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Paul Green: | ||
"Remember: an able-bodied person is for life, not just for Christmas..." "Never accept sweets from an able-bodied person you don't know..." | ||
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Clair Lewis: | ||
 Description : Disabled activist awakes from a 10-year coma, her first question: "So, have the academics agreed on what disability is yet?" | ||
 Description : The scene is Dr A.D.D's office, she is a social model behavioural psychologist - a community based professional. She is handing over some DAN literature to a young male patient. Dr Add says "You have oppositional defiant disorder, sir. I prescribe a monthly course of theraputic, non-violent, direct-action." They are smiling. | ||
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OnePhatDeafie writes: I realised after I sent these toons that they are for a specific audience, a Deaf audience, a specific Deaf audience at that. And that some of the ideas here may seem at the least wacky and at the worst raving. Whilst it is never a good idea to try and explain a joke here's an attempt at 'why this is funny' in a political context (I hope) The first three toons are about Cochlear Implants, love 'em or hate'em they are surgically attached to many members of the Deaf community, this is our struggle with them. I persionally struggle with the idea of 'curing' deafness. Toon No.1 When first implanted Jack Ashley, Lord Ashley of Stoke, commented 'it's great, people's voices sound like a Dalek with laryngitis' As the whole point (I thought) was about improving communication with people I thought this sounded awful. One major company which produces textphones and other 'assistive' devices for deaf people has the motto 'connecting people with people'... I thought Cochlear Implants were obviously doing something different! | ||
 Description : Toon 1 shows a cochlear implant wearer with her arm around the shoulders of a Dalek, she is thinking 'you're never alone with a cochlear implant' the Dalek is saying 'I have got laryngitis' There is a caption which reads 'putting people in touch with technology'. | ||
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Like the arms race there is definitely an implant race happening between parents of deaf children who are being implanted, there is some quite aggressive marketing happening in the field too! As if it were a prestigious school, proud father is boasting of the implant he has in mind for Timmy, comparable to all other areas of consumerism, see especially cars ... the higher the number the better the product. | ||
 Toon 2 has three adults and two children in it, one child is wearing a cochlear implant and is with her mother, the other child is peeking from behind his mother's skirts, he is making the BSL sign 'what?...' Father has his arm around his frankly blank looking wife, and is boasting airly 'oh I see she's got the Nucleus 22... we've got Timmy's name down for the Combi 40+'. | ||
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Speaks for itself I think, cochlear implant = normal - what do you all think? | ||
 Toon 3 has two children leaning on a wall, Deaf child (with a hearing aid) asks of the other 'what's that thing on your head? Child with cochlear implant points to the wires and paraphernalia hanging out of his head and and replies 'oh this,? It makes me more normal'. | ||
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Judge from yourself which method of communication is the most desirable (no prizes for guessing) | ||
 Toon 4 has one group of three happily chatting using BSL, whilst another group of three, using oral, has an unhappy and excluded member. | ||
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If only ... 'sigh' | ||
 Toon 5 has an ordinary but cool looking deaf girl who, at the first hint of injustice, becomes Super Deafie Heroine Avenger! | ||
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