Cry of the Gull Reading Guide-Emmanuelle Laborit   Tags: deaf_studies; emmanuelle_laborit; 2011_deaf_rochester_film_fest  

The Deaf Rochester Film Festival 2011 (March 31st-April 3rd) is co-sponsoring events at The Wallace Center, featuring several activities such as:

Book signing Cry of the Gull by Emmanuelle Laborit,Fri. April 1st from 1-1:30

Lecture by Newby Ely about the Deaf Studies Archive (DSA) collection of Deaf Film posters and Deaf Films he donated to DSA from 1:30-2:30

Deaf Film Posters Exhibit at Deaf Studies Archive, 3rd floor 2:30-4

Feature film, Marianna Ucria starring Emmnauelle Laborit will be shown at the Little Theater Friday evening, April 1st. Stacy Lawrence is the 2011 Deaf Rochester Film Festival coordinator.

Chapters 1-3

Our way of communicating was instinctive, animal like. What I call “umbilical”

I lived in silence because I wasn’t communicating. 

Light was important. I liked the day, not the night.

I was alone on my planet.

Darkness was synonymous with non-communication, and therefore, silence.

Was I noise on the inside and silence on the outside?

Written and signed words became like siblings, and sometimes twins.

….my sensitivity, my poetry, my inner being, my true style all come through in the spatial word-dance of sign.

When it comes to languages, there can be no ghettos, no ostracism: all languages are valid in the pursuit of life.

The little seagull shrieked above an ocean of noises she couldn’t hear, and no one understood her cries.

I had to yell to hear the difference between my screams and silence, to compensate for the absence of all the words I saw  moving on my mother’s and father’s lips and whose meaning escaped me.

I have strange memories of my early childhood. It’s just chaos in my head, a series of completely unrelated images, like film sequences edited together with long strips of blank film, giant lost spaces.

Imagine you are Emmanuelle or her mother and writing a letter or diary entry. Discuss any of the concepts expressed in the first 3 chapters. These are only guidelines. You can insert images, links and videos to make your blog entry more interesting. Your blog entry should be about one page long. Secrets, Cry of the Seagull and Dolls Don't Talk.

1.How did E. feel as a child, trying to understand others? How did she feel when she discovered S.L.?

2. What connections did she finally make to the world and language after learning S.L?

3. What is her definition of silence?

4. Why did she scream as a child?

5. Why was she nicknamed Mouette?

6. How was her deafness finally diagnosed?

7. What was the mother's experience like going to doctors?

8. What advice did the mother get? What type of communication did E. experience with her mother?

9. What was E. perception of sound?

10. How did E. experience the hearing aid and speech therapy?

11. Why was it hard for E. when her parents went out?

12. What was the first word she voiced? Why was it hard for her to understand concepts like the "past" or "future"?

13. When she was at family get-togethers, what did she do?

C. 4-6

Imagine you are E. and write a letter or journal entry.

"Notes beigns to dance inside my body like flames in  a fireplace"

1. How did she distinguish between hearing/deaf people?

2. Why are stomachs important to her?

3. What was her relationship like with her parents?

4. How does E. feel about music? How does she perceive it? What type of music does she like?

5. Who is Evelyn Glennie? (you might have to search the web for this). Do you know of Deaf dancers?

6. What creative activity did E. enjoy as a child (do you think most deaf children enjoy this activity?)

7. Describe her relationship with her cat-do you think cats know when their owner is deaf and adapt to them? E. thought she was like the cat. How so?

8. Describe the bathroom incident and doors/windows–how are they symbols of barriers for deaf and hearing.

9. Do you know of any art work by deaf artists that make use of doors or windows or show the isolation of a deaf child? you can upload the image if you like.

10. Describe her schooling experiences.

11. What did E. think would happen to her when she died?

12. Describe her mealtime behavior and interactions with her father.

Check out the Deaf Art website via http://www.rit.edu/ntid/dccs/dada/authorize.htm

C. 7-9

Imagine you are E. or her mother or her father and write a diary entry or a letter.

A small revolution had taken place inside me and I wanted to share it with others.

Life is like a silent film without captions.

It was like landing on another planet where everyone was like me.

When I discovered sign language it was like finding the giant key that opened the giant door separating me from the world.

1.  One day while her father was listening to the radio, he made a discovery that excited him. What was this discovery? and what did this lead to?

2.  Describe E.'s feelings about seeing deaf adults and seeing sign language. How did this change her world and identity? Did she think she would die?

