[stylist] deaf or blind in text, was "a new member"

Sun Dec 28 01:06:36 UTC 2008

I have never heard of the movie "men."
"Scent of a woman," you're right, not a bad portrayal of blind 
man.  although personally there's a lot more than scent in my mind 
when I meet a woman.
jc

Jim Canaday M.A.
Lawrence, KS

At 06:05 PM 12/27/2008, you wrote:
>Jim:
>
>The only blind woman that was not a victim had a minor role in the movie
>Men, or that's what I think the movie is called.  It was about a
>nymphomaniac woman, who is sighted, and later in the movie she truly falls
>in love with this photographer.  This guy invites over some friends for
>dinner, and one of the friends is a blind woman.  It seemed to me that the
>woman was played by a real blind person, and I found her very sexy.  I wish
>I knew her name, but in those days I never paid attention to actors' names
>
>Does anyone know that movie and whether that actress is really blind?
>
>As for males, I remember only Al Pacino playing a blind man in Scent of a
>Woman.  Remember that one?  What did you think of it?
>
>John
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>Behalf Of James Canaday M.A. N6YR
>Sent: Saturday, December 27, 2008 4:49 PM
>To: NFBnet Writer's Division Mailing List
>Subject: [stylist] deaf or blind in text, was "a new member"
>
>what a great post John.
>as far as movie portrayals, I think that overwhelmingly blind women
>are portrayed as victims, weak, vulnerable.  I'm having a hard time
>recalling even one movie with a strong blind woman as a main
>character who isn't victimized etc.
>
>for that matter, there isn't much better for  blind male lead characters.
>jc
>Jim Canaday M.A.
>Lawrence, KS
>
>At 12:56 PM 12/27/2008, you wrote:
> >Donna:
> >
> >I think this discussion is splitting into two wholly different areas.
> >
> >For writing and getting published, the point is that the benefit of writing
> >blind material has nothing to do with there being a "market" for such
> >material, such as the blind population itself being the base for such
> >titles.  Yo0u had argued that maybe there was a benefit to writing deaf
> >material because the deaf community, as you thought, is bigger and so
> >creates a market.
> >
> >So I was trying to point out that the blind or deaf communities are not a
> >factor at all here.  Neither community is large enough for each group's
> >small percentage of buying readers to constitute any kind of "base."
> >
> >The benefit of writing blind material is that it would stand out among
> >mountains of the same old, same old.  You ever read through hundreds of
> >submissions?  You wouldn't believe how much most of them resemble one
> >another, even down to the characters' names and color of hair and the
> >dreadfulness of dialogue and the sheer predictability of the plots.  Almost
> >all writers think they're writing something original, but most of them are
> >not.
> >
> >So that's where your unique experiences and perspectives can help you.
> >
> >Now, the superstars thing.  It hardly has anything to do with whether or
>not
> >the general readers will be interested in something or not.  There have
>been
> >many, many, many novels with blind or deaf main characters that have made
> >the bestseller list.  But they are by sighted and hearing writers.  They
>are
> >professionals, and they knew what they were doing when they decided to use
>a
> >blind or deaf character--because it's different, because it's a good
> >variation, and it's very interesting.  That's why I find it incredible
>those
> >blind and deaf writers, who would be able to do this BETTER, wouldn't do
> >this!
> >
> >About society not finding blind women appealing, oh but it does.  There is
>a
> >long list of films with blind women.  But yes, they're not always portrayed
> >as empowered women.  Deaf women have the same problem.  Beautiful helpless
> >victims.  Until Marlee Matlin and Shoshannah Stern came along, most deaf
> >women roles were played by hearing women, such as Ronald Reagan's first
>wife
> >in Johnny Belinda.  I am not sure about blind women in movies, but I
> >remember watching several as a teenager and there was only one in which I
> >was SURE the actress was really blind.
> >
> >One thing you can do about something you are sick and tired of is to, well,
> >do something about it.  Write a novel with a blind woman who is strong and
> >empowered.  Create the opportunity for a blind female superstar to emerge.
> >I am reminded of the example of Nicola Griffith.  She wrote a fine novel
> >called Ammonite, about a planet populated entirely by women.  She was sick
> >of the stereotypical women in movies and literature, and she classified
>such
> >typecasts in her afterword to the book, and I realized how right she was,
> >that indeed there tends to be only a few certain types of women portrayed
>in
> >popular media.  By writing about a world where there are only women, she
>was
> >able to portray all sorts of women, ranging from the nice to the mean, the
> >strong to the weak, the beautiful to the ugly, the smart to the insane.
>The
> >book was a bestseller and is still in print today.  It's a cool book.
> >
> >What Nicola Griffith did was to make her "difference" as a strong woman
> >helps her write something different, unusual, and endlessly entertaining.
> >She did not cater to anyone.  She didn't worry about what the mainstream
> >would think.  She just did her thing.  It worked.
> >
> >But perhaps one important thing in writing from a different perspective is
