What Oscar favourite CODA got right – and very wrong – about life as a child of deaf adults

After starting out as a small film on Apple TV+, CODA is now an Oscar favourite and could very well pick up the best picture award this year.

Following Ruby (Emilia Jones), the only hearing child of deaf parents, it tells the story of how she attempts to balance her family’s struggling fishing business and her own life aspirations.

Chatting to Metro.co.uk, Jemina Edwards, who is part of CODA UK and whose parents are both deaf, admitted she was ‘apprehensive’ to watch the film.

‘Being CODA is a really important thing to me, I’m realising how much having deaf parents has impacted my life,’ she explained.

‘It suddenly felt a bit daunting [for the studio] to say, “We’re gonna make a film about this thing that hasn’t really been done anywhere else.” It’s a very strange thing because deafness has become very popular recently with Rose [Ayling-Ellis] winning Strictly – which is amazing – but it feel like a bit of a fad that might faze out, that people might get less interested in.’

‘It was never going to be a perfect film that encapsulates everyone’s experiences because every CODA’s got a different experience,’ Jemina said. ‘Some bits I found a bit uncomfortable – it felt like it was aimed more at a hearing audience than a deaf or CODA audience.’

Emilia Jones stars as Ruby (Picture: Apple TV)

‘Ruby singing to her dad, and her dad touching her throat just felt a bit icky!’ she said of one scene. ‘It’s something that a lot of deaf people who have grown up with oralism [the system of teaching profoundly deaf people to communicate by the use of speech and lip-reading rather than sign language] and expected to speak, that’s how they were forced to speak and especially if they had their BSL withheld from them.

‘To frame that in a positive and heartwarming light just felt a bit icky.’

Jemina also pointed out that some scenes, including medical appointments, should have shown qualified interpreters. In fact, in the same real-life situations, interpreters would have been required by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

‘I’m not expecting them to have done everything but I was really surprised they didn’t show a single actual qualified interpreter, because that’s what my life is like – my parents book interpreters and that takes a lot of pressure off me,’ Jemina explained.

Troy Kotsur became the first deaf actor to win a Bafta (Picture: PA)

‘It’s quite uncommon for me to have to interpret for a medical appointment and things like that, even though it does happen. I would have loved to see actual interpreters and I think it would have been a nice comparison with the job Ruby was doing.’

As for what else she would have loved to see, Jemina said: ‘There was a lack of the deaf community and CODA community. It would have been really nice if they could showcase that side of things, those positives. There’s a massive thriving community.’

However, there were some moments that really struck Jemina as being pretty representative of her life as a CODA.

She recalled: ‘At the beginning, there’s a bit where it’s very relevant. There are those embarrassing bits of your parents pulling up in the car with loud music playing, that’s happened to me before.

‘Being really noisy in the kitchen…those little things I really enjoyed, like, “That happens to me a lot!” That was nice.’

Jemina (pictured with her parents) said some moments struck her as really representative of her experience (Picture: Jemina Edwards)

One moment was particularly powerful to her.

‘Ruby mentioned at one point, you have no idea what it’s like to hear people laughing at your family and making fun of them and holding that with you because you don’t want to upset your parents, but at the same time, if you’re the only one who’s hearing those comments, it’s a really horrible feeling to just hold that to yourself.

‘That is a massive part [of being a CODA],’ Jemina explained, recalling that it had most recently happened to her just the day before we spoke to her.

Deaf actors Marlee Maitlin and Troy Kotsur were cast in the film, with Troy recently becoming the first deaf actor to win a Bafta.

Director Sian Heder also learned ASL during the writing of the film and was helped by two deaf collaborators,  Alexandria Wailes and Anne Tomasetti.

Actress Emilia is hearing and from a hearing family, and learnt ASL for the role.

However, Jemina thinks a CODA could have been cast instead.

‘I would have loved to have a CODA play the main character – I think that’s what added to the uncomfortability,’ she explained. ‘I know acting is acting but at some points it did feel a bit mocking, like her suddenly breaking out into sign language in front of a hearing person to explain how she feels.’

However, she added: ‘Having deaf representation is a massive, massive win for the film.

‘That’s something that everyone’s really highlighted – that we’ve got deaf actors doing a really amazing job and proving that deaf people can be successful in that industry.’

Metro.co.uk has contacted reps for CODA for comment.

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