3.  What is her sign name? What is the significance of names for E.?

4.  Did her relationship with her father improve?

5.  How did her mother feel upon meeting this community?

6.  E. did not want children when she grew up. Why?

7.  E. started to share what she knew (sign language) with her classmates at school.  How did they respond? How does the oral philosophy affect the learning, identity and self-esteem of deaf children?

8.  The family made a trip to Washington DC and discovered Gallaudet University. What was that experience like for E? How was Gallaudet different from France?

9.  E. mentioned that she feels hope for the first time. What was this hope she was talking about? Why did she feel this?

10.  Upon her return home to France, how did communication change for E.?

11.  What is EYETH? Does this connect with E's discovery of the deaf world?

12. Can you think of an artist whose work shows the oralist philosophy in deaf education? Explore  http://www.rit.edu/~420www/authorize.htm

C. 10-14

Write a diary entry or letter as E. or her sister, or her boyfriend, or her parents.

I was against everything. I wanted my own world, my own language. And I wanted people to leave me alone.

Love isn't a right that can be prescribed.

Love means surpassing yourself trying to accept the other as he or she is with his/her differences.

I plunged into love and my rebellion as if into the sea, with delight, undaunted by the waves and the dizzying depths swirling beneath me.

That rebellion was like a thirst quenching spring.

I always had the impression i wasn't in the same film as the people around me.

Sign language was my light, my sun.

All those mouths opening and closing silently like fish in the water; all those fish....left me high and dry on the beach.

1. She describes her reading and viewing experiences which some deaf peers share. What can be done to assist deaf children with reading? What new materials are there to introduce children to sign fluent role models that retell children’s picture book stories? (We have them in our collection---from CA school for the deaf, KS school for the deaf, Atlanta Day school etc)  What do you think of the principles of reading that deaf adults use when they interact with deaf children? http://www.paec.org/david/reading/deafread.pdf

2. E. describes a hearing party she attended which was a painful experience for her. What happened when her uncle gave her a flower? Why did she react the way she did?

3. What anxieties did E. have about the future? What do you think would help alleviate these feelings for deaf children?

4. E. talks about name signs. What is hers? What is yours? Do you know of the book Name Signs by Supalla? Name signs follow specific linguistic principles and the book lists some of them.

5. What difficulties did she experience when she wanted to attend public school? What school was she accepted at? What was difficult about this school and the deaf class she was in?  She got in trouble one day. What did she do? What was the law re: sign language in France? What ridiculous experience did she have one day in class when the teacher called upon her? Describe how the philosophy of oral education affects relationships with the teachers and students and the implications of this.

6. Describe her relationship with her sister, the phone issue and the piano. Why did Marie have an outburst when E. had a deaf visitor?

7. In Vanilla Passion, what issues and feelings did E. have about school, about herself, her family and the hearing world? Who was her vanilla passion? What kind of romance was this? How did her family react to her rebellion?

8. What was comforting about her circle of deaf friends?

C. 15-18

Write a diary entry or letter as E. or her boyfriend

1.  E. was very excited about a device that changed her life. What was this device? Think about the access deaf people have today in telecommunications, including the videophone, relay services and mobile devices. What future services do you forsee happening for mobile devices? Are you aware of the international TTY blue book? We have it in print and it is online
http://library.rit.edu/electronic/journals/password_ejournals.html

2.  Describe E's boyfriend. What type of relationship does she have with him? Why did they break up? How did he react? How does E. feel about relationships after this? What changes occur in E's family at the same time?

3.  What dangerous or confrontational situations did E. and/or her friends get into? One of these situations are the sexual harassment and assault she experiences. Do you think deaf people get enough info on how to protect themselves? According to recent stats , approximately 60-90 % of deaf people have been sexually abused.

Why is this incident so high in the deaf population? How does E. describe her interactions with hearing folks as compared to deaf? Could she stay only in one world?

4.  E. feels anger throughout the chapters. What is the anger covering? How does she cope with the anger and depression? What crisis occurred that forced her to recognize she had a problem? What does she decide to do?

5.  Do deaf people have higher stats of alcoholism and addiction as compared to hearing people? If so, why do you think this is the case? What is SAISD which is on campus?
http://www.rit.edu/ntid/saisd/

Deaf people are gaining acccess to important mental health services with deaf or signing counselors or through interpreters. What is available at UR for deaf mental health services? http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/dwc/

C. 19-22