Avengers Campus Shang-Chi Shares Awesome Sign Language Moment

Shang-Chi from Avengers Campus shared an awesome sign language conversation with a guest this week. On TikTok, Slippery.When.Wet posted the video of the Marvel hero sharing a conversation. (Go give her a follow as these videos are great!) He talked about learning other languages because of his father. When she asked the Avenger about which one was his favorite, the Ten Rings user said ASL. (But, not without some help because he was rusty. Practice is important, even for superheroes.) The beginning of their conversation saw him say, "Thank you! It's nice to meet you! Sorry, my dad wants me to learn sign language." It's a sweet moment between one of the newer Marvel heroes, and the park seems to generate a lot of these nice fan interactions these days. Check out the video down below.

When releasing Eternals, Marvel Studios knew that it would be a big moment for a lot of fans. Lauren Ridloff played Makari in the movie and used ASL to communicate with her team. Eternals was also the first Marvel movie to have extensive caption screenings to accommodate viewers. She spoke to The New York Times about the experience on-set.

"I got to set believing that I had to show how easy I am to work with as a deaf person," Ridloff explained when her comfort level on set came up. "I was concerned about seeming too fragile. But after working with others, I realized everyone has their own unique set of challenges, and that I need to think about what I need to deliver as an actor, and don't apologize for it." She continued, "Hollywood is finally figuring out why it's so important to have representation, and now it's more about how. That's the part that's more tricky. We need to have deaf writers and creative talent involved in the process of planning film projects from the beginning. When you have deaf experts within and on the stage, from the crew to makeup artists, it feels like that naturally leads to more authentic representation onscreen." 

"Growing up, I didn't dream about becoming an actor. I didn't see myself on the screen. As a little girl, I thought I was one of only a few deaf people walking on this Earth. Now, as an adult, I'm aware there are at least 466 million deaf people and hard-of-hearing people out there. I'm not the only one. And that's what it means to have a deaf superhero – a lot more people will see a lot more possibility," Ridloff shared. 

Have you tried learning ASL? Let us know down in the comments!