Pinky Tells the Real Story: Videophone and Video Relay Services

Back in 1983 Pinky was so frustrated in her limited access to in-person telephone interpreters that she had a vision. She imagined a world where new technology could turn her telephone into video-like projections transmitted to her television. She even wrote a letter to “World Around You” expressing this vision. IN her letter she hoped to see this new technology before she did. Now, only 21 years later and long before she is old, that new technology is a reality for Deaf people in the form of Video Relay Service (VRS).

Pink is so happy! But as she has listened to the frustrations of Deaf people and Video Interpreters alike along with her own experiences she realizes that this new technology also brings new challenges. To help people discuss these new challenges and also to see the lighter side, she decided to make this DVD. Her purpose is to inform you but also to entertain you. She believes this DVD will help anyone who wants to know more about what VRS is really like. 

Pinky Aiello was born in Bronx, New York. Deaf since birth from hereditary causes, she grew up in several different cities around the US. She currently resides in Portland, Oregon. Pinky has traveled extensively through the USA studying Deaf culture and American Sign Language. She is an enthusiastic supporter of Deaf-Hearing Team interpreting, and is one of the core members of a pilot project to bring the Deaf community and the interpreting community closer together. Her talent as a performer and juggler is well known throughout the US. 

Marlene Elliott hails from Oregon where she trained as an interpreter in 1987. For 15 years she interpreted in a variety of settings in Rochester, New York specializing in legal and mental health interpreting. Marlene also teaches many workshops on interpreting especially focusing on advanced interpreters. While not normally a performing arts interpreter, Marlene laughed so hard at Pinky’s new DVD that she agreed to add the voice interpreting. 

Warning: This video contains some explicit language and content. 

55 minutes