> >that you embrace it.  If you are uneasy with your "different" identity,
>then
> >I can imagine it being difficult to write in line with that.  But I love
> >being deafblind, and it is the greatest, so cool and so fun, so it is
>really
> >easy for me to write as a deafblind person.  What the mainstream reader
> >might think is of no concern to me.  I frankly don't care what they think,
> >what notions they have.  I only care about writing well, and everything
>else
> >will take care of itself.
> >
> >John
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >-----Original Message-----
> >From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> >Behalf Of Donna Hill
> >Sent: Saturday, December 27, 2008 10:33 AM
> >To: NFBnet Writer's Division Mailing List
> >Subject: Re: [stylist] A New Member
> >
> >John,
> >Perhaps not, but that has more to do with the fact that musical
> >superstars are traditionally more popular than acting superstars.
> >Furthermore, we haven't had a new blind American superstar since Jose
> >Feliciano and Stevie Wonder, both of whom attained their status decades
> >ago when the emphasis on needing to be a sex symbol in addition to being
> >a musician had just begun to emerge.  I think you have also missed the
> >point that blind women are not part of the American mainstream culture
> >at all, whether they are accepted in the blindness community or not.
> >The existence of female representatives of minority groups has
> >accompanied a change in public acceptance of their minorities.  So far,
> >the public doesn't find blind women that appealing.
> >Donna
> >
> >--
> >For my bio & to hear clips from The Last Straw:
> >http://cdbaby.com/cd/donnahill
> >
> >Apple I-Tunes
> >
> >phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=259244374
> >
> >Performing Arts Division of the National Federation of the Blind
> >www.padnfb.org
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >John Lee Clark wrote:
> > > Donna:
> > >
> > > Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
> > >
> > > In my post, I did emphasize that it was not about writing "about"
> >blindness,
> > > but just BEING blind in your writing.  The blindness need not be the
>point
> > > at all, but it would certainly give you a gold mine for creative twists
>on
> > > the same old, same old.  If you want to write a mystery novel with a
> > > detective, why, go ahead and make the crime the main point, but it would
> >be
> > > a most delightful read if the detective is blind.
> > >
> > > I had to smile when you mentioned Marlee Matlin.  The signing community
> > > doesn't consider her as one of its own--just as much rejected as Heather
> > > Whitestone is.  If you want to learn the complicated reasons why, I'd be
> > > glad to oblige.  But at any rate, Marlee Matlin is hardly the superstar
> >that
> > > Stevie Wonder is!
> > >
> > > I doubt that the deaf community is larger.  It is certainly more close
> >knit.
> > > Deaf people have their own culture, traditions, and distinct values.
>They
> > > don't consider deafness to be a disability at all.  There are many, many
> > > people with hearing loss who do not sign or are not members of this
>world.
> >
> > >
> > > I think that the greatest difference between deaf people and blind
>people
> > > are that culturally deaf people use a different language.  And it is a
> >huge
> > > blessing, because a different language means society has more trouble in
> > > sending its demeaning messages to them.  True, they have limited access
>to
> > > the mainstream, but the mainstream, in turn, has only limited access to
> > > them.
> > >
> > > Anyway, there is no such thing as a deaf consumer base that sustains a
> > > "market" for deaf-related material.  There is a market for sign language
> > > textbooks, because ASL is the second most popular foreign language, next
> >to
> > > Spanish.  But for Deaf literature, the main market is the general
>reading
> > > public.  So this has nothing to do with the difference in the number of
> >deaf
> > > readers and blind readers buying titles by their own.  It has to do with
> > > intriguing and entertaining the general readership with something new,
> >with
> > > fresh material that stands out.
> > >
> > > What do you think?
> > >
> > > John
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> > > Behalf Of Donna Hill
> > > Sent: Friday, December 26, 2008 5:46 PM
> > > To: NFBnet Writer's Division Mailing List
> > > Subject: Re: [stylist] A New Member
> > >
> > > John,
> > > I understand your perspective and I am writing a novel with a blind
> > > character, but having grown up trying to be sighted and being taught to
> > > be sighted, I have information from that world as well and have written
> > > some fiction with non blind characters, simply to avoid having the story
> > > be about blindness, when the real point is more complicated as well as
> > > universal.
> > >
> > > I also can't help wondering, especially reading this particular post,
> > > about the difference between the blind and deaf communities.  If the
> > > blind community were as large, independent and self-integrated as the
> > > deaf community and if blindness were as socially acceptable as deafness
> > > -- i.e., Marly Maitlin is a superstar and the only blind woman anyone
> > > knows is Helen Keller who died over fifty years ago, well, perhaps there
> > > would be a market for blindness-related literature.
> > > Donna
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> >
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