In anticipation of our upcoming British Sign Language courses at IH London, we thought it would be worth presenting some excellent TV programmes that focus on BSL or in which sign language plays a major role.
1. Sign 2 Win
You may have heard of ‘Who Wants to be A Millionaire?’ but how about its BSL equivalent – ‘Sign 2 Win’? This the BSL Zone’s first deaf gameshow where three teams, all deaf BSL users, compete using their deaf cultural knowledge and sign language ability to win £1k. On the BSL Zone website, you can watch all of Series 1 of the show and find a whole range of other programmes made in the sign language, accompanied with subtitles. Established by the British Sign Language Broadcasting Trust (BSLBT), they commission television programmes whose core audience are deaf BSL users. You can watch the show here!
2. Punk Chef on the Road
One for the foodies, this show can also be found on the BSL Zone and follows Punk Chef (also known as Scott Garthwaite) in his journey across the UK.
In this show, Scott interviews local food producers, where you can see the dynamic between a deaf BSL user and a hearing person. You can even try out the recipes he prepares, as links are provided in the captions beneath the videos. You can watch them here. You can get a feel for his shows through the video below where he hosts a workshop.
3. The End
The End is an award-winning film about BSL, the issues between deaf and hearing cultures, as well as the role of social and medical politics – but all with a slight sci-fi twist! The film starts in the late 1980s, focusing on four deaf BSL students. As they grow older, a revolutionary ‘treatment’ comes about that offers deaf people the chance to regain their hearing. The plot shows how such a discovery has both positive and negative consequences for the children and for deaf communities. You can view the film either below or via this link.
4. John & Joe Bishop: Life After Deaf
Comedian John Bishop’s eldest son – Joe – has an autoimmune condition causing progressive deafness. Therefore, in this documentary series, John and Joe present their own experiences with sign language and deafness as well as explore the deaf community. You can find the show here on ITV’s website.
5. Switched At Birth
Whilst this TV show looks at American Sign Language instead of BSL, it grapples with equally pertinent themes of family, society and education surrounding hearing-impaired and/or deaf communities. The drama focuses on two teenage girls who were switched at birth and then grew up in very different environments: one in an affluent suburb, and the other in a working-class neighbourhood. Due to a childhood illness, one of the main characters is hard-of-hearing and speaks ASL. According to ABC Family, it is “the first mainstream television series to have multiple deaf and hard-of-hearing series regulars and scenes shot entirely in American Sign Language”.
6. Wonderstruck
If you are looking for a lengthier piece on sign language, you can find an excellent mystery drama Wonderstruck on Amazon Prime. Directed by Todd Haynes, the film follows two young deaf children at different points in time but both on a quest of their own. In 1927, Rose runs away from her father’s New Jersey home to find her mother. In 1977, young orphan Ben, made deaf by a freak accident, runs away from his Minnesota home in search of his father.
To further your knowledge of sign language, you can even check out dictionaries where hand movements are shown under each word you click on. See an example of this in this BSL dictionary.
IH London is proud to announce that we are running BSL courses from October 2023. Our aim is to help make BSL accessible to everyone. Find out more about our brand new BSL courses here.