With season 2 of The Mandalorian just starting up and already captivating audiences everywhere for one reason or another, one aspect of the show has reintroduced a surprising element of representation that was also present back in season 1. The show, in fact, hired a deaf actor to not only play one of the misunderstood Tusken Raider characters on Tatooine, but to also create an entire new sign language for the nomadic humanoids.
When the Tusken Raiders first appeared in the season 1 episode The Gunslinger, many fans were surprised to see them, first of all, not bludgeoning anyone. Their previous appearances in the series had made them out to be a vicious race of desert dwellers who attacked any outsiders on sight, so this was an unexpected but welcome shift in their portrayal. But aside from that, they were also shown to converse with a sign-based language on top of their typical grunting vocal styles, which Din Djarin (the titular Mandalorian) had apparently learned enough to converse with them.
This language was actually created specifically for The Mandalorian, thanks to the contributions of Deaf actor Troy Kotsur, who played one of the Raiders in their initial appearance on top of working on the language. A long time Star Wars fan himself, Kotsur shared in an interview with deaf news site The Daily Moth that he was absolutely thrilled to be part of the series, and that enthusiasm helped add some real authenticity to the show. Through research of the Tusken Raiders’ fictional environment and way of life, Kotsur developed a rough but effective language that reflected their culture.
While the most recent episode features plenty of the guttural howling language that Tusken Raiders are known for (from both the Raiders and the surprisingly proficient Djarin), their sign language was still prominent, which seemed to aid their communication with the Galactic Basic-speaking townsfolk, at least to a degree. In an episode filled with callbacks for hardcore and casual fans alike, that little extra effort may have gone a long way in making sure everybody had something to smile about.
This bit of welcome representation for deaf people surprisingly came about due to a hearing person familiar with American Sign Language (ASL) on the show’s crew suggesting they bring in a deaf person to consult for this aspect. Kotsur emphasized that this is a great example of the good that can come from offering ASL classes for hearing people, since it would make it easier to become allies for those in the deaf community whose requests for representation often remain largely ignored.
Efforts like this towards being more inclusive are always welcome. The more people who can enjoy something together, the better. So hopefully something as high profile as The Mandalorian can inspire similar strides to be made in other areas going forward. Never forget, representation matters.
Source: The Daily Moth
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