The Super Bowl will feature a spectacular halftime show, as usual, featuring some of hip hop’s biggest stars before the masses as the NFL championship is determined.
And for the first time two of the artists will be deaf.
Dr. Dre added deaf stars Warren “Wawa” Snipe and Sean Forbes to Sunday’s lineup of performers that also includes Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar.
Wawa and Forbes will use their hands, body and facial expressions to present unique American Sign Language (ASL) versions of the songs that the superstars will perform on stage for an inclusive show.
“The opportunity to be here in the Super Bowl is incredible,” Forbes said from Los Angeles in an interview with The Associated Press this week. “Never in a million years would I have dreamed or imagined being here. As an artist this is the maximum possible. It’s the biggest stage in the world.”
“Being here, representing the deaf community and really putting ASL on the map.”
Deaf culture and sign language have become increasingly accessible to mainstream culture, proving that men and women who are hard of hearing can showcase their talents if given the right opportunities. This week two movies with deaf actors received Oscar nominations.
“CODA” (“CODA: Signs of the Heart”), a drama about the hearing daughter of a deaf couple, is nominated for best picture and best adapted screenplay. His actor Troy Kotsur became the second deaf actor nominated for an Oscar, joining his “CODA” co-star Marlee Matlin, who won best actress in 1987 for her performance in the film “Children of a Lesser God.” ” (“I will love you in silence”).
“Audible,” a short documentary about a Maryland school for the deaf football team, was also nominated.
“In the 21st century we are starting to be seen,” Snipe told the AP through an interpreter. “Many doors are opening in our community. Many people are seeing what our talented deaf people can do as actors, musicians, producers, directors, writers and artists in general.”
“We are here and we are ready. We’ve been here and we’ve been knocking on that door for a long, long time trying to get that access.”
In Snipe’s case, it’s his return to the NFL championship. He sang the national anthem and “America the Beautiful” before last year’s game along with Jazmine Sullivan and Eric Church.
“It’s different and it’s historic,” said the 51-year-old Snipe, who is originally from Virginia. “This has never happened before, for us deaf people to actually sing. Now is the time, I hope this is an open door and it stays open for the halftime show from now on. We need that.”
Matlin has also been part of the performances leading up to the Super Bowl. The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) began working with the NFL in 2010 to connect the league with deaf artists to perform the national anthem in American Sign Language.
“NAD’s mission is to advance equal access and equity for deaf people and there is no greater way to raise the visibility of ASL as an art form and showcase the talents of deaf performers than the Super Bowl.” NAD CEO Howard A. Rosenblum told the AP.
Actress Sandra Mae Frank will perform the national anthem and “America the Beautiful” in sign language as country star Mickey Guyton and R&B artist Jhené Aiko sing before the Los Angeles Rams-Cincinnati Bengals game.
Members of the California School for the Deaf soccer team, as honorary captains, will be on the field for the kickoff.
“This is about us continuing to be more inclusive and providing more opportunity for everyone,” said NFL spokeswoman Jordyn White. “It’s about celebrating people for their differences and coming together for the things we love. Inclusion is a top priority for the league and we hope the fans can see that, especially at halftime and leading up to the game.”
Although there have been auto-generated English subtitles for decades, on-screen text does not give real access to the deaf community who use sign language as their first language.
“The subtitles are often delayed and out of sync and a lot of words are lost,” said Forbes, 40, who is originally from Michigan. “Seeing this performance in ASL is not just a performance, it’s a complete live performance.”
The NBC channel is expected to show footage of Snipe and Forbes, the entire performance of which will be available on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.
“It’s time,” Forbes said. “The deaf community has worked very hard. American Sign Language is such a rich and beautiful language. I have been in this business for 16 years and to see how we have achieved all of this has been simply amazing.”
