Barbie's ASL Interpreter Talks Inventing a Sign for "Kenough"

Barbie is now streaming on Max, but it isn't just the theatrical version of the blockbuster film that fans can stream. Alongside the theatrical, English-language version of the film is also an ASL version of the film. The ASL version features Deaf actress Leila Hanaumi signing and translating the film into ASL, bringing each character to life and a completely new way and as it turns out, that included creating a new sign for the film as well. According to IndieWire, Hanaumi created a new ASL sign for the word "Kenough".

Even though the word isn't spoken in the film — it's on a sweater worn by Ryan Gosling's Ken — Hanaumi created a Kenough sign by making the traditional ASL sign for "enough" by making a fist with one hand and brushing the palm of her other hand on top of it, but instead of a flat palm, she makes her hand into the letter "K."

The Use of ASL Allows For Nuance and Context Captions Do Not

The addition of the ASL version of Barbie opens up the film to a wider audience of fans — particularly among younger Deaf viewers. While closed captions are available for the film, not everyone who would benefit from the use of captions necessarily has the ability to read. The use of ASL interpretation allows for those with limited reading skills to also enjoy the film. ASL interpretation is also more dynamic and expressive than captions — and ASL is more natural language, something Hanaumi spoke about as being a way to "level the playing field" for Deaf viewers.

"As a deaf person, it still isn't as natural. It still isn't a natural language," Hanaumi said. "Ninety percent of deaf kids are born to hearing parents and many of them never have access to sign language at all. That is language deprivation, and it's a serious issue in our community. Being able to provide ASL access is a way to just level the playing field and allow a Deaf viewer to access the movie with cultural conceptions that we are able to understand in a more natural way."

What Is Barbie About?

In Barbie, to live in Barbie Land is to be a perfect being in a perfect place. Unless you have a full-on existential crisis. Or you're a Ken. From Oscar-nominated writer/director Greta Gerwig comes Barbie, which hit theaters on July 21st. Barbie stars Oscar-nominees Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as Barbie and Ken, alongside America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Michael Cera, Ariana Greenblatt, Issa Rae, Rhea Perlman, and Will Ferrell. The film also stars Ana Cruz Kayne, Emma Mackey, Hari Nef, Alexandra Shipp, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Simu Liu, Ncuti Gatwa, Scott Evans, Jamie Demetriou, Connor Swindells, Sharon Rooney, Nicola Coughlan, Ritu Arya, Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Dua Lipa and Oscar-winner Helen Mirren. Gerwig directed Barbie from a screenplay by Gerwig & Oscar nominee Noah Baumbach, based on Barbie by Mattel.