Talk:Marlee Matlin

Alleged Abusive Relationship with William Hurt
The current phrasing makes it difficult to tell whether Matlin was abusing drugs, whether Hurt was abusing drugs, or some combination of the two. "My drugs" seems suggestive, but the sentence construction remains ambiguous. This seems an important point to correct, possibly by someone familiar with her biography. Sskoog (talk) 14:12, 8 September 2011 (UTC)
 * I agree... it is not clear enough. MiewEN (talk) 06:08, 8 October 2014 (UTC)

Jack Jason question
Was that Jack Jason who interpreted for Matlin's character in The L Word? Cromulent Kwyjibo (talk) 22:21, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Speaking Controversy
I know that after she spoke to announce Oscar nominees, there was a controversy in the Deaf community. Some people had expected her to sign and not speak, especially since her character in Children of a Lesser God was a deaf woman who refused to speak, and she garnered criticism for it. I'm thinking that should be mentioned somewhere, shouldn't it? Alexcicio (talk) 07:36, 24 September 2008 (UTC)


 * The next few sentences don't make sense, unless we explain why the (unnamed) 'members' objected. The reader is left to speculate that some deaf people don't want other deaf people EVER to speak - or to speak to the non-deaf in a way that relieves the latter of the obligation to learn sign language.
 * Many members of the Deaf community considered their hopes for validation through Matlin's emissary "dashed," and Silent News, "the biggest newspaper for the Deaf," headlined her use of speech as potentially "offensive." Matlin, who has described her personal identity as "a lot more than Deaf," was shocked by commentary on the event, which constituted a dynamic shift from when she "was widely praised by the Deaf community" for supporting the Gallaudet University Deaf President Now campaign on Nightline earlier in 1988.


 * Besides, it's not part of her "personal life" but is a controversy. Could someone please explain what the two (or more?) sides were in the controversy, per Controversy? --Uncle Ed (talk) 15:12, 20 June 2011 (UTC)


 * There has been a "longstanding and sometimes bitter debate over the use of sign language versus spoken speech by the hearing-impaired."
 * She's choosing to focus on a stereotype that deaf people had tried to avoid, the whole idea that deaf people have to speak to be successful, Mr. Humphries said. That's offensive to many people, including me . . .  (ibid.)

Humphries is an advocate, I guess; is it for the view that deaf people don't have to speak to be successful? And is his objection to Matlin's "sudden" switch from speaking-while-signing to speaking-without-signing some sort of betrayal of his ideal? That is, has a taboo arisen against any on-screen portrayal of deaf people (including those with partial hearing ability) as able to speak? --Uncle Ed (talk) 15:22, 20 June 2011 (UTC)

Perhaps it has something to do with:
 * A positive attitude toward being deaf is typical in Deaf cultural groups. Deafness is not generally considered a condition that needs to be fixed (see Deaf culture)

However, "the actress had carefully planned her presentation to draw attention to the abilities of the deaf." (ibid)

The NY Times article doesn't clarify it, so I have to guess; is someone saying that there's nothing wrong with "lacking an ability that others have" - so don't fix it? Don't advertise your ability? --Uncle Ed (talk) 15:29, 20 June 2011 (UTC)

The Practice
Whoever did her bio forgot her talented guest role on "The Practice" where she played none other than a deaf mom who killed someone abusing her daughter. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.102.179.48 (talk) 03:56, 19 April 2009 (UTC)

Freak City
For inclusion in filmography: 1999, Freak City, character 'Cass'. A superb performance as a mentally handicapped girl, not deaf, along side an equally superb performance by Natalie Cole. Drmcclainphd (talk) 19:53, 24 January 2010 (UTC)drmcclainphd

Major omission from article
Why does this article not make any reference to the gentleman who has interpreted for her for so many years in TV interviews and even several dramatic roles (I believe he was on Picket Fences with her)? 68.146.78.43 (talk) 14:28, 24 May 2011 (UTC)

I agree...the article should tell us the man's name76.105.145.42 (talk)

Jack Jason is her interpreter---76.105.145.42 (talk)

How much hearing loss
The article calls her deaf, but Deaf culture says there's a distinction between "hearing-impaired" and "deaf". Can we expand on that distinction, or employ it in this article?

What do you call someone who has 20% of their hearing left? Deaf, hearing-impaired, either? --Uncle Ed (talk) 15:35, 20 June 2011 (UTC)

I think the issue at hand isn't how much hearing loss she has, but whether she identifies with the Deaf community (capital D) or simply having a medical condition (lower-case d). In her biography, I'll Scream Later, she uses capital D-Deaf, so the wikipedia article should respect that and do the same. 69.37.95.136 (talk) 14:47, 23 June 2011 (UTC)

The terms "Deaf" and "hard of hearing" are really the individuals choice. There are many people who refer to themselves as "Hard of Hearing" but have less hearing than many "Deaf" people. The term Deaf (capital D) is usually used in reference to a person who is culturally deaf. There really isn't a definitive definition beyond that. In this case it is appropriate to call her deaf or more appropriately Deaf. Surprisingly, many deaf people do have some residual hearing. Desire Mercy (talk) 05:19, 10 August 2011 (UTC)

Language / Education
Being as it looks like she was mainstreamed, and all of her signing I’ve seen has really been PSE, it would be nice to get a section on when/how she learned “ASL,” or if she just learned SEE sign from interpreters/teachers or what. —Wiki Wikardo 06:38, 24 January 2012 (UTC)

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Assessment comment
Substituted at 23:15, 29 April 2016 (UTC)

The Apprentice
There is a link to an article about rumors about a derogatory term she was called on The Apprentice but no mention of the incident in the article. 22yearswothanks (talk) 16:08, 24 February 2017 (UTC)

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