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An Age Of Inclusion : The Silent Movie Era

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An Age of Inclusion: The Silent Movie Era in Deaf History “[Charlie Chaplin] is able both to make himself understood and to understand me. He is an artist” (Schuchman, 1988, p. 24). This was told by Granville Redmond, a prominent deaf actor and painter in Hollywood during the silent movie era, with the height of his career mainly in the late 1910s. He was a close friend to Chaplin, acting in multiple movies with him and being a documented member of Chaplin’s close group of friends. This description of their relationship, captured by Redmond, documents the shared sense of acceptance and inclusion not only in this working relationship and friendship, but can be viewed as a greater example for the acceptance and equality that deaf people in general felt during the era of silent movies. This time was one of the first, and only for many decades to follow, that truly allowed opportunities for deaf individuals to work with hearing people on equal grounds. It was a time that allowed the Deaf community to participate in mainstream American society’s cultural events by attending movies just as freely and often as hearing people. In essence, the silent movie era was a time for inclusion, acceptance, and equality for deaf people in America. Throughout the course of this paper, we will delve into the individual decades of the silent movie era, specifically the 1910s, 20s, and 30s, and how they impacted the Deaf community. The development of Deaf identity, cultural and linguistic

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