ebonics redux?

"Michael B. Jordan, left, and Miles Caton in sinners." Ryan Coogler's film will be the first shown on a streaming service in black american sign language. the movie is set to debut on max on friday, July 4, in its regular theatrical version and in a version interpreted in basl."

To: add1dda@aol.com <add1dda@aol.com>

Sent: friday, july 11, 2025 at 12:09:11 AM EDT

Subject: Ebonics Redux?

"ah axe you, muthafuka, leave mah chilluns alone . . ." in sign language?

Sound like a scam to me--but then, what do I know?

N.S.: Yeah, it's a scam, alright, up to, and including the signer having her own, special "director."

 

https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/sinners-black-american-sign-language-20401719.php

the san francisco chronicle july 19, 2025

arts & entertainment

"sinners to become first

film streamed in black

american sign language"

By G. Allen Johnson, Staff Writer

"sinners," the box office sensation by oakland filmmaker Ryan Coogler, is making history once again.

"the vampire thriller set in the Jim Crow south, starring Michael B. Jordan, is set to become the first film to be shown on a streaming service in black american sign language. the movie will debut on max on friday, July 4, in its regular theatrical version and in a version interpreted in basl.

                

"'accessibility within streaming is not a one-size-fits-all approach. our goal at max is to make these great stories accessible to all audiences in a way that is authentic to the content and the communities we serve,' Naomi Waibel, senior vice president of global product management at Warner Bros. discovery, said in a statement. 'sinners with black american sign language is an example of how culturally nuanced access can enrich the viewing experience for our audiences.'

"'the basl version marks 'a major step forward in accessibility, representation and visibility in streaming,' max added in a separate statement. 'for the first time, the black deaf community will have streaming access to a more immersive experience in their language.

"'that sinners, the highest-grossing film not based on a preexisting property so far this decade, becomes the first film to be interpreted by basl is apt given its setting. basl, used most commonly by deaf black americans in the United States, is a product of segregation of schools in the American South in the 19th and early 20th centuries. [N.S.: What a whopper! But if it were true, it would be yet one more thing that blacks owe Whites.]

sinners is interpreted in basl by Nakia Smith, who [sic] max called 'an influential voice in the black deaf community [English translation: she's a rabid, political hack], who delivers a powerful interpretation with cultural depth and linguistic richness that aligns with the film's themes and historical timeline."

"Smith has more than 411,000 followers on tiktok, where she posts videos utilizing and discussing basl.

"about 50% of deaf black people use basl, Carolyn McCaskill, founding director of the center for black deaf studies at Gallaudet university, a private university in Washington, D.C., for the deaf and hard of hearing, told the new york times in 2021. [N.S.: Color me skeptical. Note that Gallaudet is a separatist stronghold, which has for years worked to socially isolate the deaf. Thus, a Gallaudet commissar would say that, whether or not it was true, and would agitate to make it true.]

"basl users tend to use more two-handed signs, and they often place signs around the forehead, rather than lower on the body. They also tend to use a larger signing space and more facial expressions.

"Rosa Lee Timm directs Smith's performance of sinners.

"max has several films interpreted in American sign language. Timm has directed Asl performances of "beetlejuice beetlejuice and "a minecraft movie.

june 30, 2025