The tokenization of the deaf main character in “A Silent Voice” turns what could’ve been a beautiful movie about bullying, healing, and forgiveness into a film that feels emotionally exploitative to watch.
To promote prolific director Naoko Yamada’s newest English release “The Colors Within”, her film “A Silent Voice” returned to American theaters this past December.
Winning the Japanese Movie Critics Award for Best Animated Feature Film, “A Silent Voice” has become a beloved film among anime fans and critics alike since its release in 2016.
The film stars a boy named Shoya Ishida. After bullying his hard of hearing middle school classmate Shoko Nishimiya, he attempts to reconnect with her after some long years of being socially ostracized for his actions. Hoping to make things right to Shoko and for forgiveness for himself, if Shoko can find it within her.
Praised for its emotionally potent writing and gorgeous art style, the film has resonated with countless viewers. On the surface it’s easy to see why.
“A Silent Voice” doesn’t shy away from uncomfortable and emotionally difficult topics. The opening scene shows the protagonist counting down the days on his calendar, withdrawing all his savings to leave to his mother, quitting his job, bringing him seconds away from taking his own life. Right up until he changes his mind at the very last moment.
Shoya is a character that will leave you feeling many conflicting emotions. Right after seeing him in one of the most vulnerable and painful moments in his life, we flashback to middle school and his bullying Shoko. A time in his life where he has inflicted immense pain on someone who needed support the most.
It’s a risky idea to try and write a redemption arc for an abusive character like young Shoya; if done poorly, the story will wind up becoming apologia for abusive behaviors. The movie does put in the effort to show the remorse and guilt the character feels surrounding his actions. From his social isolation following him into his time in high school, to reconnecting Shoko to her old friends from middle school, to joining Shoko in feeding bread to koi in a river.
Where this movie starts to show its faults is in its other main character Shoko, the main plot device in this film. The victim of Shoya’s bullying and the vehicle for his redemption.
When we are introduced to Shoko, she is shown to be a shy girl who struggles to stand up for herself. As the movie progresses, viewers come to the horrifying realization that her character doesn’t develop much further beyond that.
She’s berated and beaten at several points throughout the movie, the final time it happens it was for attempting to take her own life, and her response was to apologize to the person hurting her.
“A Silent Voice” is a movie about the harms of bullying and violence against marginalized groups. It’s understandable for the film to want to portray that violence happening, as difficult it can be to watch at times. What’s not understandable is this movie’s tendency to only utilize Shoko as a victim.
In a movie that should be about uplifting the voices of those whose voices are left unheard, the lone representative of the hard of hearing community is left with little power over the course disempowered in her own movie.
It’s not impossible to create a deaf or hard of hearing character who is able to be expressive and have depth, Shoko slowly improving her speech throughout the film shows “A Silent Voice” is capable of having Shoko grow as a character.
What the lackluster writing for Shoko demonstrates at the end of the day is that “A Silent Voice” is not interested in telling a story about the deaf and hard of hearing community. It’s about redeeming the abusers in her life.
Shoko’s sister and mother both are extremely protective over her, for understandable reasons given the extent of the bullying Shoko has been at the receiving end of. In the context of this movie however, their protectiveness are only seen as obstacles for the main character and character flaws they must learn to grow out of by the end.
There is a place to tell a story like Shoya’s story, but it doesn’t have to come at the cost of representation of the deaf community.
There are lots of lessons to learn from “A Silent Voice”. The film is still incredible in its aesthetic and its art direction. The beautiful art of this film amplifies its already strong imagery and storytelling. However, the only message that counts is the message that is received.
Despite what may be your best intentions, if your film about uplifting the voices of the unheard doesn’t listen to or center their voices you run the risk of disempowering them even further.