Diksha Sundriyal
The second season of HBO Max’s ‘The Pitt‘ captures another chaotic day at the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Centre. While Robby and his team are inundated with several patients at once, there is still a long queue of new patients who are waiting to be treated. One of those patients is Harlow Graham. She first enters the picture in the first episode when we see her waiting for her turn. At one point, her name is called out, but she doesn’t respond, which suggests that she is likely deaf. What makes her story, which unfolds over the course of several episodes, more authentic is that the role is played by a deaf actor.
Harlow Graham Represents Deaf Patients and Their Struggles with the Medical System
Harlow Graham is introduced to the audience as her name is repeatedly blared over the speaker, but she doesn’t hear it. The camera stays on her for that time period. Later, she watches the hospital staff handle another urgent case just when the sound goes off. This reveals that Harlow is a person with hearing loss. This also explains why she doesn’t respond when her name is called, while also showing that the hospital staff doesn’t know she is deaf yet, or they would have found an interpreter. For the next hour or so, she continues waiting for her turn, and eventually, a staff member looks at her card and realizes that she is deaf.
An interpreter is called, the staff member apologises to her for the mix-up, and assures her that she will be taken care of right away. However, since there are already too many patients in line, Harlow has to wait a little longer, and the real reason she is in the hospital still remains a secret. This isn’t the first time ‘The Pitt’ has featured a deaf character. The first season saw the storyline of a patient named Omar, which also used a similar sound technique to present things from his point of view. Including Harlow’s character in the second season shows that the HBO Max series will continue to explore accessibility and diversity, including all types of stories. The show cast a deaf actress to deliver an authentic, deeply layered portrayal of the character.
Jessica Flores Brings Forth Harlow Graham’s Patience
Jessica Flores plays the role of Harlow Graham in the second season of ‘The Pitt.’ Born and raised in San Francisco, she is an artist, photographer, and YouTuber known for making videos that educate people about living with hearing loss and debunk myths about it. Flores started losing her hearing when she was in first grade due to unknown causes. The hearing loss increased over the years, going from mild to severe. Being the first and only deaf person in her family, she didn’t have anyone to connect to. Initially, she tried to hide her hearing loss from others and focused on reading lips to get by. At the time, she hadn’t learned sign language either, due to which there was no proper way for her to communicate with others.
Flores revealed that this experience made her feel “lonely and isolated.” However, as she grew up, she gained more confidence. She said that she decided to get “hot pink ear molds so people could see [her] hearing loss.” Later, she started working at a coffee shop, where her daily interactions with people led her to talk about her deafness. She noted that she was “educating [the customers] pretty much every day.” So, one day, she decided to talk about it on a platform that would allow her a better reach. This led her to create a YouTube channel in her name, where she made videos full of humor and heart to teach people. She was also prompted to learn sign language, and this is where she became a part of the community she had been searching for all this time.
Flores’ YouTube channel has amassed thousands of followers, and she has received a lot of love from the deaf community for her relatable content. In 2018, she collaborated with Google Gboard to develop a sticker pack of American Sign Language phrases. At the same time, she also decided to explore the world of improv. She had been interested in it since an early age, but had dropped it for several years. Soon after she picked it up again, she began working with improv groups such as Upright Citizens Brigade and Endgames Improv. With ‘The Pitt,’ she has ventured into acting and TV. All these endeavors have helped her create awareness about deafness. She is dedicated to creating a better space and stronger representation in media and other art forms for future generations.
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