Visual Instincts

The notion that “…..deafness restricts and thins out the supply of new ideas and experience on which the novelist depends to create his fictions…….” is still spinning me out. I’ve read and heard many ignorant [willfully and otherwise] things about deafness in my time, but this one really rankles, in that it encapsulates what hearies really believe to be the defining point of deafness: it’s limitation. A definition that is derived from outside observation, which becomes internalised, and it crystallises into a homem do saco when a hearing person starts to lose their hearing.

The angst that a person feels, when being disconnected from a familiar world is very real. It is made all the more worrying, because our culture which relies heavily on the aural sense, buttressed by the visual sense, does not know how to deal with this loss. It can only guess. So much is invested in the act of hearing, and because it does not have the knowledge of what it’s like not to hear, it can only assume that not being able to hear is restrictive.

More than that, it refuses to re-interpret it as anything but a loss. Our aurally inclined culture is deaf, to the idea that maybe, hearing, is not the be all and end all of human existence. It is deaf to the idea that maybe, not hearing, It is deaf to the idea that there is a positiveness to being deaf. This deafness is rooted in the refusal of hearing to engage with its polar opposite, deafness, as its equal.

And Deafness its equal. Deafness is the equal of hearing.

Of course, people are ready to argue otherwise. And that’s because so few have ever ventured to that other side, their knowledge of deafness is lacking. They cannot offer a plausible counterargument for why it is a negative state of being, other than a series of value judgements based on a subjective experience, and the world/ culture constructed around the aural sense is the only one many know.

Hearing and Deafness. Polar opposites. One the equal of the other. Neither is better than the other. Each poses its own unique characteristics, which influences the perspectives, experiences and opportunities that arise. Which in turn will influence how each side views and interacts with the world.

The problem does not lie with the lack of knowledge about deafness. A problem that is compounded by the subjective view of being hearing. The problem lies in the barrier that this subjectiveness creates, against, not only a positive state of deafness, but also against the possibility of any positive interaction between the two sides, as equals.

This schism exists because of fear, amongst other reasons.

But deafness exists. There are deaf people to prove it. Deafness can be, is, a positive state of being. There are happy Deaf people to prove it. The very existence of these happy Deaf people, gives lie to the idea that not hearing, is a negative state of being.

For an writer [or artist] like David Lodge, the journey from hearing to deafness, presents an opportunity to acquire new knowledge. Deafness is a new experience, and hence will present him with new knowledge. This new knowledge is not the same as the knowledge he gleaned from being hearing. It wouldn’t be, nor should it be.

It is ingrained in us, that we seek normality. But life constantly rebutts and constantly changes that normality, to which human beings cling to, ever tighter, because of fear. It is this, as part of the metamorphosis, that David is undergoing, that he is experiencing.

He seems to have recognised this in part, which resulted in his latest work, Deaf Sentence. But whether he grows, and moves beyond the negativity he is currently experiencing, remains to be seen. But it does represent an opportunity. His artistry will be tested, and may be found wanting should he choose to rail against the idea of a positive state of deafness. The choice is his to make, as a person and as an writer.

Understanding that Hearing and Deafness are polar opposites. Acceptance that both are the equal of the other. Appreciation of each sides unique characteristics. And the [schism] the interactive possibilities of the two sides, makes for a rather fertile breeding ground, out of which a new store of knowledge can grow.

That’s Entertainment:

The Tree Of Knowledge
The Idol-Maker: David Lodge – Deaf Sentence
David Lodge: Deaf Sentence

For someone who has lived with deafness all my life, I found myself in two frames of mind when I was writing The Idol-Maker: David Lodge – Deaf Sentence, [originally for All The Young Dudes]. I was, still am, in agreement with David Lodge’s descriptions of his deafness and the shenanigans resulting from misunderstandings, not hearing certain sounds, and communication breakdowns. However, upon reading The following pronouncement:

However, deafness restricts and thins out the supply of new ideas and experience on which the novelist depends to create his fictions. That former nun’s life story might have been priceless “material” and I regret its loss. I miss opportunities to eavesdrop on humanly revealing conversations on buses and in shops and to keep up with new idioms, coinages and catch-phrases that give flavour and authenticity to dialogue in a novel of contemporary life. Living under a deaf sentence

my eyes turned bloodshot, and I began to metamorphose into a raging fiend. All I needed was a full moon and the transformation would have been complete.

