GWSS Spring 2008 Section A

In both films, Searching for Angela Shelton and The Grace Lee Project, the main quest on the road for both films is a personal quest. For Angela Shelton, it is the personal quest to find closure with her past, and for Grace Lee, a personal quest to find a true identity among the similarity of a name. Both filmmakers use the film to connect women through the common name they all hold, however, both use that starting point to take drastic paths to tell a story. For Angela Shelton, the road is used as a connective tool to unite those Angela Shelton’s who have been abused, and the quest on the road to connect a name takes a different turn for Grace Lee, who uses the road to unify stories that create uniqueness for those who share the name Grace Lee. Angela Shelton focuses more on her own personal struggles and need to recover within her quest on the road, whereas Grace Lee goes on a quest to find out the stories behind the many people named Grace Lee. Being a Documentary, from a film analysis and studies point of view, the camera and viewpoint/perspective used within both films, in my opinion, have no gender or race. That being said, Angela Shelton’s film has a more female gender to it, being a female made the film and emphasized females within her film, than a male perspective. Within The Grace Lee Project on the other hand, also had a small emphasis on the female mainly by having all the people she talked to were female, but there was also a ‘raced’ viewpoint, which would be a Asian viewpoint. Being Grace Lee put out stereotypes of typical ‘Asian women’ and focused solely on Asian women within her film caused a ‘raced’ perspective.

Posted by Starbuck at 09:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The use of the road in "Angela" was a quest to find peace from her abuse by meeting other Angelas and telling her story, hearing there stories and making generalizations about a heterosexual Caucassion and African American women. She found peace in sharing her story. Grace Lee felt that most Grace Lee's in the world were unimpressionable and forgettable. She used her road to set out on a quest to find out why Grace Lee has been stereotyped this way, and also find the impressionable Grace Lee's of the world. This road differed from Angela's because it contained a specific race (Korean Americans) it was also slighty gendered because of the lesbian activist Grace Lee mentioned in the film. I think that the Grace Lee project was a better film and contains some great insightful thoughts. Not only is Grace Lee considered same, but a lot of us in the world are considered same. We have to search deep and throughly to find and appriciate uniqueness within eachother.

Posted by kuetie31 at 02:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"How did I end up with the name that made me the loser in a sorority of super agents?" (Grace Lee).
Both Angela Shelton and Grace Lee set out on personal quests to find themselves in their films: Angela Shelton to face her dark and abusive past, and Grace Lee to try and find some uniqueness behind her common name. Angela used the road as a way to connect women. She found as many women as she could with her name and set out to unite them all in their experiences and names. Angela's road was a very self-involved one. Even though she set out with the pretense of finding solidarity and a united front among women, she used the road and the women she encountered to fuel her own journey to facing her dark past. Her interviews were riddled with self-absorbed interjections, and every Angela she met was used in comparison to her own story. Grace Lee's goal was simple: to find out what women with the name, Grace Lee, were like. She used the road as a way to find unique qualities in women, rather than lumping them together in one group. Unlike Angela, Grace's interactions with the women were selfless: she intently listened to each of their stories without interjecting herself. She listened, and learned, whereas Angela listened and imposed herself.

In Angela Shelton's film, women are gendered as battered beings who are all too often afraid of speaking out and standing together. To me, she tried to make herself an example to these women of a strong person who had overcome a horrible past. In short, she tried to make these women her. Grace Lee, however, gendered women as unique souls who were lost in stereotype and clumped together under a name. She imposed nothing, tried to teach nothing, but rather went on a search to find uniqueness see how these women identify themselves. Her road was raced, as well, but only because most women with the name Grace Lee were of Korean heritage. Overall, both women went on the road for the same mission: to find themselves in other women. The way they went about this, however, makes all the difference as Angela used her road for the good of herself, while Grace Lee used her road to expose the beauty and the differences of womankind.

