"The End"

I just finished watching a Deaf film from the UK titled "The End" that triggered in me an unexpected emotional response. The film is written and directed by Ted Evans, and is a faux-documentary that follows the lives of 4 Deaf children, over the course of 60 years. The synopsis of the film is as follows:

"Starting in the 1980's, drama 'The End' follows 4 Deaf children over 60 years. After the introduction of a treatment aimed at eradicating deafness, the very survival of Deaf language and culture is at stake. Featuring stunning visual effects and an ensemble cast, 'The End' is a thought-provoking alternative vision of the future."

The eerie, and equally tragic, thing about this film is that "the end" is entirely plausible; Deaf people all over the World are being "fixed" (in the eyes of those that do the "fixing") and the Deaf community, rich Culture, language, history and it's people are dwindling. I cried like a baby watching this film because although it's a mockumentary, this is a reality of many Deaf people's lives around the World. I knew about it in the past, but I'd never felt it like I did through this film.

If you can spare 20 minutes, I highly suggest watching it. Although it is presented in BSL (British Sign Language), there are subtitles for ASL-users and for the "signing-impaired" ;)

eu·gen·ics

noun (plural) /yo͞oˈjeniks/ The science of improving a human population by controlled breeding to increase the occurrence of desirable heritable characteristics. Developed largely by Francis Galton as a method of improving the human race, it fell into disfavor only after the perversion of its doctrines by the Nazis

So ironic that practicing eugenics on minority groups is entirely out of the question; absolutely unheard of! ... unless that group happens to be the Deaf community. As a hearing person, I cannot come close to understanding the Deaf experience and having to endure oppression on a daily basis- this film gave me only perhaps a fraction of a glimpse into how it must feel to watch the powers that be try and "fix" someone, who does not feel there is anything to be fixed. Let's hope for the future of all mankind, who can learn and benefit from one another despite racial/cultural/linguistic differences, that this film does not predict the way that things will End...

Watch it-