Documentarian Jodee Mundy has lived her life as a CODA, a child of Deaf adults. Compelled to inhabit two worlds—that of the hearing and the Deaf—Mundy has spent various time both talking and using ASL (American Sign Language) to detail her life experiences. Camp CODA follows Mundy as she spends time at a Pennsylvania CODA camp aimed specifically at Asian-American children. The camp, made up of hearing children and their Deaf parents, illustrates the various issues CODAs have to grapple with, from connecting with their parents, to living a hyperstimulating world where ASL is smothered by technology.
At just 30 minutes, Camp CODA doesn’t waste time, introducing Mundy and immediately transitioning to her at the camp. From there she takes a backseat, letting the camera document the various children who are going to the camp, like Jacob, a pre-teen boy who doesn’t know ASL and thus is at a remove with his parents. His parents feel equally isolated, working nights and understanding that they aren’t communicating with their child like they’d hoped. As the short film lays out, the goal of CODA camp is to reunite families who are being pulled apart in a changing world. In one scene, the Deaf counselors try to corral the children and eventually have to resort to tough love by threatening to take the kids cell phones and tablets away. For Mundy, the question is how do the next generation of Deaf people interact when so much of the technology is hearing focused?
The documentary is certainly worthy of feature length, and it does leave a lot of information off the table. Individual CODAs are interviewed, but it’s more about how the older children understand the plight of the younger children. There’s little discussion about what they think the future holds for Deaf people. There’s also little discussion of how Deaf people continue to be marginalized, and the shrinking use of ASL. These are moments where, in a feature length doc, there’s probably additional background. Regardless, Camp CODA is a charming entry into the world of Deaf people and the next generation of children living between two worlds. Recommended.
Which public library collections should include Camp Coda: Children of Deaf Adults?
Camp CODA is a valuable addition to public libraries in categories like disability or Deaf documentary, disability or Deaf Cinema, and Documentary Film Collections. It’s a complement to media education and film programming focused on disability and history around disability issues, political issues affecting the Deaf and disabled community, or social issues. Libraries that license DVDs or digital films from EPF Media would also be wise to consider.
What academic subjects or media education courses would benefit from this disability documentary?
This documentary supports various subjects including Deaf political or social history, Documentary Studies, Disabled Theory and Studies. Media libraries curating documentaries focused on deafness, as well as instructors teaching about the evolution of deaf and CODA communities will also find merit in it. It also is perfectly suited to camp screenings. This would also pair well with a fictional movie like CODA to show the divergences between fiction and reality.
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