Whoa. Stop. I can't believe what I'm hearing.
What would you do if you created something and entered your work in a contest but it didn’t win?
1. Accept it and move on.
2. Tweak it and try again.
3. Get all your friends to pressure the judges into changing their minds.
Only a few people would choose the third approach, but Marlee Matlin, unfortunately, is one of them.
She wanted to do a reality TV show about a deaf family and she put together a presentation, “My Deaf Family,” and shopped it around Hollywood.
TV execs chose not to bite.
This is what happens in Hollywood every day. People with ideas pitch to people with money. Sometimes the ideas get a green light, sometimes they don’t.
After all, it’s the people with money who take the big risk. They didn’t get where they are by having poor judgment. They have the right to say no.
One could choose to respect their understanding of the TV business and accept their answer.
This is not Marlee’s approach. Her approach is to get people to pressure the TV industry into reversing its decision.
She posted her pilot on YouTube as if it were a big deal — um, can’t any schmo post something there? — and now, through her supporters, she is drumming up a campaign to change Hollywood’s mind.
Petitions, protests, the holding of one’s breath until one’s face turns blue — you know, the deaf way.
But here’s the thing. The vast majority of people who watch the YouTube pilot or sign the petition are either deaf people or those who are inclined to be friendly toward the deaf.
So what? Is it really noteworthy that deaf people support a show about deaf people?
Heck, a lot of deafies would be happy to sit and watch a show about deafies sitting and watching a show.
But our support means nothing to Hollywood. To them, we are a miniscule and insignificant portion of the vast viewing audience.
Marlee’s show has to appeal to the vast masses, not to us. And what she put together did not pass the test.
She could have said, “Oh well, back to the drawing board,” and fixed the weaknesses, but she chose a different tack.
She is going to prove Hollywood wrong.
The funny thing is that while she continues to beat her dead horse, somebody else could come along and say, “A deaf reality show? What a great idea!” and put together a much better proposal and leave Marlee in the dust wondering what happened.
That’s what can happen when you marry yourself to your ideas and don’t know how to listen to people who know what they are talking about.
You may sound a little bitchy BUT what you say still makes sense. Her campaign does have that “I’m gonna prove you wrong” feel to it and someone else could indeed put together a better presentation and snatch a deal.
Hi-
I disgree. You have no basis to asssume those watching the pilot are Deaf friendly or Deaf…you are speculating, and yes, those first lining up to inform TVwood this is viable are probably the disenfranchised and their allies….but the Facebook Page has a lot of hearie fans that are previously clueless. I plan to use your blog in my Deaf Studies classes to show the difference between “advocating” (speaking for) and “allying” (supporting the endeavors of). CLEARLY if the You Tube tease, Facebook support page, petition and others actions (not done my Marlee, btw) gets the attention of some network, THEY will advise her the types of creative changes they’d like to see…..at this point, it’s “no one wants to watch deaf people, listen to voices overs and read captions”….so, per your wisdom, she should…..what? find oral deaf people and highlight them only? not send a universal access message by open captioning whenever a hearing person speaks? It appears you keep confusing YOUR criticisms of the pilot with what the networks said. I take offense with your statement: “Petitions, protests, the holding of one’s breath until one’s face turns blue — you know, the deaf way.” This is not the “deaf way”….and to sy so implies what, DPN was a tuantrum?! If you examine Deaf history, like many marginalized peoples, Deaf people often give up, believe that the hearing people with power are right, etc. They don’t hold their breath til they get what they want – such a metaphor is insulting to all Deaf people! No, Tom, this is an example of a response to Audism; it’s an example of how Deaf people are collective (like 70% of the planer) – it’s proactive.
“We Want My Deaf Family on TV” is a Facebook Page trying to bring awareness to this TV concept and support bringing it to a network.
My basis for assuming that most fans of the show are deaf or deaf-friendly is a little something I like to call “common sense.” People on YouTube and Facebook tend to interact with topics that they are predisposed to support.
What is your basis for assuming that Hollywood rejected the show because “no one wants to watch deaf people”? Are you privy to the thoughts of Hollywood executives? Or are you just repeating gossip and accepting Matlin’s spin?
I continue to believe that the pilot was rejected not because of anti-deaf sentiment but because this particular family is not interesting enough to sustain a full season of shows, not to mention several years of shows.
Other than the deaf thing, the family comes across as dull as dishwater. I’m sure they’re nice people and all, but where is the interest and conflict going to come from?
Most reality shows bounce around to different characters doing different things, but in this show it’s all the same family sitting around.
No wacky friends or neighbors stopping by. No grandparents or aunts or uncles poking their heads in. Plus, two of the four kids are too young to really participate.
So what are these people going to DO for half an hour every week?
Mom: “Deaf blah deaf blah deaf blah.”
Dad: “Yup.”
Son: “Weird, huh?”
The show would have a much better chance if it had, say, three families all touched by deafness in different ways.
Yes, there should be oral deaf people in the show. Late-deafened, too. There should be a variety of ages and ethnic types. This would give a better picture of deafness than just focusing on one dull deaf family in suburbia.
I strongly support a reality show that focuses on deaf people. Since Marlee’s premise was rejected and she seems unwilling to make it any better, I do hope that someone else will come along and do it right. Let’s make a deaf reality show a reality.
I agree with Tom that the show needs work. The potential is there… and I believe Marlee is going to work on more episodes hopefully with the added appeal. Thanks for your forthrightness, it doesn’t do the deaf world any favors to sugar coat the truth.
Hi Tom,
I actually watched the “sizzle-reel” and thought it was pretty interesting. As a person who really has had no interaction with any deaf individuals, it did catch my attention and was great for the 9 min it ran. However, after reading your critique, I must say that I completely agree with you. If it was to be a whole show, there are many things lacking to keep audiences engaged. But the idea is a good one.
Marlee is certainly a very talented, devoted, and great person. From what I know, she is always trying to push for the better. But I am shocked at how childish Jack was by deciding to unfriend you. You were providing constructive criticism. There was nothing mean about your advice and if they received any feedback from the network execs they pitched the reel to, I would be surprised if it differed a lot from what you suggested. Sometimes, I think the Marlee team is a little one-tracked. It’s like they believe everything they do is right and amazing and anyone who tries to get in their way or has any opinion to the contrary is wrong. I applaud her and her team for their efforts in advocacy but I hope they don’t continue to bulldoze their way through things and actually take the time to consider other viewpoints.