Making Noise in Silence

At the California School for the Deaf (CSD) in Fremont, students do all of the things that hearing teenagers do: work on the yearbook, participate in pep rallies, and joke around between classes. The only difference is that they use sign language (subtitles accompany their words here). Filmmaker Mina T. Son's documentary short focuses on two students. Min Wook Cho, a senior, felt like an outcast in Korea, where his parents encouraged him to speak, although he found it difficult to make progress. To provide him with more opportunities, the family moved to San Jose, where Min learned English and sign language. Now, he lives in a dormitory during the week and commutes home during the weekends. Jeongin Mun, a junior, also came from Korea, but only her sister and mother stayed in the U.S.; her father had trouble adjusting to American life and returned home. While Min likes to wrestle, Jeongin likes to paint, and during the course of the film she completes a hall mural by herself. Although Jeongin has a cochlear implant, she doesn't wear it often, and her mother says that her demeanor has changed for the better since she started attending the CSD. Providing insight into a challenging situation in which teens must not only find ways to work around sensory impairment but also adjust to a foreign culture, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)