As the COVID-19 pandemic has shifted the entire way we view entertainment, Americans have found solitude and refuge in streaming television platforms such as Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+ that provide all of the entertainment, with minimum risk of public interaction. A part of those streaming platforms is a show called “Deaf U.” “Deaf U” is a Netflix docuseries that follows the lives of individual deaf students at Gaulladet University, a private institution for deaf and hard of hearing students. The series follows the lives of individual college students as they encounter the ups and downs of their deaf culture and break the stigma against the deaf community. Using American Sign Language (ASL) and closed captioning, the docuseries shows the real-life hierarchy and classism within the deaf community and the barriers that are put on people. The eight-episode series follows several circles, and in essence, shows the viewers that the deaf community is no different from the hearing community. From managing college to progressing in their personal lives, from love relationships to elite judgmental cliques, “Deaf U” gives viewers the firsthand experience into Deaf culture’s reality. 

The eight-episode docuseries is streaming now on Netflix with a valid subscription.