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Deafies at the Hollywood Bowl
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2156 Reads
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Last week, I entered a contest on Flavorpill and won two free tickets to see Carnival of the Animals at the Hollywood Bowl.
It's been an annual tradition of mine to see the fireworks at the Bowl. I like going to the Bowl; I like the lights, the colors, the open sky, the camraderie of happy people, and I like feeling the music while eating a picnic dinner under the stars. The moon was waxing and almost full, so we got the double pleasure of sitting under the moon. But since I am deaf, hearing people don't often "get" why I like going to the Bowl. So, I'm going to try and describe this recent experience ...
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My hearing boyfriend came with me and served as "interpreter" for the evening by letting me know which animals were being represented in the music. It was very interesting; there are actually 14 movements:
- Introduction et marche royale du Lion (Introduction and Royal March of the Lion)
- Poules et Coqs (Hens and Cocks)
- H?miones (animaux v?loces) (Wild Asses)
- Tortues (Tortoises)
- L'?l?phant (The Elephant)
- Kangourous (Kangaroos)
- Aquarium
- Personnages a longues oreilles (Those with Long Ears)
- Le coucou au fond des bois (The Cuckoo in the Depths of the Woods)
- Voli?re (Aviary)
- Pianistes (Pianists)
- Fossiles (Fossils)
- Le Cygne (The Swan)
- Finale
He described the sounds to me using body language and word descriptions. For example, the first movement, the March of the Lion, sounds very regal and proud, like a lion. The Aquarium sounds like bubbles and water popping, and the Fossils sound like hollow, empty dinosaur bones rattling, which was a very interesting visual for me to imagine in my head. I like to imagine what I think sounds sound like. My world is generally quiet - menacing sounds disturb me - garbage trucks, stomping feet, doors slamming, helicopters. But soothing vibrations are nice, and it was refreshing to feel something that I don't feel that often. I don't think I could explain this better than my boyfriend did in this following reply he made to someone on during a discussion about the lack of subtitles in Touch the Sound, which I wrote about last week:
So what are you saying - that she'll *never* "get" this film?
I'll wager that you don't have infrared and ultraviolet vision, but you still appreciate a flower, even though flowers contain unique visible decoration well beyond the spectrum of human sight. How would you feel if some bug-eyed alien told you that you shouldn't "stop to smell the flowers" because the far-infrared textures were too important for you to not appreciate?
You'd probably tell him to piss off and let you enjoy your flowers in the only way you've ever known which is just fine and sufficient thankyouverymuch. The fireworks finale was spectacular. Summer nights at the Bowl are highly recommended. Yan Pascal Tortelier was the conductor for the evening, and they had live video displays on screens positioned around the seating area, so we could see his very intense and animated facial expressions, which were quite funny and added to the experience for me. We took the Park and Ride shuttle, which saved us the riggamalore of getting out of the Bowl's nefarious stack parking. Don't park at the Bowl, take the shuttle or the Metro to Hollywood/Highland. Trust me on this one.
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| Posted by: Kathryn_Hill on Thursday, September 22, 2005 - 05:50 AM
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