Why was Helen's mom so hysterical when she found out that Helen was blind. We started watching it in Health Thursday, and Mrs. Summerville had 2 turn the volume down the scream was so loud. So, why was she so hysterical?
"Your face is all red."
The Rum Tum Tugger is a terrible bore!
She realized that the infant Helen was blind and deaf. Grief and shock,probably
Additionally, the actors playing Helen's parents overact throughout.
Why were you watching this film in a health class!?
Why were you watching this film in a health class!?
I'll tell u why.. Cause i'm all alone. there's no one here beside me. It's really cause we were learning about disabilities and just finished it yesterday or tuesday.
"Your face is all red."
"The Rum Tum Tugger is a terrible bore!"
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I know. Just when I thought I've read every possible stupid question out here on the boards, here comes another one from this genius.
Helen Keller was afflicted with not one but two of the most key senses you've obviously taken for granted your whole life. She lives in a world of complete silence and darkness, and her mother realizes for the first time that her child will never hear her or see her, or anything else.....ever. Think about it....buy maybe you need to find a brain first.
Yeah! Why would any mother care about the health of her child?
He's taking the knife out of the Cheese!
Do you think he wants some cheese?
Well... wouldn't YOU flip out if you found out your kid was deaf? Let alone deaf and blind.
shareand mute
www.goldenpie.piczo.com
OK, I think that "musicaluvr9" was referring to is what could be seen as an over-reaction.
How can you come to the conclusion that your child is definitely deaf and blind and that it is permanent by snapping your fingers a few times? And then react immediately with such hysterics. Wouldn't you think she might just say "Arthur, come quickly, I think there may be something wrong". Remember, she just found out that her daughter wouldn't die, and she seems to be in a composed state of relief and gratefulness.
But I think that the scene was over-played a bit to give a dramatic point to what was in store for everyone for the rest of their lives.
Sure it might have been overacted, but I also know some people who act like that even when they only think something is wrong. Not everyone has the calmest approach to problems.
In real life as in the play, she was a very young mother with her first child. Her reaction to the discovery sets the keynote for her character. She passionately cares about her child and will become her advocate to get some kind of help for her. After everyone else has given up, she still seeks every chance to learn more about the disability and find someone who can communicate with Helen. Among other physicians and hearing experts, the family turned to Alexander Graham Bell, who recommended the Perkins School.
shareShe might have already known blind/deafness could come from scarlet fever.
share[deleted]
A-ha, you could be right; they could have feared this possiblility from the moment of the diagnosis. Good point.
share1. They didn't know it was scarlet fever -- in fact, they didn't know what it was, and they still don't. Possibly meningitis.
2. What doctors of that time were really worried about and would warn parents to watch for was retardation due to brain damage -- it was believed that such high fevers were liable to leave their victims idiots. However, it was soon apparent that Helen's mind was okay.
Thank you! I kept reading to see if anybody made this connection.
It's called a llaaaannce--Hellooooo
I might agree it was a bit (keyword) overplayed, but I also have to point out, her child had just recovered from being ill when she found this out- no doubt the double whammy is what really sent her over the edge, so to speak.
I don't know what I'd do if that were me, that would be a huge shock.
Actually, Helen's muteness was only the result of never having been taught how to speak. Later, after Annie brought Helen up north to Perkins, Annie took Helen to another teacher (I forgot her name) who taught Helen how to speak.
But yeah, I can see, esp. on those days when handicapped ppl. were often put in asylums or otherwise lived extremely limited lives, why Kate was in hysterics over the thought of her daughter being handicapped.
It seems to me that the responsibility for the extreme behavior of Helen's mother rests with the screenwriter and even more so with the director. The purpose of this very short scene was to compress in to a few minutes the entire drama of the event and significance of falling deaf and blind at so early an age. As someone already mentioned, the character of both the parents was defined and the viewer was supposed to be drawn in a personal way to the tragedy. The same effect could have been achieved with better screenwriting perhaps, and certainly with better directing. The performances of Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke are even more noteworthy in light of this tendency toward histrionics that appeared throughout the film.
(PRN) – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=id-bFpYQzXE
HELLO, she was a mother. Also, what simplypm2004 said. Also -- HELLO, it was a stage play first. It was supposed to be a little stagy.
Musicluvr9,
Let me apologize for the a**holes on this thread. All you were doing was asking a question about how overly dramatic that scene was and everyone jumped all over you for it.
Charlie Murphy!! *punch*- Dave Chappelle as Rick James share
I wish you all could have seen the very first ever production of this play. A very old kinescope of it was filmed when it came on live television, five years before this movie. In that 1957 teleplay, Helen's illness from the fever was actually shown. A point-of-view shot from the baby's crib shows picture and sound come to an eerie, screeching, halt. The effect of the scarlet fever zaps the viewer into crippling darkness.
It took me a while to understand what I just saw, but that fully illustrated that Helen Keller was born healthy and with both senses, and lost them forever before the age of two. She was JUST beginning to talk ('wa-wa'), and now would have to be brought out of darkness completley. The film, unfortunately, did not repeat this effect, and you can only view the kinescope at the Museum of Television & Radio in New York or Los Angeles.
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So the film (1962) actually starts at the crib? I missed the first minute or so, and can't recall the immediate opening. Yes, a tidbit showing Helen's being born healthy and her bout with scarlet fever might have helped with some of the continuity.
Joe
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