Posted by Bonnie and Louise at 12:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"How did I end up with the name that made me the loser in a sorority of super agents?" (Grace Lee).
Both Angela Shelton and Grace Lee set out on personal quests to find themselves in their films: Angela Shelton to face her dark and abusive past, and Grace Lee to try and find some uniqueness behind her common name. Angela used the road as a way to connect women. She found as many women as she could with her name and set out to unite them all in their experiences and names. Angela's road was a very self-involved one. Even though she set out with the pretense of finding solidarity and a united front among women, she used the road and the women she encountered to fuel her own journey to facing her dark past. Her interviews were riddled with self-absorbed interjections, and every Angela she met was used in comparison to her own story. Grace Lee's goal was simple: to find out what women with the name, Grace Lee, were like. She used the road as a way to find unique qualities in women, rather than lumping them together in one group. Unlike Angela, Grace's interactions with the women were selfless: she intently listened to each of their stories without interjecting herself. She listened, and learned, whereas Angela listened and imposed herself.

In Angela Shelton's film, women are gendered as battered beings who are all too often afraid of speaking out and standing together. To me, she tried to make herself an example to these women of a strong person who had overcome a horrible past. In short, she tried to make these women her. Grace Lee, however, gendered women as unique souls who were lost in stereotype and clumped together under a name. She imposed nothing, tried to teach nothing, but rather went on a search to find uniqueness see how these women identify themselves. Her road was raced, as well, but only because most women with the name Grace Lee were of Korean heritage. Overall, both women went on the road for the same mission: to find themselves in other women. The way they went about this, however, makes all the difference as Angela used her road for the good of herself, while Grace Lee used her road to expose the beauty and the differences of womankind.

Posted by Bonnie and Louise at 12:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"How did I end up with the name that made me the loser in a sorority of super agents?" (Grace Lee).
Both Angela Shelton and Grace Lee set out on personal quests to find themselves in their films: Angela Shelton to face her dark and abusive past, and Grace Lee to try and find some uniqueness behind her common name. Angela used the road as a way to connect women. She found as many women as she could with her name and set out to unite them all in their experiences and names. Angela's road was a very self-involved one. Even though she set out with the pretense of finding solidarity and a united front among women, she used the road and the women she encountered to fuel her own journey to facing her dark past. Her interviews were riddled with self-absorbed interjections, and every Angela she met was used in comparison to her own story. Grace Lee's goal was simple: to find out what women with the name, Grace Lee, were like. She used the road as a way to find unique qualities in women, rather than lumping them together in one group. Unlike Angela, Grace's interactions with the women were selfless: she intently listened to each of their stories without interjecting herself. She listened, and learned, whereas Angela listened and imposed herself.

In Angela Shelton's film, women are gendered as battered beings who are all too often afraid of speaking out and standing together. To me, she tried to make herself an example to these women of a strong person who had overcome a horrible past. In short, she tried to make these women her. Grace Lee, however, gendered women as unique souls who were lost in stereotype and clumped together under a name. She imposed nothing, tried to teach nothing, but rather went on a search to find uniqueness see how these women identify themselves. Her road was raced, as well, but only because most women with the name Grace Lee were of Korean heritage. Overall, both women went on the road for the same mission: to find themselves in other women. The way they went about this, however, makes all the difference as Angela used her road for the good of herself, while Grace Lee used her road to expose the beauty and the differences of womankind.

Posted by Bonnie and Louise at 12:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"How did I end up with the name that made me the loser in a sorority of super agents?" (Grace Lee).
Both Angela Shelton and Grace Lee set out on personal quests to find themselves in their films: Angela Shelton to face her dark and abusive past, and Grace Lee to try and find some uniqueness behind her common name. Angela used the road as a way to connect women. She found as many women as she could with her name and set out to unite them all in their experiences and names. Angela's road was a very self-involved one. Even though she set out with the pretense of finding solidarity and a united front among women, she used the road and the women she encountered to fuel her own journey to facing her dark past. Her interviews were riddled with self-absorbed interjections, and every Angela she met was used in comparison to her own story. Grace Lee's goal was simple: to find out what women with the name, Grace Lee, were like. She used the road as a way to find unique qualities in women, rather than lumping them together in one group. Unlike Angela, Grace's interactions with the women were selfless: she intently listened to each of their stories without interjecting herself. She listened, and learned, whereas Angela listened and imposed herself.

