Tag Archives: Take Back Carlton

Uprising, Activism, Fictional Deaf Kids and a Need for Real-World Service

The Switched at Birth all-ASL-episode, Uprising, is rightly getting a lot of kudos. As a fan of the show, I found it brilliant. It showed the various characters being exactly who they are in a crisis – Melody trying to temper her own idealism with pragmatism, but immensely proud of the kids, John whose first concern is simply his “girls,” Regina guarding her own secret. And those are just the adults. You have Bay being Bay, a young woman with great heart, and Daphne using those strategic skills she’s honed playing sports, asserting leadership, finding her voice as well as her identity.

If you are not familiar with the show, you can watch it or read reviews elsewhere. Like some of the reviewers, I was struck by how political the episode was, but I wasn’t surprised. The program has done a remarkable job of introducing deaf culture to its audience. While I haven’t heard (or read in subtitles) the word “audism,” it’s implicitly in the working vocabulary, and on the fingertips of many of the deaf characters. Continue reading Uprising, Activism, Fictional Deaf Kids and a Need for Real-World Service