Dr Sara Louise Wheeler: The theme of genetic deafness and associated prejudice in The Silent Child?

Posted on May 3, 2018 by


Without a doubt The Silent Child has been hugely successful in promoting deaf awareness – both on and off screen.

As Charlie Swinbourne noted in his article, this Oscar-winning short film, which runs to just 20 minutes, really packs a punch in terms of exploring key issues facing deaf children in contemporary society.

These include: parents assuming deaf children hear better than they really do, or can at least ‘follow really well’; that deaf children can find themselves distant from their own families; that signed languages can make a huge difference to communication, engagement and confidence; that hearing parents can, for a variety of reasons, be resistant to learning and using signed languages; and that there is an assumption made by many, that all deaf children’s needs are the same.

Off screen, the casting of a deaf actress (Maisie Sly), to play the central role of Libby, avoids the kind of cultural appropriation and disenfranchisement fought against by campaigns such as #DeafTalent.

This ethical choice is richly rewarded as Maisie delivers a spectacular performance, from her delight at communicating in BSL with her social worker Joanne, through to her despair in the playground at her hearing school at the end of the film.

Meanwhile, Rachel Shenton, who wrote and starred in the film as social worker Joanne, delivered her Oscar speech in British Sign Language, which further enhanced the impact of the film’s deaf awareness message.

However, for me, there was another intriguing theme nestling within the storyline – that of genetics, inherited deafness, and the associated prejudices.

I personally found it quite striking that, in a film which only had 20 minutes within which to convey the themes and complexities associated with a deaf child born into a hearing family, one of these minutes (5% of the film) is spent discussing a secret regarding Libby’s parentage – with a possible implication about hereditary deafness.

The scene in question begins at about 13 minutes and 37 seconds in, when Joanne walks out of the house and approaches the car where Libby’s grandmother, Nancy (played by Anna Barry), is waiting for Libby’s mother, Sue (played by Rachel Fielding), who is taking her to the hospital.

Joanne introduces herself and a conversation ensues about Libby’s progress and prospects for employment. Nancy seems surprised when Joanne says Libby is ‘bright’ and that she will be able to have any career she likes one day.

The conversation then takes a surprising turn when Nancy states that Libby’s grandad was deaf – from birth, a point which is made clearly and precisely, with a seemingly deliberate choice of words, implying a genetic link.

She adds that he had a job – as a cleaner, with facial mannerisms which I would interpret as being derogatory. Somewhat confusingly, she then adds that she knew him and as Joanne seeks to clarify, Nancy reveals that Libby’s father is not her son, Paul, thus revealing that Sue had an affair which resulted in her pregnancy with Libby.

As the scene ends, the camera pans up to Sue who has reached the driver’s side and shares a meaningful glance with Joanne, revealing perhaps that she has guessed the topic of the conversation.

Obviously, there are many ways in which we as an audience might analyse and interpret this scene, including exploring the ignorance and prejudice displayed by Nancy towards deaf people, their intelligence, and their ability to find work; we might also consider the significance of the fact that she felt the need to raise this issue in the first place, perhaps as her attempt to distance herself from Libby, by asserting the lack of a genetic link between them.

However, there is also the rather more contentious angle of the possibility of Libby’s deafness being genetic and what that means in our contemporary society, both in terms of our increasing awareness of genetics since the progress and completion of the human genome project, and the bioethical issues which have ensued, including the advent of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008, clause 14, section 4 (9) and discussions about what this means for people with hereditary deafness in the future.

Genetics and hereditary deafness are sensitive issues. However, we are now living in times where we are set to know more and more about our genes, as decisions within the field of medicine are being made based on this new information – possibly fuelling further prejudice, such as that displayed by Nancy, amongst the general population.

Popular fiction such as films are a good indicator of current knowledge and thinking in each era. I am therefore pleased that Rachel Shenton chose to include this theme in her path-breaking film.

Following the success of the The Silent Child, there have been hints that a feature-length film will follow; I sincerely hope that this will be the case and that the underlying genetic theme will also be fully explored, opening up the debate to a mainstream audience – something which is long-overdue and needed, if we are to avoid ‘sleepwalking into eugenics’.

Dr Sara Louise Wheeler is a social policy lecturer at Bangor university, North Wales, where her post is funded by Y Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol (The National Welsh Medium College). Sara has Waardenburg Syndrome Type 1 and was born hearing into a Deafhearing family. Sara has progressive, low-frequency, sensorineural hearing-loss and associated tinnitus and hyperacusis. She is currently adjusting to life as a (pink) hearing-aid user and is learning British Sign Language. Sara therefore has a personal and professional interest in depictions of deafness and Deafhood, especially where these relate to genomics and bioethics.


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