In Angela Shelton's film, women are gendered as battered beings who are all too often afraid of speaking out and standing together. To me, she tried to make herself an example to these women of a strong person who had overcome a horrible past. In short, she tried to make these women her. Grace Lee, however, gendered women as unique souls who were lost in stereotype and clumped together under a name. She imposed nothing, tried to teach nothing, but rather went on a search to find uniqueness see how these women identify themselves. Her road was raced, as well, but only because most women with the name Grace Lee were of Korean heritage. Overall, both women went on the road for the same mission: to find themselves in other women. The way they went about this, however, makes all the difference as Angela used her road for the good of herself, while Grace Lee used her road to expose the beauty and the differences of womankind.

Posted by Bonnie and Louise at 12:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"How did I end up with the name that made me the loser in a sorority of super agents?" (Grace Lee).
Both Angela Shelton and Grace Lee set out on personal quests to find themselves in their films: Angela Shelton to face her dark and abusive past, and Grace Lee to try and find some uniqueness behind her common name. Angela used the road as a way to connect women. She found as many women as she could with her name and set out to unite them all in their experiences and names. Angela's road was a very self-involved one. Even though she set out with the pretense of finding solidarity and a united front among women, she used the road and the women she encountered to fuel her own journey to facing her dark past. Her interviews were riddled with self-absorbed interjections, and every Angela she met was used in comparison to her own story. Grace Lee's goal was simple: to find out what women with the name, Grace Lee, were like. She used the road as a way to find unique qualities in women, rather than lumping them together in one group. Unlike Angela, Grace's interactions with the women were selfless: she intently listened to each of their stories without interjecting herself. She listened, and learned, whereas Angela listened and imposed herself.

In Angela Shelton's film, women are gendered as battered beings who are all too often afraid of speaking out and standing together. To me, she tried to make herself an example to these women of a strong person who had overcome a horrible past. In short, she tried to make these women her. Grace Lee, however, gendered women as unique souls who were lost in stereotype and clumped together under a name. She imposed nothing, tried to teach nothing, but rather went on a search to find uniqueness see how these women identify themselves. Her road was raced, as well, but only because most women with the name Grace Lee were of Korean heritage. Overall, both women went on the road for the same mission: to find themselves in other women. The way they went about this, however, makes all the difference as Angela used her road for the good of herself, while Grace Lee used her road to expose the beauty and the differences of womankind.

Posted by Bonnie and Louise at 12:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"How did I end up with the name that made me the loser in a sorority of super agents?" (Grace Lee).
Both Angela Shelton and Grace Lee set out on personal quests to find themselves in their films: Angela Shelton to face her dark and abusive past, and Grace Lee to try and find some uniqueness behind her common name. Angela used the road as a way to connect women. She found as many women as she could with her name and set out to unite them all in their experiences and names. Angela's road was a very self-involved one. Even though she set out with the pretense of finding solidarity and a united front among women, she used the road and the women she encountered to fuel her own journey to facing her dark past. Her interviews were riddled with self-absorbed interjections, and every Angela she met was used in comparison to her own story. Grace Lee's goal was simple: to find out what women with the name, Grace Lee, were like. She used the road as a way to find unique qualities in women, rather than lumping them together in one group. Unlike Angela, Grace's interactions with the women were selfless: she intently listened to each of their stories without interjecting herself. She listened, and learned, whereas Angela listened and imposed herself.

In Angela Shelton's film, women are gendered as battered beings who are all too often afraid of speaking out and standing together. To me, she tried to make herself an example to these women of a strong person who had overcome a horrible past. In short, she tried to make these women her. Grace Lee, however, gendered women as unique souls who were lost in stereotype and clumped together under a name. She imposed nothing, tried to teach nothing, but rather went on a search to find uniqueness see how these women identify themselves. Her road was raced, as well, but only because most women with the name Grace Lee were of Korean heritage. Overall, both women went on the road for the same mission: to find themselves in other women. The way they went about this, however, makes all the difference as Angela used her road for the good of herself, while Grace Lee used her road to expose the beauty and the differences of womankind.

