GWSS 3390: Feminist Media Making

When I came into this class my view of feminist media was very low to say the least. I didn't understand what all those women where complaining about. They always seemed to be complaining about how men and women didn't get equal treatment and how their art was just as good. Blah blah blah. You know.

What I really thought was that if their art was just as good then it would be up there right next to the mens' art. But it wasn't. So maybe they should try harder. Or maybe if their art wasn't so boring or overly-expressive then people would want to look at it.

Okay, but now you can stop letting all of the hot air out, and pick up your jaw because I have learned. I really have.

Continue reading "My Thoughts on Feminist Media" »

Posted by hollx025 at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

After finishing this project and last Tuesday’s class, I think I have really grown as a media maker and simply as someone who actively practices feminist theory—which is what was really important to me in the first place. The primary lesson that I take away from this class is to care about what you do. Working on a project just to get it over with is meaningless and it also shows in your final piece. I actually cared about all three pieces of media that I worked on in this class and also my portrait that I posted on the first week. This is honestly a first for me. To care about what I produce throughout a semester, through mid-terms, finals, internships, etc. I worked it out so I could would on my projects and spend hours upon hours in the feminist media center. This all happened simply because I actually cared about the final product instead of receiving a grade or participation points.

As I have stated before in my midterm, putting a personal voice to my work has always been a challenge. I think that my final piece on Haiti reflects on how I has grown as a media maker and how I have grown comfortable infusing myself in my work. At the beginning of the semester I would have freaked if I knew I would be interviewing myself and including it on something I posted onto the blog. Now, after calming down a bit, I have forced myself to get over my lack of confidence; I feel at ease in including my personal voice into important projects such as my final video on Haiti.

Posted by Rachel Anderson at 02:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This class has taught me the power of media. The power and ability that it holds and the accessibility it grants to people all over the world. The media is virtually everywhere. Advertisements, magazines, newspaper, radio, and the internet are only a few of the direct contacts that we get from the media.
The media gives feminist artists a voice. It gives us an opportunity to share and express various views and experiences that are unique in this world. This class has also taught me that ideas are useless until they are put into practice. The theories that are born in our minds need to be put into action to live and to have an effect on the world. I was taught that media is a powerful way to put these theories into practice.

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Posted by Lara at 01:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Feminist media makers work with an aim and goal and they are determined to bring the truth no matter what the consequence are. The lesson that i have learned from the feminist media makers is that the content, context and form are the definite tools of the media maker. Moreover, there are always many ways to tell the same story and it is up to the media maker to present whichever way they want to present it to their audience. A successful video is focus toward the main point and is not lengthy and it has a feminist analysis lens attach to it.

Posted by angelforever_22 at 02:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Feminist media to me is creating an alternative to everything else that is out there. I love that when we have discussed our media making, it has been in the spirit of analyzing and thinking about the aspects of media that are usually overlooked. It is important to think about the person that the lens is portraying, it is important to think about how the person behind the camera can affect how the viewer thinks about the person in front of the camera.

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Posted by mose0155 at 01:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Thinking back to the beginning of class I remember feeling a bit frustrated that I wasn’t making media, just learning theories and such, well, now that it is nearing the end of our class and I can definitely say that I have had my plate full of media making this semester.

Continue reading ""Making Media by Any Means Necessary"" »

Posted by Bethany Khan at 03:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

To me, feminist media makes a statement. Feminist art makes a statement. Feminist media brings that into another creative spectrum.

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Posted by Debbie Sellnow at 12:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I must say that I have learned a lot from this class this semester. I am taking a feminist media making tools to create my own documentary in the future. I am also taking all the bitter and joyful experience that I had while working on these projects but at the end I have learned a lot by my mistakes. In the past, I did not even know how to use an imovie but now I certainly do know how to use an imovie and how to audio and shot a video through it. Moreover, I know while learning I was frustrated about making videos but now that I know how to work my through this phase for, which I am so proud off I can definitely say that I am taking some great experience from this class. In fact, I am taking some great tools of media making which includes context, content and form to create a story, which will help me build a stronger and better documentaries in the future.

Posted by angelforever_22 at 10:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Creating feminist media is about doing work that has an empowering and equalizing voice for women. In class we discussed the male gaze as a theme of “mainstream” media, and I think one of the important roles of feminist media makers is to break out of the standards of routine objectification of women and other subjects. Much of the feminist media we’ve watched in class uses the real lives/stories of individuals to talk about social issues and often portray a positive message of empowerment and community.

The main lesson from feminist media that I will take away from the class is that its important to have new voices and a viewpoints in the reality of our very narrow mediascape. Corporations have control of many of the messages we see every day, and it’s important for feminists and other activists to use the same tools to create something better and different. I think the most important thing that feminist media students/makers/thinkers should be doing is encouraging eachother to have viewpoints and to use their experience and knowledge to creating something positive for women.

Posted by Jenny at 12:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The most important lesson I have taken from this class is that media makers, especially feminist media makers must have a purpose; one must have a message.

Continue reading "Final Thoughts on Feminist Media Making" »

Posted by Snow-flakey at 06:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

What, in your opinion, are the key ideas, themes, concepts of feminist media and feminist media making? What "lessons" in feminist media will you take away from this class? What do you learn from feminist media praxis? What should feminist media studies and feminist media making [thinkers / makers] being doing?

my thoughts...

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Posted by jolies_mama at 09:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

In my opinion, the key ideas, themes and concepts of feminist media and feminist media making are praxis, agency and authorship. I will be taking away from this class the ideas of self-exposure and the ways that women both need to and can make media to use their voices and put their messages out there.

From feminist media praxis, I learned that making media is a hard, intensive process, and that it takes a lot of thought and can be a lot of work, sometimes with intimidating technical tools. But it’s also not impossible, and learning that was empowering to me. Anyone with a story or message and access to the tools to make it can make media if they want to, and technology now is such that it’s easy for people who are able to make media to put it out there for the world to see.

Feminist media studies and feminist media makers should be working to make the tools to make media accessible to more people who may not have access to it, and to make sure that marginalized people and groups know that they have voices and stories that are worth hearing.

Posted by Peachtree at 11:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In a 150 - 300 word post on the COURSE BLOG, please consider the following prompts:

What, in your opinion, are the key ideas, themes, concepts of feminist media and feminist media making? What "lessons" in feminist media will you take away from this class? What do you learn from feminist media praxis? What should feminist media studies and feminist media making [thinkers / makers] being doing?

Posted by Rae at 02:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)