Drama, Romance  •  1986  •  119 min  •  Adults (18+)

Children of a Lesser God (1986)

Children of a Lesser God poster

Children of a Lesser God (1986)


Rating & Dimensions

Bias Rating
Analyzing...
Progressive
Political: Leans Left
Diversity: High

Viewer Rating
7.6

Overview

Starting his new job as an instructor at a New England school for the deaf, James Leeds meets Sarah Norman, a young deaf woman who works at the school as a member of the custodial staff. In spite of Sarah's withdrawn emotional state, a romance slowly develops between the pair.


Starring Cast

William Hurt  •   Marlee Matlin  •   Piper Laurie


Where to watch

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Detailed Bias Analysis

Analyzing...
Progressive

Primary

Political: Leans Left
Confidence: High

The film leans left by advocating for the self-determination and cultural validation of the deaf community, critiquing assimilationist pressures and emphasizing the importance of respecting marginalized identities.

Diversity: High
Confidence: High

The movie features a central deaf character authentically portrayed by a deaf actress, highlighting disability representation. Its narrative explicitly critiques the dominant hearing culture's assumptions and champions the autonomy and identity of the deaf community.

Secondary

LGBTQ: N/A
Confidence: High

The film 'Children of a Lesser God' does not feature any identifiable LGBTQ+ characters or themes. Its narrative centers on the romantic relationship between a hearing teacher and a deaf woman, exploring communication challenges and the experiences of the deaf community.

Trans: N/A
Confidence: High

Children of a Lesser God (1986) does not feature any identifiable transsexual characters or themes. The film's narrative centers entirely on the romantic relationship between a hearing man and a deaf woman, exploring communication barriers and personal growth within that context. Therefore, an evaluation of its portrayal of transsexual identity is not applicable.

Female Combat: N/R

The movie does not contain any action or adventure elements.

Gender Swap: No
Confidence: High

The film "Children of a Lesser God" is an adaptation of a play. The main characters, James Leeds and Sarah Norman, along with supporting roles, maintain the same gender as established in the original source material. No canonical characters were portrayed as a different gender.

Race Swap: No
Confidence: High

The film adapts a play where the main characters' races were not explicitly defined in the text, and their portrayals in the movie align with the race of the original Broadway actors. No character established as one race was portrayed as a different race.


Viewer Rating Breakdown

7.6

Viewer Rating

Combines user and critic ratings from four sources

User Ratings

IMDB logo
7.2
The Movie Database logo
6.9

Critic Ratings

Rotten Tomatoes logo
8.1
Metacritic logo
8.0

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