I have grown up with deafness, and I can refute this statement. As an artist, who has grown up with deafness, I can refute this statement. Indeed, there are many more Deaf artists, who can also refute this statement.

David Lodge is a well regarded writer, critic and Emeritus Professor of English Literature at the University of Birmingham, England. My difficulty lies with the fact that the man is experienced, talented, well read and erudite, and for all his worldly knowledge and experience, his observations are very much informed by the Hearing view of deafness. The Medical Model. The Disability Model. An unyielding, hegemonic, view that emphasises the lack of, and does not see any other possibility of being, or any other experience that is the equal of Hearing.

David’s deafness is a personal experience [as it is for the rest of us] and his journey is a personal one [as it is for the rest of us]. Where some people seek counselling, and others remain stoic in the face of adversity, David has chosen to explore his experience via the medium of writing [literature].

This I can understand, because one of the reasons I blog/ write, is to explore ideas, situations, and scenarios, in a private space that is unseen by outsiders, lest what I have chosen to reveal. More than an act of expression, more than an act of creation, more than an act of communication, and more than an addition to the cultural oeuvre, writing [or indeed, the act of creation], allows us, the author [artist], to understand ourselves, our world and other people better. Even come to terms with things or events beyond our control. For some of us, it is simply therapy. Vent, vent, rage and vent!

The question then is, what is the source material for an artist’s work? The source and the inspiration are varied. For many, we, ourselves, are our source. We choose our own lives, background, interests, culture, et al, as our source material. And to this end, deafness, is ripe for artistic treatment. To this end, I’m not exactly a fan of “the becoming deaf rites of passage” story. They do serve their purpose, I don’t disagree. But as a Deaf person, I crave for more, which is why I am extremely ambivalent about purchasing a copy of Deaf Sentence, thought I may cave in at some point.

For David, the exploration of his deafness, in his new book, Deaf Sentence, would be a natural progression of his work as a writer. For fans of his books, and especially those who follow his work assiduously, the subject would be interesting, regardless of which model or view of deafness prevails. Or whether the subject has been done justice. The interest is in the artist’s next book, song, record, sculpture, painting, photograph, blog post, et al.

Unfortunately, David does the craft of writing, and the act of creation a great disservice when he opines that:

“……deafness restricts and thins out the supply of new ideas and experience on which the novelist depends to create his fictions.”

If anything, life would have taught him to every ying, there is a yang, and to every yang, there is a ying. The statement betrays an ignorance that is quite breathtaking, but not unusual for hearing people to make. To be fair, unless you have experienced deafness, indeed, Deafness, how can you know otherwise.

I was there too, once! I like where I am now, better!

While deafness, does cut us off from the hearing world, or more accurately, the aural world, it does not, as David seems to believe, restrict or thins out the supply of new ideas. Far from it. The source of material, and inspiration for works, are only as limited as the limits the artist themselves impose. Yes, an artist’s chosen material presents problems and issues they must grapple with, in order to create a work that can be enjoyed, but that is different to the idea that deafness restricts and thins out the supply of ideas.

What deafness does is, it proposes a re-orientation of the world as described by hearing people. It provides insights unseen by the hearing. It provides experiences hitherto accessible. It debunks the long held belief of calamity and sorrow that befalls those who lose their hearing. And it lays down a challenge to the hegemony of one sense [hearing] over the other four [sight, touch, smell, and taste]. Pertinent, deafness [indeed, becoming deaf] presents new knowledge. From this new knowledge, comes new ideas, and new material, and new works.

David becoming deaf, does not detract from his life as a hearing person. The knowledge and experience that he has accumulated over the course of his life, is not rendered meaningless by his deafness. As I have said in the previous paragraph, his deafness presents him with new knowledge and new experiences. Indeed, new challenges, both as an artist and as a person.

And that is the challenge for David the writer [artist], and the person. Once he has expressed the angst the sea change that deafness engenders, will he remain within the medical/ disability model? Will his explorations lead him down paths hitherto untravelled? Will he come to a better understanding of deafness? Will he come to view the hearing world differently? Will he come to see alternatives other than technology for deafness? Will he come to see deafness as a viable state of being? Or will he and his artistry, languish in the echoes of a time long gone?

