Monday, June 8, 2009

RLM's Deaf Insight of the Day - 6/8/09

Here is my first RLM's Deaf Insight of the Deaf on the deaf interests. President Obama and his family will visit the impressive Norte Dame Catherdal in Paris (France) today. We do have the name of American town - Paris, Texas!

The site of Norte Dame Catherdal inspired Victor Hugo's "The Hunchback of Norte Dame", a classic French novel which involved the deaf deformed bell ringer known as "Quaismodo". For more story on the "Hunchback of the Norte Dame" just check out Hugo's work at the public library or Internet or bookstore.

Lon Chaney Sr., CODA (Children of Deaf Adults) himself, done the unforgettable portrayal of Quaisomodo in the 1900s silent film, was one of the best Hunchback film. No actors equaled to Lon Chaney Sr.' "Quaismodo" portrayal over the century. Chaney was known as the "Man of Thousand Faces" for film fans within his superbu transformation of different roles.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923)
http://www.cinemaweb.com/silent/film/chaney/

Early adaptation of the novel by Victor Hugo starring Lon Chaney. You can find out more about this movie on its IMDB page.

The Walt Disney's 1990s film, "The Hunchback of Norte Dame" did not mention any of Quaismodo's deafness. What a sad omission!

ASLize yours,
Robert L. Mason

2 comments:

  1. thanks for sharing this

    Victor Hugo wrote:
    “What matters deafness of the ears when the mind hears? The one true deafness, the incurable deafness, is that of the mind”

    Dr. Harlan Lane used this phrase - "When the Mind Hears" (1984) as the title of his book exploring French and US Deaf history via Laurent Clerc

    peace

    patti

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  2. Patti,

    Whoa! I never make any connatation between Hugo and Lane's book.

    Yes, Harlan Lane have a home in France.

    Thanks for sharing your knowledge with all of us! :)

    RLM

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