I Rewatched Best Picture Winner CODA, And I Really Think It's A Good Reminder About Why Bridging The Deaf-Hearing Divide Matters

CODA (which is streaming with your Apple TV+ subscription) has got to be one of my favorite movies. What you need to know about the Best Picture winner is that it's the compelling story of teenager Ruby Rossi, who feels torn between chasing her singing dreams and sticking around to be her deaf family’s interpreter. After rewatching the coming-of-age movie, I’m seeing more clearly what a reminder the movie is about the importance of bridging the deaf-hearing divide.

Ruby Shouldn't Have To Be The Family Translator 24/7

Throughout the movie, we see Ruby constantly having to translate for her deaf family. Whether at an embarrassing doctor’s appointment, a news station publicizing her family’s fishing business, or at a board meeting, Ruby was her family’s only hope for bridging the deaf-hearing divide.

However, was it really fair for Ruby’s parents to depend so much on their young daughter to translate for them 24/7? She wanted to practice for her singing audition at Berklee, but her family kept interfering. Putting too much responsibility on the teenager was holding her back from living her own life.

Whenever Ruby tried to be social, her parents acted like that was taking something away from being their interpreter. Instead of the Rossis trying to adapt to the hearing community, they were using their daughter as a safety blanket.

Deaf People Get Left Out Of Everyday Stuff

In one of the best Apple TV+ movies, it made me sad to see the deaf community getting left out so much. Hearing characters, like those in the fishing community, didn’t invite Ruby’s brother, Leo, out drinking because of his deafness. And when he was there, he was ignored and antagonized.

The same was true at Ruby’s school during her choir performance. There was no interpreter to translate the song for any deaf guests to understand. Instead, the Rossis had to watch the audience's reactions to know how to feel about the performance.

What’s heartbreaking about seeing the Rossis being excluded from everyday stuff was that they were fully capable of communicating and running a business. The world just needed to meet them halfway.

Deaf Workers Are Constantly Overlooked

The Rossi family dealt with a lot of struggles in the fishing business. Unless Ruby was there to interpret, their opinions and concerns were brushed aside. Even though Leo and his father, Frank, were experienced fishermen, authorities questioned their ability to safely operate a sailboat without a hearing person with them.

Instead of being provided an interpreter or any other basic accessibility tools, the best that could be done was being provided a federal fishing observer who didn’t know Frank and Leo were deaf or how to communicate with them. The fishing world would have done well to use the Rossi family’s skills and knowledge. However, they refused to adapt to their deaf workers and chose to leave them on the outside.

The Deaf Community Doesn't Deserve To Be Mocked

The hearing community didn’t make it easy for the Rossis to be taken seriously in the fishing industry. At the committee hearing, when Frank voiced his complaint about how fishermen shouldn’t have to pay observers out of pocket, they said they wanted to start their own business.

While all of the other fishermen acted like they agreed with Frank, they weren’t lining up to join him. When Leo tried to fit in with the other fishermen at the bar, he was ignored or mocked when he signed, which led to him getting into a physical fight.

Ruby was also mocked for having a deaf family. Her singing partner initially gossiped about her parents after meeting them, which led to the other kids making fun of her. Throughout the movie, the hearing community treated deaf people as less capable and used their inability to hear as an excuse to avoid connecting with them. The deaf community does not deserve mocking and has strengths, no different than anyone else.

We Need More Shared, Inclusive Spaces

Throughout the Massachusetts-set movie, the Rossi family was socially excluded. They were afraid to reach out to the hearing community for fear of being left out, and the hearing community made no efforts either. We get a clear picture that the hearing community saw themselves as the default and rarely made any efforts to bridge the gap.

CODA reminds us that the hearing community needs to do more than just allow deaf people into hearing spaces. We need to change those spaces so everyone can fully participate. This means affordable accessibility to interpreters, basic sign language classes, and simply being patient and respectful to those who communicate differently. That’s what makes Ruby’s audition scene so beautiful when she signed her song for her family who were watching. She was making space for her family to feel the music with her.

The 2022 Academy Award winner is a powerful reminder of why we need to bridge the gap between the deaf and the hearing communities. We need to remember that being deaf is not a choice. But the hearing community can choose to make things easier by creating spaces that are inclusive, respectful, and accessible. Just like the Rossi family was willing to eventually make an effort when they saw the hearing community was meeting them halfway, CODA reminds us about the simple need for us all to belong.