The Stigma Of The Deaf In The Film, The Hammer

The movie, The Hammer, is about a deaf individual named Matt Hamill who is born to a hearing family, in a hearing community. He is the object of a debate between his mother and his grandfather in regards to how he should be raised. His mother, when he is diagnosed, wants to consider all of her education options for her son. However, her father wants Matt to have the educational experience like that of a normal hearing individual. As a child, he grew up in mainstream schools, like his grandfather wanted. Here, he felt isolated and eventually he enrolled in a Deaf program in college where he experiences Deaf culture for the first time.
When Matt’s family found out he that he was deaf, his grandfather was disappointed. He said that he did not want his grandson to be “deaf and dumb.” This scene of the movie portrays a common stigma that is associated with deaf individuals. Hearing people who have little to no knowledge about deaf individuals commonly believe that being deaf means being less intelligent. This stigma is again shown when Matt is enrolled in the town’s local mainstream …show more content…
The different stigmas that society assimilates with deaf individual were represented in this movie by the grandfather. The grandfather, at first, does not accept the fact that his grandson is deaf and makes him undergo speech therapy. However, as time passes, the grandfather comes to realize that his grandson is a successful young man who can accomplish anything, and on his deathbed, he signs to his grandson, “You have always been different, but better.” This is the mindset that I believe society should have about deaf individuals rather than limiting them because they are different. Overall, I enjoyed the movie and think that it contains a powerful message about how civilization needs to be more accepting of deaf

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