Rachel shared a short documentary with us titled, “The Beat I Was Born Without” by JC Leger.

It is interesting to learn how deaf people perceive sounds through feeling vibrations and understanding them through other senses. Sencity the “deaf rave” introduced in the documentary, allows participants to smell, see and feel sounds using aromatherapy, digital panels and vibrating dance floors. In this way, participants are constantly engaging all senses and associating scents, colours, movements and vibrations with each other. It is as though they are practising Synesthesia.

“Synesthesia literally means joined perception“. It is an umbrella term that includes a myriad of neurological conditions which allow a multi-sensory experience. For example, one with Chromesthesia can see sounds while one with Grapheme-Colour Synethesia literally see specific colours associated with each number and alphabet, etc. Statistically, people with such abilities tend to have average and above average intelligence.

This makes it amusing how some hearing people may think the deaf stupid or disabled when in fact, the latter group would comparably engage more parts of the brain to understand sounds. It also makes me feel guilty because I used to see the deaf as “handicapped”. Their inability to hear has given them the ability to associate sounds with other senses. Even though a deaf person may not be clinically diagnosed with Synesthesia, it is no doubt that they perceive and associate with sounds much differently from an average hearing person.

I am thankful to Rachel for inspiring me to explore how films can visually (no 4D theatres, please) ignite and engage the audience’s bodily senses. Researchers and scientists have also identified other senses excluding our primary five! What a vast world of possibilities we live in!