This week we are discussing HIiary's Choice. Thanks Hilary!
Cee Lo Green's F*ck You is what you could call a popular song as of right now. It is mercilessly repeated on the radio even. I received the video we watched in class today in an email from a friend who knows I'm in an ASL class. So of course I watched it and laughed. But then I started thinking about class and wondered how all of you would feel about the song?
So my questions to you are:
What did you like/dislike about the video? Did you think it was well done by the student? Any changes you would make?
We've watched a lot of interpreted music in class, do you think that signed music has more meaning or shows more emphasis for the song compared to simply listening to it?
Other thoughts, comments, and/or insights?
Hilary....Awesome choice in a video!!! I found it to be quite comical. I really liked the video because the signs are very clear and the girl is very passionate and has very good facial grammar to go with what she is signing. I felt that she has done an excellent job and it is easy to see that she has put a lot of time into this video. I guess the only thing I was disappointed in is that it very much so was an english translation. I would have liked to see the interpretation of it rather than a word for word sort of thing. But then I got to thinking...it is a very straight forward song, any thoughts on how it could have been done differently?
ReplyDeleteI definitely think that signed music has more meaning than just listening to the song. I kind of thought this before, but today solidified my thought. In my deaf culture class we watched a different signed version of Firework, this version was more of a word for word translation (still very very good). The one that we viewed in our class I thought was much better and actually did a great job of representing what the song is actually about and it allowed me to put an actual story in my head.
Just a thought, but I feel that the Deaf community may have a better grasp on song meanings than us hearing folks do....
I thought the same as you with the signed english but you make a good point. And yes I completely agree, the Deaf community totally tops us on "listening" to music!
ReplyDeleteI would like all of you to really watch her translations. Do you feel they are correct, are they spot on? I agree it is very English order but look at it again, what else do you see. Really look at it, analyze it. Of course there are a variety of ways to translate music, but do her translations really make sense? Why or why not. Also, notice the comments that so many people are making, several of them do not have any experience with ASL and think it is a wonderful video. Do you think that is a good thing or not? Use your critical thinking skills as well as your developing eye for this language and respond. Music is a great way to bridge the gap between the communities. It is also a great method to work on discovering what concepts are needed to be included for the Deaf Community to understand what a song is actually, "saying". What is this song really saying? it may surprise you.
ReplyDeleteI meant to write. What are her translations really saying.
ReplyDeleteI notcied that she signed pretty much word for word in english. But after Monica's post I feel like her translations is meaning sexual. Like when she signs F her and F her too, I feel like maybe her signing means the action of F-ing them both instead of pissed off at them or jealous of a the other "guy". Anyone else think this way? haha. I saw the comments below the video and most are saying this is super awesome and the gestures make her really hot. People with no experience in ASL or even some experience but are hearing tend to automatically see what the audio and words and beat are "saying" or telling us. I feel that she does a good job there to the hearing communitity by her gestures relating to the song, but I feel the translations don't make all that much sense. For example,the ending translation could be interpreted totally different. "Why you wanna hurt me so bad, so bad, this one is for your dad, your dad" seems like shes getting abused or something. It's translated more for understanding of hearing people, not deaf people.
ReplyDelete-Jeff
Good point Jeff! After I read your post I watched the video with no sound and it is very sexual.The way she signed it seems to change the meaning of the song entirely. When I had originally heard the song I had a completely different interpretation of it in my mind.
ReplyDeleteI agree with amanda and Jeff in that it is translated extremely english and It is hard to understand the meaning of the song when you turn the sound off because of this. My take on this is that In the song, the singer is talking or singing to both his ex and her new boyfriend. The signer doesn't set up either person so it seems like the whole song is directed towards one person. And this kind of makes it seem like the ex is a lesbian, but don't think that is what the meaning of the song is. There weren't any facial expressions, but she did a good job of being energetic.