Further Reading:

The Idol-Maker: David Lodge – Deaf Sentence
David Lodge: Deaf Sentence

I have heard of the writer David Lodge, but I have not read and of his books. Yet! I do have a second hand copy of A David Lodge Trilogy: Changing Places – Small World – Nice Work, but it remains unread. G.O.D. is always waxing lyrical about David Lodge, but for some reason I remain unmoved. But that’s more to do with the amount of reading that I would like to do, and with the limited time that us human beings have, some authors are going to fall by the wayside.

His new book, Deaf Sentence, has been published in the UK. Having read some of the media articles about the book and David’s experience of becoming deafened, I’m not sure that I will be rushing out to buy a copy of the book, for its thematic exposition.

Well, as a Deaf person, I’ve read, heard and discussed plenty of becoming Deaf/deaf/deafened/ et al, to know that there’s nothing new in the latest version [David Lodge's] of the experience of losing one’s hearing. If David Lodge wasn’t a well known and well regarded author, would his story be newsworthy at all? After all, the hearing world doesn’t really give a shit about us.

The becoming Deaf/deaf/deafened/ et al stories, are a lot like the coming out stories told by Gays and Lesbians. For all the ethnic, racial, religious, gender differences, they are all similar, so much so that at some point you are forced to ask, “yes but, do we have anything else to say?”

There’s two aspects to the media write up of David Lodge’s experience of becoming deafened, and reviews of his book, Deaf Sentence. The first, is the rather depressingly common expression of sadness of a man losing his hearing, with seemingly no hope for the continuation of a good life. [Cue: bring out the hankies.] David’s descriptions of becoming deafened are for the benefit of hearing people, so that they may be entertained, while learning next to nothing about deafness, save for the tried and trusty cliches of things that happen when you can’t hear.

“…..with a deadly mix of felt experience and fertile humorous invention, makes us giggle, laugh and even roar at the misadventures of his fictional hero…” Ho! Ho! Ho!

As always, the media analysis ventures no further than a curiosity look at the problems caused by hearing loss, and neglects to examine wider ramifications the hearing worlds’ own role in the problems encountered by Deaf/deaf people. I would be very surprised if the hearing media [let alone hearing people], in a sudden rush of equanimity, actually did examine deafness beyond the safe confines of eccentricity, madness and sadness, and saw that, maybe, just maybe, there is life after hearing. And when they do, the answer is always technological:

Still, there has never been a better time in human history than now to be deaf. Recent advances in electronics, computer science and medicine have combined to make a whole range of remedial and enabling devices available to the deaf and hearing-impaired, from miniaturised hearing aids and loop systems to surgical implants and vibrotactile aids (not a sex toy, but a device for alerting the profoundly deaf person to the presence and source of sound) – Living Under A Deaf Sentence.

Yes! I know! Hi World, welcome to it!

The second point? What was it? Ah yes, what happens to our idolatry of our idols, when they say or do something that is anathema to the values we hold dear. As G.O.D. points out,

“What if he stops being one of my favourite authors, because he won’t be able to find any humour in this?!”

I know exactly what she means. I have dropped respect for artists of any genre and medium, if they betray any of the values I hold dear. I have stopped admiring Mel Gibson’s work, once he become famous for his homophobia views. One friend tried to countenance this by explaining that he is a troubled man, trying to work out some familial indoctrination. Tough! Dropped! Respect nil!

Yes, they are human beings, just like you and I, and yes, they are given to human foibles, just like you and I. But by virtue of their work, and being in the public eye, they become gods [spokespeople] for their worshippers [adoring fans], and can do an awful lot of good, should the mood strike them.

In this case, this is not going to happen. The media write up of David Lodge, his hearing loss, and his exposition of this experience, is just the latest whistle stop tour on the entertainment trail. Where you can read a little, cry a little, laugh a little and learn nowt much!

Reading To Pass The Time:
David Lodge: Deaf Sentence (contains linx galore for your reading delectation)

Update:
The Tree Of Knowledge