how much a human can "produce." And disabled people are seen as undesirable or challenging to work with, so more often than not, opportunities and resources are given to able-bodied people. 

In 2019, the National Deaf Center reported that Deaf people face many disparities when it comes to employment in comparison to hearing people. Hearing individuals are more likely to have full time jobs, higher employment rates, and typically, higher earnings than Deaf people. And when one looks at the intersections of race, gender, age, and other disabilities in addition to deafness, there are even larger disparities. 

Check out this video to see more about the study released by the National Deaf Center in 2016: 

Can't Afford School...

This awareness of not being able to afford college is reality for many Codas worldwide. Whether it is just a feeling or awareness of reality, it is an overlapping financial outcome that occurs due to the disparities in employment for Deaf people. This is not me asking for pity for Ruby or the Rossi family. It is simply a reality that many Codas face, feel, and/or accept. Some of us, such as myself, take out loans for hopes that we can pay them back someday. However, other Codas have expressed to me that it is not financially feasible to take on the risk of loans or in many cases, financial aid is not available to Codas worldwide. 

The Origin of CODA & the Millie Brother Scholarship

When Ruby's choir teacher, Mr. Bernardo Villalobos said, "They have scholarships!" I grinned from ear to ear. While it made me smile, it also made me realize that there are two MAJOR things that the CODA film missed the boat on!

First, when you think of CODA, please know that this term was not coined by Sian Heder, the Director and screenplay author of this new release. I share with you the name of a legend in the Coda community... Millie Brother, a Coda who established an organization for Codas worldwide known as CODA International in 1983. In her first newsletter (*please see correction below) to the members of CODA International,  Millie Brother coined the term CODA =  "Children of Deaf Adults” referring to hearing offspring of Deaf parent(s). I believe that Sian Heder missed a huge opportunity with this film by not sharing the origins of CODA or at least sharing CODA International's website at the end of the film with its audience. Many Codas even today are still learning about the term "CODA," and that they are not the only one with this unique identity and experience in the world.

Lastly, the other issue that I believe the film missed the boat on is sharing with the audience that there are INDEED scholarships for Codas! This is known as the Millie Brother scholarship and it is one of the main reasons, we gather as a Coda community as often as we can to raise funding for the Millie Brother scholarship.

If the new release CODA made any impact on you....I ask that you consider donating to CODA International here. Attending a CODA International conference was absolutely life changing for me, and I know that CODA International has touched and inspired the lives of many Codas worldwide. When considering causes to support this year, this scholarship fund and organization is worthy of your consideration.

For parents of K/Codas, there are also other resources that I would like to share with you:

www.kodaheart.org
Koda camps
A Blog for Parents and Teachers of Codas

If you've made it this far, thank you for your interest in my BLOG and for taking a moment to consider an authentic perspective of what it means to be a Coda!

I wish I had more time to write about the rest of my "A to Z" thoughts about the new CODA film. I have an amazing opportunity this week to be involved with facilitating a virtual conference for Codas seeking to become professional interpreters in the U.S. I may return to writing next week, SEE SEE (ASL phrase meaning, this has yet to be determined).

So grateful for life, so grateful to be a Coda, last, but never least, I'm so grateful for my Coda & Deaf family and community who have inspired me. I hope this BLOG inspires you to reflect, to question, to get involved, to seek out authenticity, and to take action toward collective access and liberation!

Viva La Resistance! Taking steps toward liberation, one step at a time...

I'd love to hear your thoughts in response to my part 1, part 2, or part 3 of my review of CODA (the film that is, wink wink)...

*In my initial article, I stated that it was in a thesis in the early 1980s that Mille Brother coined CODA. This was an error on my part.  It was in her first newsletter to the members of CODA International,  Millie Brother coined the term CODA =  "Children of Deaf Adults” referring to hearing offspring of Deaf parent(s). Click here to see the origins of CODA and CODA International. 

Much love and Coda hugs!

~ Rose Clifford