AMA: A Short Experimental Film Understanding Deaf Anxiety and Personal Identity with Hearing Loss

Author

• Amanda Hessey

Date of Award

2020

Document Type

Research Paper

Department

Whittier Scholars Program

First Advisor

Patti McCarthy

Second Advisor

Rehn

Abstract

Ama, is an experimental short film, that is created to educate the audience about the hardships of being deaf and hard of hearing. This artistic piece touches base on deaf anxiety, where a person is easily overwhelmed and triggered in a loud situation. A deaf or a hearing impaired person has to work much harder in a hearing world to be able to survive. These people work hard by piecing together words by words to make sense of it, especially in a busy environment or during a standard two-way conversation. It can be overwhelming stimulation in a social setting, and that is portrayed in this piece as chaos. The four acts recreate small situations where a person can suffer from this particular form of anxiety. The significance of the film is to help people experience the feeling and understand what one can go through at the time of the build up of emotions that trigger panic attacks. Its purpose is also to show how to support those who do go through these difficult and vulnerable moments. Ama is the main character of this piece, her story is a direct memoir of the artist. Through the scenes, Ama learns that she is not alone, and that she can overcome these hard episodes of anxiety and be resilient. The transparent sheets depict an abstract scenery and the use of the shadow of the actor and puppetry creates a crisp silhouette. Layering of these elements creates a visual scenery, and it changes a perspective on animation and brings an essence of melancholy with the old fashioned overhead projectors. The performance is significant, because it gives and enhances a unique experience for the audience to witness the feelings of deaf anxiety, as well as the work that is put into making the film.

Comments

WSP Major: Visual Storytelling and Design

Recommended Citation

Hessey, A. (2020). AMA: A Short Experimental Film Understanding Deaf Anxiety and Personal Identity with Hearing Loss. Retrieved from https://poetcommons.whittier.edu/scholars/427