Project Humanity: a dream of what could be

Katie Roberts

For the past ten years, we have been having a vigorous debate about what it means to be deaf, and what it means for us as human beings. One of the loudest voices is Ryan Commerson.

Along with his business partner, Alison Aubrecht, they are on the board staff of the Facundo Element, a 501(C)(3) non profit organization that promotes social justice. The organization hopes to create a film as part of - their Project Humanity. Ryan Commerson is also known for directing the Gallaudet Film which was released in 2010 with a Deaf production team.

Ryan Commerson and I sat down during a leisurely dinner and hammered out some of the basic principles behind Ryan’s film making. When I asked Ryan “Who are you? What is your vision as a filmmaker?” After a pause he explains that he is an activist, not a filmmaker. He chose film as a medium for his activism – film brings to us the stories people have to tell. Stories that are on screen are very powerful, and they infect the popular consciousness. We watch stories on TV that reflects ourselves, our society, and in return, the stories themselves affect how we view themselves. In film, it is quite true that art is a reflection of culture. How else would we learn about Oskar Schindler? In watching Schindler’s List, we are brought to experience Oskar’s struggle, to learn of his story. His humanity is revealed to us even as he cooperates with the Nazis. This film forces us to ask ourselves – “What would I do in a situation such as this? What choices would I make?”. This, too, is what Ryan strives for. He envisions a series of films in the grand tradition of HBO shows such as Band of Brothersor The Wire or other mainstream hits such as Ellen that had a powerful influence on people’s perspectives on LGBT people. The series would be about people, about ourselves, with a mixed cast of Deaf and hearing actors. The movie is about the case against perfection; the threat of genetic engineering and the ripple effects of the eugenic movement which still manifests today in our institutions.

 

Facundo Element hopes to move beyond the limitations of the Deaf genre movie – to appeal to a wider audience to become a crossover hit such as with The Color Purple, which is a story about human experience. It will be a story – such as the Titanic movie – which in addition to romantic love on a sinking ship, spun tales about class differences.

 

"In any tyranny, love and art can act as a catalyst in change", as an buffer against those in power, as a form of resistance. ASL stories and poetry, for instance, was carried down through generations of oralism. Stories were signed in the back corners of playground, out of sight, or even out in the open as an act of defiance. Bad doers would be punished, but their acts would boost the self esteem of the community. Robin Hood has always been a hero of the people!

As part of his activism, he has always used film as a medium to carry on an conversation with the public. I took note that Ryan had released a vlog this past May in which he shared his reflections of the Gallaudet 2006 protest whereas he shared with his learning process as a social justice activist.

Ryans talks about how he has recognized the need for deaf people to be humanized, as opposed to othered. We are all part of a system often infects us with beliefs that are audist, racism, and sexist. All of us, from time to time, may act not in the best of interests for others. To build a better world, we must take a deeper look at the ideological frameworks under which we operate.  We have spent the past 30 years working hard to challenge the conventional thinking about Deaf people, to move from a medical frame to a cultural frame and there has been quite a bit of success.

Amusingly enough I discovered that he had chosen a white male to develop the initial team (writers story developers, producers and other staff) for Project Humanity. I questioned his choice. He chuckled ruefully and referred to his business partner, Alison Aubrecht, who is a social justice activist in her own right, who will be “keeping me honest”. Alison will be a vital part of the movie process as a consultant. One of her many duties will be focusing on character development, to have realistic portrayals throughout the film.  I believe that her recent vlog about White Privilege would be relevant to her work.

 

An excellent and enjoyable summary of the original text. Still, I must, as a social justice supporter, question if they have given people of color and others enough opportunities to become part of this process. Will Ryan repeat his mistakes from the 2006 Gallaudet protest? What is the role of people of color in this process?

The largest obstacle at this time is money - to provide an authenic voice, the project needs to be independently funded for about five million dollars. He wanted to share with you this – “Money is never an issue. People often tell me that money is an issue. Money is never an issue, it’s our priority. We decide where we put our money. If you believe in this, invest.”

The Facundo Element hopes to use film as a medium, to share people's stories. To learn about each other, we must tell our stories. In order to learn to love each other as human beings, we need to connect through telling our stories. Stories are important because as W.H. Auden wrote in September 1, 1939 ; “We must love one another or die."

A movie such as this would be quite an accomplishment, but the thing about aiming at the stars is that even when you fall short, you’re still higher than where you started. Even if Project Humanity fell short of its’ named goals, the goalposts will be moved, standards will be raised, and we will be able to have a conversation about social justice and what it means to be human. Honestly? I think it's worth throwing them a few bucks just to see how it turns out.