Sound and Fury: 6 Years Later

When five-year-old deaf child Heather Artinian decided that she wanted to hear "all the people talking in Florida and New York," she sparked a war within her extended family that pitted brother against brother, father against son, mother against daughter, and hearing culture against deaf culture in filmmaker Josh Aronson's outstanding Oscar-nominated 2000 film Sound and Fury (VL-5/01). The controversy revolved around cochlear implants—an invasive operation that can bring a remarkable degree of hearing and speech capability to a child born deaf. The original documentary followed the parallel stories of two brothers and their families. Peter Artinian (deaf), whose wife and children are all deaf, was vigorously opposed to his daughter Heather's desire for a cochlear implant that would (in Peter's eyes) cause her to lose her "identity" within the nurturing fold of deaf culture. Chris Artinian (hearing), along with his wife, wanted a cochlear implant for their 11-month-old son born deaf. Sound and Fury: 6 Years Later is both an update and an addendum to the first film, opening with a brief introduction by Aronson and roughly six minutes of scenes from Sound and Fury to orient viewers, before returning to Peter Artinian's family, who had moved to Maryland to escape the painful fighting but later returned to New York. Viewers will learn that Heather, now 12 years old, received a cochlear implant when she was nine (as has her younger brother). Heather's experiences as the only deaf child in a Long Island school—playing sports, making good grades, hanging out with friends—are the focus here, with comments from Heather's parents (her mother Nita also received a cochlear implant) and grandparents interwoven throughout, particularly in regard to the advantages that Heather now enjoys as a hearing pre-teen (her grandmother points out that her college or career choices will no longer be limited). Although Peter's family now lives next door to his brother Chris, the latter declined to appear in this short sequel. While not as powerful or as probing as the original documentary, the brief sequel Sound and Fury: 6 Years Later (which received major funding from the cochlear implant industry) will definitely be of interest to those familiar with the first film. Recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (R. Pitman)