Posted by Bonnie and Louise at 12:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"How did I end up with the name that made me the loser in a sorority of super agents?" (Grace Lee).
Both Angela Shelton and Grace Lee set out on personal quests to find themselves in their films: Angela Shelton to face her dark and abusive past, and Grace Lee to try and find some uniqueness behind her common name. Angela used the road as a way to connect women. She found as many women as she could with her name and set out to unite them all in their experiences and names. Angela's road was a very self-involved one. Even though she set out with the pretense of finding solidarity and a united front among women, she used the road and the women she encountered to fuel her own journey to facing her dark past. Her interviews were riddled with self-absorbed interjections, and every Angela she met was used in comparison to her own story. Grace Lee's goal was simple: to find out what women with the name, Grace Lee, were like. She used the road as a way to find unique qualities in women, rather than lumping them together in one group. Unlike Angela, Grace's interactions with the women were selfless: she intently listened to each of their stories without interjecting herself. She listened, and learned, whereas Angela listened and imposed herself.

In Angela Shelton's film, women are gendered as battered beings who are all too often afraid of speaking out and standing together. To me, she tried to make herself an example to these women of a strong person who had overcome a horrible past. In short, she tried to make these women her. Grace Lee, however, gendered women as unique souls who were lost in stereotype and clumped together under a name. She imposed nothing, tried to teach nothing, but rather went on a search to find uniqueness see how these women identify themselves. Her road was raced, as well, but only because most women with the name Grace Lee were of Korean heritage. Overall, both women went on the road for the same mission: to find themselves in other women. The way they went about this, however, makes all the difference as Angela used her road for the good of herself, while Grace Lee used her road to expose the beauty and the differences of womankind.

Posted by Bonnie and Louise at 12:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"How did I end up with the name that made me the loser in a sorority of super agents?" (Grace Lee).
Both Angela Shelton and Grace Lee set out on personal quests to find themselves in their films: Angela Shelton to face her dark and abusive past, and Grace Lee to try and find some uniqueness behind her common name. Angela used the road as a way to connect women. She found as many women as she could with her name and set out to unite them all in their experiences and names. Angela's road was a very self-involved one. Even though she set out with the pretense of finding solidarity and a united front among women, she used the road and the women she encountered to fuel her own journey to facing her dark past. Her interviews were riddled with self-absorbed interjections, and every Angela she met was used in comparison to her own story. Grace Lee's goal was simple: to find out what women with the name, Grace Lee, were like. She used the road as a way to find unique qualities in women, rather than lumping them together in one group. Unlike Angela, Grace's interactions with the women were selfless: she intently listened to each of their stories without interjecting herself. She listened, and learned, whereas Angela listened and imposed herself.

In Angela Shelton's film, women are gendered as battered beings who are all too often afraid of speaking out and standing together. To me, she tried to make herself an example to these women of a strong person who had overcome a horrible past. In short, she tried to make these women her. Grace Lee, however, gendered women as unique souls who were lost in stereotype and clumped together under a name. She imposed nothing, tried to teach nothing, but rather went on a search to find uniqueness see how these women identify themselves. Her road was raced, as well, but only because most women with the name Grace Lee were of Korean heritage. Overall, both women went on the road for the same mission: to find themselves in other women. The way they went about this, however, makes all the difference as Angela used her road for the good of herself, while Grace Lee used her road to expose the beauty and the differences of womankind.

Posted by Bonnie and Louise at 12:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"How did I end up with the name that made me the loser in a sorority of super agents?" (Grace Lee).
Both Angela Shelton and Grace Lee set out on personal quests to find themselves in their films: Angela Shelton to face her dark and abusive past, and Grace Lee to try and find some uniqueness behind her common name. Angela used the road as a way to connect women. She found as many women as she could with her name and set out to unite them all in their experiences and names. Angela's road was a very self-involved one. Even though she set out with the pretense of finding solidarity and a united front among women, she used the road and the women she encountered to fuel her own journey to facing her dark past. Her interviews were riddled with self-absorbed interjections, and every Angela she met was used in comparison to her own story. Grace Lee's goal was simple: to find out what women with the name, Grace Lee, were like. She used the road as a way to find unique qualities in women, rather than lumping them together in one group. Unlike Angela, Grace's interactions with the women were selfless: she intently listened to each of their stories without interjecting herself. She listened, and learned, whereas Angela listened and imposed herself.

