Sign language films, people, songs: my discovery

I was taking a bus to get to my destination when I noticed two people gesturing from the corner of my eye. They gestured so enthusiastically that I soon realized they were TALKING about something. But I just couldn’t understand WHAT they were talking about.

I’ve always wanted to watch some silent film (the one from the 1920s), but I couldn’t do that because of the specific way they were filmed. No silent film seemed to interest me enough. That was when I accidentally came across the modern movie called, The Tribe. I decided to watch it, but when I clicked PLAY, I was surprised to find that there was no sound (in terms of speech) or even subtitles to understand the plot, in contrast to the silent movies. There were just the characters signing to communicate. It was so unexpected and unusual that I looked up some information about this film. I found out it was in sign language, and I thought it would be interesting to watch it and see if I still get the idea. I didn’t understand the plot from the movie alone, so reading about it definitely helped. Also, I found that the lack of the subtitles allowed me to be creative and make up my own story based on the scenes on the screen.

Later, I found the YouTube channel belonging to one of the actors from The Tribe. I tried to watch his videos, hoping to find something with subtitles, but I failed. And I was like, OK, well, I’m doomed. I didn’t understand a thing, but getting even the slightest idea would be enough. That was when I figured out trying to learn at least a few signs would be cool. I started with searching for the songs in sign language (which I knew the lyrics for) online, watching the video and repeating the gestures I saw. I couldn’t memorize everything, so I had to find the gestures for the certain words I needed on the internet (or videos of the sign language lessons).

I realize I might not learn everything and be able to communicate in this language. But I’ve always loved singing, and having an alternative way to do so is really fun! I also think of it as a cool hobby, because it certainly does bring me TONS of joy!