ReplyDeleteThe comments under the video are obviously from hearing people. I got the feeling that they liked it because she was energetic and could move, but it definitely wasn't because of her translation. Don't get me wrong, she translated the wording correctly but It didn't do anything for really expressing what the song means, or what she she thought it meant.
In regards to the last question up top, if done right, I do think that signed music does a better job of expressing the meaning of the song. The last video that we watched in class is a great example. That translation was so touching, it really made me think about what the song was really about. Most of the time I just listen to music without thinking about what it is really saying.
The jist of the song (my opinion):
ReplyDeleteSo the singer must have just broke up with his girl friend who he sees is riding around town with some other guy that has more money than he does. We know this because he mentions that "the change in his pocket wasn't enough". Also the thing you think is on her chest is the emotional pain he is suffering. "Wishing you the best" is meant to be sarcastic and he doesn't really want his now ex to have a good relationship with the new guy.
Now the baby part is just him talking about his ex again and trying to explain the situation to his mom. His mom tells him to go talk to his dad, most likely because he is better at those sorts of issues.
I think some of the signs that should be switched are the obvious ones: change baby to sweetheart and something needs to be done with the end of the song as well...not completely sure what but it just doesn't make sense.
Like we discussed in class, I think we all agree that her translations are very english. To the hearing eyes, this video may seem entertaining and well done, because her signs appear to be fluent and she puts a lot of expression into what she's doing. Since we are all a lot more familiar with sign than most, we can pick up that her translations are very hard to understand once the sound is turned off. I think others enjoy this translation because a lot of people think ASL and english can be easily translated word for word and think that they can maybe learn sign through watching this.. just a thought, but I remember the first time I learned how to swear in ASL when I was younger, and I thought it was the coolest thing! So I can see how others would be interested in this video. However, I would have liked to see better translating because her signing is very hard to understand, and I think incorrect interpreting has the potential of giving others the wrong idea of the language itself and takes away from its complexity.
ReplyDeletei really love her facial expressions and energy she has out into the video, but she has used some wrong signs such as the baby which should be sweetheart. i believe this was done by a student.
ReplyDeleteI really think this was a good start, but with some editing of her signs this could be an awesome video.
I really enjoy watching this video. I think I have watched it like 30 times. I like that she wasn't nervous doing it in front of her peers. She was confident in her signing and she had fun doing it. I didn't like that she did it in ENGLISH and not ASL. Also that she sang along with the song as she was signing. What I would have done different is instead of using baby I would have put in sweetie. I wouldn't have sang along.
ReplyDeleteSome of the signs she used were different than what we have learned, which just shows us there are different ways of signing things. Also when she is signing xbox and atari she does shows a box and finger spells atari. I think she should have done this part different. I think this part means that xbox is newer so the new girl she is with newer and the girl he left is an older version that he is sick of.
Jeff, I also think that a deaf person may take this song in a sexual way but that is not what song is trying to say. I also agree with that this is made very much for the hearing community and that people with no ASL background think this is so good and is awesome because she is doing it in Sign Language. But in reality Deaf people don't understand this because in word for word. Like Monica mentioned that when she was signing baby deaf people take it as a child and think when did a baby come into the song. If she would have used different signs or translated it into ASL instead of English then it would have been easier on the Deaf community to interpret.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to what the song means, Amanda has put it pretty well. A guy is upset about his once girlfriend or girl he liked hence the F* you part in the song. We know that he is not rich and the guy believes the girl is only interested in guys' money and not true feelings because she is with a new richer guy. The lines explaining "driving round town with the girl i love" give us that example. The whole ferrari part and xbox/atari I think just describes "better" more expensive/appealing things and that he is only cheap like an old gaming system such as the atari. The bottom line just being that he is not good enough for this girl he is singing about.
ReplyDelete-jeff
I think everyone else explained the song very well. Its about being heart broken and feeling like his ex is a "gold digger" and basically expressing how pissed off he is. Its obvious that he's upset but I think the song is so popular because he uses "F*** you* to express his frustration and the feeling that he just doesn't care.
ReplyDeleteHalie