|
Anybody have an idea what’s the deal with Elisa knowing and speaking sign language but everyone around her not doing so despite obviously understanding it? It seems so jarring. How does she keep up her fluency with no one around to converse with?
|
#
¿
Mar 3, 2018 23:15
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 17, 2024 15:59 |
|
|
Egbert Souse posted:Only Giles and Zelda understand her and it's probably just because she's around them the most. And Giles clearly has to slow down to understand and Zelda doesn't know everything Elisa signs. Giles has motivation to be fluent because Elisa is really his only friend and Zelda is around her eight hours a day/night. Any other characters seem to only be guessing. Exactly, they understand what she signs but they don't ever sign themselves. I think this is kind of weak. Understanding sign language is much harder than producing it, so why wouldn't they sign themselves? It seem so very jarring and to be honest it's a missed chance: Why not have the characters use sign language as a secret mode of communication? They could've even used that with the surveillance cameras.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 4, 2018 23:11
|
|
|
MeinPanzer posted:Just like this movie is an aesthetically pleasing romantic fairy tale onto which the viewing audience can project their fantasies of seeing justice prevail and the downtrodden getting their comeuppance... I like that interpretation though I think it's giving the film too much credit. Egbert Souse posted:Maybe someone who's been around mute people have some insight into this? Elisa was probably taught ASL from an early age, but I don't get why others would need to use sign language with her since she is able to hear fine. Isn't that the point of the scene between her and Giles having him repeat everything to show he understands? As someone who's been deaf his whole life and has known a ton of deaf people, maybe it's just that this combination is super loving weird. I haven't ever heard of anyone using sign language because they couldn't speak, though yeah it's not out of the realm of possibility. Usually sign language is used so deaf people can understand and not the other way round. Ehh. Anyhow, the "eggs?" thing reminded me of the controversy about sign language in ape research. Some scientists said that apes don't really understand the sign language they use in research and that it's just a glorified skinner box, essentially the ape going "if I make this motion I get food/pets/attention" and not comprehending anything beyond that. Now imagine the same film but with a gorilla instead of Fish Man.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 5, 2018 08:58
|
|
|
I watched the final scene again and even though Fish Man just parrots what Elisa signed, s/he does sign more than just "eggs". Man. It could've been so much more in that department, which is a real bummer.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 5, 2018 11:10
|
|