Recently in the past couple of years deaf representation in the media has skyrocketed. This is something that has given deaf actors more roles and opportunities. In March of this year the movie “CODA,” a film about a mostly deaf family with a hearing daughter who loves to sing, won three Oscars. This movie and its awards gave Troy Kotsur the title of the first deaf performer to win an Academy Award in the best supporting actor category. Just in the month of November 2021, the Marvel Cinematic Universe introduced two new deaf characters, the first being a superhero named Makkari who was introduced in the movie “Eternals” and has the gift of super speed. Once the movie was released, there was a major increase by 250% in searches for “learning sign language for beginners”.

Searches for the actress herself increased worldwide by 550%. Even the search for “first deaf superhero” has doubled since then. The second deaf character was introduced in late November. She is known as Maya Lopez, aka Echo. She is an athlete and martial artist who is a talented fighter and possesses the supernatural ability to perfectly copy the movements of anyone she sees. Although she was initially introduced as a smaller character on the show “Hawkeye,” she was loved by viewers. 2023 is her year with a spin-off show that focuses solely about her and her past. Hawkeye was Alaqua Cox’s first big role and she definitely killed it. The increase in people wanting to learn sign language just goes to show how important it can be to have characters like them on the big screen. It is one of the most important means of communication for the majority of deaf and hard of hearing people, so learning it benefits everyone. It shows the younger deaf audience that people recognize them.