In Angela Shelton's film, women are gendered as battered beings who are all too often afraid of speaking out and standing together. To me, she tried to make herself an example to these women of a strong person who had overcome a horrible past. In short, she tried to make these women her. Grace Lee, however, gendered women as unique souls who were lost in stereotype and clumped together under a name. She imposed nothing, tried to teach nothing, but rather went on a search to find uniqueness see how these women identify themselves. Her road was raced, as well, but only because most women with the name Grace Lee were of Korean heritage. Overall, both women went on the road for the same mission: to find themselves in other women. The way they went about this, however, makes all the difference as Angela used her road for the good of herself, while Grace Lee used her road to expose the beauty and the differences of womankind.

Posted by Bonnie and Louise at 12:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"How did I end up with the name that made me the loser in a sorority of super agents?" (Grace Lee).
Both Angela Shelton and Grace Lee set out on personal quests to find themselves in their films: Angela Shelton to face her dark and abusive past, and Grace Lee to try and find some uniqueness behind her common name. Angela used the road as a way to connect women. She found as many women as she could with her name and set out to unite them all in their experiences and names. Angela's road was a very self-involved one. Even though she set out with the pretense of finding solidarity and a united front among women, she used the road and the women she encountered to fuel her own journey to facing her dark past. Her interviews were riddled with self-absorbed interjections, and every Angela she met was used in comparison to her own story. Grace Lee's goal was simple: to find out what women with the name, Grace Lee, were like. She used the road as a way to find unique qualities in women, rather than lumping them together in one group. Unlike Angela, Grace's interactions with the women were selfless: she intently listened to each of their stories without interjecting herself. She listened, and learned, whereas Angela listened and imposed herself.

In Angela Shelton's film, women are gendered as battered beings who are all too often afraid of speaking out and standing together. To me, she tried to make herself an example to these women of a strong person who had overcome a horrible past. In short, she tried to make these women her. Grace Lee, however, gendered women as unique souls who were lost in stereotype and clumped together under a name. She imposed nothing, tried to teach nothing, but rather went on a search to find uniqueness see how these women identify themselves. Her road was raced, as well, but only because most women with the name Grace Lee were of Korean heritage. Overall, both women went on the road for the same mission: to find themselves in other women. The way they went about this, however, makes all the difference as Angela used her road for the good of herself, while Grace Lee used her road to expose the beauty and the differences of womankind.

Posted by Bonnie and Louise at 12:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"How did I end up with the name that made me the loser in a sorority of super agents?" (Grace Lee).
Both Angela Shelton and Grace Lee set out on personal quests to find themselves in their films: Angela Shelton to face her dark and abusive past, and Grace Lee to try and find some uniqueness behind her common name. Angela used the road as a way to connect women. She found as many women as she could with her name and set out to unite them all in their experiences and names. Angela's road was a very self-involved one. Even though she set out with the pretense of finding solidarity and a united front among women, she used the road and the women she encountered to fuel her own journey to facing her dark past. Her interviews were riddled with self-absorbed interjections, and every Angela she met was used in comparison to her own story. Grace Lee's goal was simple: to find out what women with the name, Grace Lee, were like. She used the road as a way to find unique qualities in women, rather than lumping them together in one group. Unlike Angela, Grace's interactions with the women were selfless: she intently listened to each of their stories without interjecting herself. She listened, and learned, whereas Angela listened and imposed herself.

In Angela Shelton's film, women are gendered as battered beings who are all too often afraid of speaking out and standing together. To me, she tried to make herself an example to these women of a strong person who had overcome a horrible past. In short, she tried to make these women her. Grace Lee, however, gendered women as unique souls who were lost in stereotype and clumped together under a name. She imposed nothing, tried to teach nothing, but rather went on a search to find uniqueness see how these women identify themselves. Her road was raced, as well, but only because most women with the name Grace Lee were of Korean heritage. Overall, both women went on the road for the same mission: to find themselves in other women. The way they went about this, however, makes all the difference as Angela used her road for the good of herself, while Grace Lee used her road to expose the beauty and the differences of womankind.

