ABSTRACT
Cochlear implants were featured in both documentary and dramatic presentations on U.S. television between 1998 and 2002. The 2000-2002 television seasons saw three different documentary presentations of cochlear implants and surrounding issues. Sound and Fury, which aired on PBS in January of 2002 (as well as at film festivals in 2000 and 2001), presents the complex story of the Artinian family: one brother, Peter, is Deaf, 1 with a Deaf wife and three Deaf children; the other brother, Chris, is hearing, with a hearing wife from a Deaf family, and twin infant sons, one of whom is deaf. The hearing brother want his son to get a cochlear implant, and the Deaf brother's 5-year-old daughter also becomes interested in getting a cochlear implant. The brothers and their families clash over what is the right thing to do for each child. The fifth episode of the 6-episode documentary series Hopkins 24/7, which aired September 21, 2000 on ABC, told the story of three cochlear implant recipients: a man who lost his hearing in his 50s, a woman in her 30s who has been deaf since birth, and a 5-year-old child who started losing his hearing at age 2. The “Spare Parts” segment of Superhuman Body, which aired March 27, 2001 on The Learning Channel, depicts the experience of Kyle, age 2, getting a cochlear implant.
