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The film features well-known names such as Kelly Clarkson and DL Hewley. Rapper Waka Flocka Flame is executive producer. Cats worked on the film for seven years. “Sign the Show” is showing United Nations Association Film Festival. Wednesday, October 26 at 9 p.m. at the Roxy Theater in San Francisco.
This interview was produced by Porfirio Rangel and designed by Chris Egusa and Gabe Grabin.
interview record
Jenny Darden: Cat, welcome.
Cat Beer: Hi. Thank you. Thanks for your hospitality.
Jenny Darden: It’s a really great movie idea. What inspired this movie?
Cat Beer: I have been listening to concerts since I was eight years old. In 2014, I saw a translator for the first time at a trade show. So I’ve been going for over 35 years and have never seen a translator. So I started talking to the interpreter and then through the interpreter to the deaf people at the concert, I had absolutely no idea. I didn’t realize that deaf people love music, let alone go to live performances. But I’ve been educated and found that yes, like hearing people’s voices, they do, but they face a lot of challenges and obstacles in getting entertainment.
So I decided to write an article for the college newspapers where I teach, three of which are in the Bay Area. Then a friend of mine said, “This sounds like a documentary. You should make a documentary.” And I said, okay.
Jenny Darden: Why is there a lack of interpreters at concerts and live venues, especially where artists, you know, I imagine like big-name artists, where there’s money to pay for interpreters?
Cat Beer: that’s right. I think it’s a multi-level question and answer. As a result, there is a very long history of oppression against the deaf and hard of hearing communities, which number over 400,000 in the United States alone, and who have been oppressed and marginalized for centuries.
So I think, as listeners, we just don’t realize they’re excluded unless you have someone you know in your family or circle of friends. This is my situation. There is no one in my circle. I didn’t know anyone before I started making this film.
I don’t think smaller establishments understand, or they understand because I’ve discussed this with them, that if an interpreter is required under the Americans with Disabilities Act, an interpreter must be provided. There has to be a way of communication, a way of accessibility.
But I think a lot of venues think it’s just about money. Like, oh, we can’t afford this. But for businesses and organizations that provide it, there is a tax write-off.I would agree with you and I think Andre 3000 would agree with you because he said so in the movie
Jenny Darden: From Outkast, one of my favorite hip hop bands.
Cat Beer: Yes. He said, you know, that should be normal. It should be a standard. Just as artists have speakers in their riders, they should have translators in their riders.
Jenny Darden: What is a rider?
Cat Beer: So artists usually have a rider they can exercise. Like, oh, so-and-so just wants the yellow M&Ms in their locker room. So it’s a rider. Like, what does an artist want? What do they need? How many speakers are on stage? What kind of lighting do they want, what kind of food do they want, what kind of lodging, can they add interpreters because of what kind of accessibility they want their audience to have.
Jenny Darden: Does your film explore diversity? I know that in the deaf community of color, they may use different symbols, like their slang. If that’s the right word. I’m reading an article, probably in your movie, about a white translator feeling uncomfortable signing the N word at a rap concert.
So what is going on here? Are there enough color interpreters?
Cat Beer: Do not.
Jenny Darden: Is there a need to push for more color interpreters?
Cat Beer: Yes, exactly. There are many different nuances to this. There are certainly not as many commentators of color as there are white ones. White interpreters may not represent artists well.
Well, especially I think the example was given by a translator of color named Odie Ashford, who lives in the Bay Area. She signed Tony! Tony! Tone! I’ve been following them for a year. Yes, I think that’s correct, white interpreters have problems signing the N word.
This is a tricky situation because, as an interpreter, you are ethically required to be able to interpret exactly what is being said. Otherwise, you will review the information provided to the deaf and hard of hearing community. So there are a lot of different nuances. There are definitely not enough color interpreters.
This is a very, very small percentage. I mean, it’s a viable career, and if people are interested in it, it’s a great career. It definitely doesn’t hurt. There are also fewer deaf translations of color, well, Matt Maxey is a good example. He is a role model for many. In particular, we were just at the California School for the Deaf in Fremont and the kids knew him.
It’s a K to 12 school where kids are just in awe to see someone just like them, a person of color, a deaf person, doing a great job in the media, breaking barriers, breaking stereotypes What it means to be deaf and what it means to be deaf as a person of color.
Well, there are different signs. You talk about this too. There are as many different sign languages ​​as there are languages ​​in the world. My film does address this briefly, it talks about Afro-American Sign Language. Schools are segregated – black and white. The same goes for schools for the deaf.
Black and white students were segregated, and black students created their own language. When schools integrate, it’s like two different languages ​​come together.
Jenny Darden: You, have you ever run into any hurdles, making this film, or even just trying to get into this community and report on the issue?
Cat Beer: Yes. Very much so. Someone throws out the term “cultural appropriation”. Uh, you know, “Why are you doing this movie? You’re not part of our community. No one in your life is part of this community. Why are you doing this?” From the perspective of a communications professor for 22 years.
It’s just another way of communicating. This film is another platform for me to teach and educate people, and I try my best not to be in the film. You’ll hear my voice a few times when I’m doing interviews that my editors have decided to dive into. But for the most part, it’s someone else’s story, and I’m just the medium of the message.
So when I go to film festivals, I usually always invite the people in my films to be with me and talk about issues on their behalf because they can talk about them better than I can.
Jenny Darden: For us in the hearing community, what can we do? What does the deaf tell you and what can we do to help?
Cat Beer: Help make access easier?
There are ways to help get an interpreter if needed. Someone with normal hearing can’t just call a venue and say, “Hey, I need an interpreter tonight.” That’s unethical, and I think it’s illegal to do that unless there’s an actual need. So one way is to get more education and learn more about the history of the deaf and hard of hearing community in order to better understand the challenges they face.
You can learn sign language. Even if it’s just learning the alphabet. It gives you a better channel of communication with that community.
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