Posted by Bonnie and Louise at 12:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"How did I end up with the name that made me the loser in a sorority of super agents?" (Grace Lee).
Both Angela Shelton and Grace Lee set out on personal quests to find themselves in their films: Angela Shelton to face her dark and abusive past, and Grace Lee to try and find some uniqueness behind her common name. Angela used the road as a way to connect women. She found as many women as she could with her name and set out to unite them all in their experiences and names. Angela's road was a very self-involved one. Even though she set out with the pretense of finding solidarity and a united front among women, she used the road and the women she encountered to fuel her own journey to facing her dark past. Her interviews were riddled with self-absorbed interjections, and every Angela she met was used in comparison to her own story. Grace Lee's goal was simple: to find out what women with the name, Grace Lee, were like. She used the road as a way to find unique qualities in women, rather than lumping them together in one group. Unlike Angela, Grace's interactions with the women were selfless: she intently listened to each of their stories without interjecting herself. She listened, and learned, whereas Angela listened and imposed herself.

In Angela Shelton's film, women are gendered as battered beings who are all too often afraid of speaking out and standing together. To me, she tried to make herself an example to these women of a strong person who had overcome a horrible past. In short, she tried to make these women her. Grace Lee, however, gendered women as unique souls who were lost in stereotype and clumped together under a name. She imposed nothing, tried to teach nothing, but rather went on a search to find uniqueness see how these women identify themselves. Her road was raced, as well, but only because most women with the name Grace Lee were of Korean heritage. Overall, both women went on the road for the same mission: to find themselves in other women. The way they went about this, however, makes all the difference as Angela used her road for the good of herself, while Grace Lee used her road to expose the beauty and the differences of womankind.

Posted by Bonnie and Louise at 12:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"How did I end up with the name that made me the loser in a sorority of super agents?" (Grace Lee).
Both Angela Shelton and Grace Lee set out on personal quests to find themselves in their films: Angela Shelton to face her dark and abusive past, and Grace Lee to try and find some uniqueness behind her common name. Angela used the road as a way to connect women. She found as many women as she could with her name and set out to unite them all in their experiences and names. Angela's road was a very self-involved one. Even though she set out with the pretense of finding solidarity and a united front among women, she used the road and the women she encountered to fuel her own journey to facing her dark past. Her interviews were riddled with self-absorbed interjections, and every Angela she met was used in comparison to her own story. Grace Lee's goal was simple: to find out what women with the name, Grace Lee, were like. She used the road as a way to find unique qualities in women, rather than lumping them together in one group. Unlike Angela, Grace's interactions with the women were selfless: she intently listened to each of their stories without interjecting herself. She listened, and learned, whereas Angela listened and imposed herself.

In Angela Shelton's film, women are gendered as battered beings who are all too often afraid of speaking out and standing together. To me, she tried to make herself an example to these women of a strong person who had overcome a horrible past. In short, she tried to make these women her. Grace Lee, however, gendered women as unique souls who were lost in stereotype and clumped together under a name. She imposed nothing, tried to teach nothing, but rather went on a search to find uniqueness see how these women identify themselves. Her road was raced, as well, but only because most women with the name Grace Lee were of Korean heritage. Overall, both women went on the road for the same mission: to find themselves in other women. The way they went about this, however, makes all the difference as Angela used her road for the good of herself, while Grace Lee used her road to expose the beauty and the differences of womankind.

Posted by Bonnie and Louise at 12:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"I changed the spelling of my name because I didn't wan't people to think we were interchangeable." (Grace Lee)
In the Angela Shelton (A.S.) documentary the road was very much a white and dark skinned, female, 20-50 year old, and many of which had experienced forms of abuse in relationships. The Grace Lee documentary was primarily a road of women with Asian ancestry from young to old and many of them were particularly smart. The interesting point that I think these documentaries displayed was that there somehow was a connection with names and identity. I believe that the reason there are these connections is that because certain names are common in certain cultures. For example in many Asian cultures women are expected to spend much of their time learning and are expected to follow a particular etiquette. In the A.S. documentary the road was used to unite and find commonality between the Anglea Shelton's and it was also a form of therapy for film producer. The G.L. documentary served for the purpose of finding women with the same name but different characteristics that embraced individuality. In both of these documentaries I did not find the road specifically telling of different races and genders because unlike previous movies we have seen the road itself was merely the miles between the women on their journies and they didn't demonstrate the common theme that women are not to take to the road. Neither women faced any danger. In both of these documentaries we learn that a name is a specific gender identity. You are a women if your name is Grace Lee or Angela Shelton. The name Grace Lee, especially Lee, signify that you are Asian. Angela is a race identity. You are most likely black or white. Perhaps a connection between culture identity for the name Angela is that as someone who has lived in the U.S. abuse is ever so common especially familiar abuse or family abuse. It may seem a bit radical to even say that as Angela Shelton is common U.S. name that for this reason alone one could assume that her identity could be one of the abused along with her gender identity.

