Our Media Project
My partner and I created a documentary-ish short film which strives to prove that feminist studies are still needed today. We had discussions, played games, debated, and enlightened two high school English classes. We wanted to record attitudes towards feminism coming from the youth of America. Also, we talked to several teachers, parents, a coach and a barista – all with intriguing responses to our questions.
We attempted to highlight all of the misconceptions that exist regarding the women’s movement, feminist theory, and gender equality. Throughout our film you can witness an abundance of misinformed responses regarding these issues. Some of the students thought a feminist was someone who dressed girly, another thought it meant she looked like a boy, she hates men, she’s an attention-seeker, and on and on and on. To be fair, there were of course several high school students who had a more legitimate grasp on feminism and recognized its role in gender equality. We also found that the students had extensive knowledge about actresses, models, and other celebrities, but couldn't name Roe v. Wade, female politicians, when women got the right to vote, and other questions regarding women in power and women's rights. It was blatantly obvious that our culture values and emphasizes a certain type of woman over the other.
In addition to footage of our interviewees in action, we have also included statistics, media images, and audio to enhance our arguments. For example, clips from The Devil Wears Prada and She's the Man were included. Also, statistics regarding the U of M's presidents and coaches (overwhelmingly male!) were highlighted. To further prove the necessity of women's studies, we talked about how only 12 of the Fortune 500 company CEOs are women. Title IX was also discussed and the regrettable state of women's sports. At Park High School, the women's softball team faced extensive neglect and had to file a Federal complaint to get an acceptable field.
I believe we captured and created several moments that stress the importance of still studying women and gender today. It was an incredibly challenging project which required hours of filming, editing, and re-editing – but it was an awesome first experience with film making.