Posted by Lisa Freund at 10:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In this week's film, the road functions in different ways for those involved. I think from Angela's standpoint, the road is a freeing, empowering way to explore the various facets of American women and their struggles, revolving around abuse, as a means to and end of her own unresolved issues. The road acts as a common connection between women that, although related through superficial ways (this being their name) and deeper ways (the problems that many of them have suffered), have extremely different backgrounds and lifestyles.

Through the road emerges a sense of unity and understanding. I think that the element of the names made for a good concept to bring them together in another way, but was not all that necessary to achieve the mission or message. And although the way the "experiment" was conducted had questionable factors, and filmmaker Angela did not seem to make the personal strides one expected, the experience as a viewer seeing the different personal accounts was successful. I think that Angela, although well-intentioned, used the camera irresponsibly in the sense that, even if unintended, she came off very self-oriented. This tainted the film in many aspects, and I found it frustrating to watch because if someone else had taken on this journey in a different way, the results could have been much more significant. Changes that I would make would have been to not personally be a severe victim of the issues about which I am venturing. Although it would be important to understand the struggles and abuse on some level, I think removing the element of a self-exploring adventure would have created more focus on the people that seemed to be the more important focus. I feel that having too many personal feelings towards the subject complicates things and turns the mission into far too much personal therapy and selfish intent. You can't love others until you love yourself, they say, and I think that goes for help such as this.

Posted by bjor0253 at 01:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In Searching for Angela Shelton, the road is used as a healing process for Angela. I really enjoyed this documentary. With each mile she travels and each women she meets, she takes apart of them with her for strength to finally face her sexual abusive father. I liked the way she presented the film. She uses her story as a means to connect with the other Angelas she meets on the road and allows for a strong bonding to occur, ignoring their economic differences or race. It shows the true human connection in its rawest form. It is the connection of struggle and the depiction of such a real struggle allows for the documentary to bring light to a real issue and the impact of it on women years after. I do not believe that Angela has any responsibility but to tell her story. Though many believe it to be possibly repetitive, one must keep in mind that she is meeting a new Angela every time and is not trying to put the spotlight on herself, but to simply tell the truth and use her story as a means for connection with the women. The story is about Angela. It is her story of her struggles in her life and her healing process to face her offender, her father. She uses the other Angelas in the film for strength, with each story in every state coming closer and closer to her father; Angela becomes stronger, taking their stories with her. I love the way she presents the documentary. It is her quest for identity and healing, though her father's denial does not allow for closure, I believe it is the stories of the women that inspire her to find herself and a new beginning. It is powerful and real. Her documentary shows the bond women have and the support they give each other, allowing for rebirth and a new beginning even after years of sexual abuse brainwashing them to think that they are “lower than a fucking dog.”

Posted by michael scott at 11:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It is my opinion, and I hold this very strongly, that Angela did a great job in making this film. The road played a crucial role in the making of this film. If every Angela had simply gone to her, the longing, searching for her self stolen by her sexually abusive father would have have been unfulfilled in my mind. This story is about her search for recovery, not really about the other Angelas. Some see this as a problem but I see this as a great attribute to the film as a whole. If there were no personal story, how emotional would the story be? As far as the extent of responsibly Angela used, I don't think she had any responsibility but to portray the truth. She used the information in an incredibly responsible way regardless, though. She could have exploited these girls, but instead she used their interview to create a film meant to help girls who were victims of sexual abuse. Call me utilitarian, but I think to criticize this film as irresponsible is, to be blunt, snobbish and makes me think that those who hold this opinion need to find something in the world that make them happy because it sounds a lot like the casting of the first stone has been made. I challenge you who think this way to do something more effective for the cause.

Posted by fairb076 at 08:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Searching for Angela Shelton is very intriguing movie, mainly because there are a lot of things going on within the movie. My first thought about the road: it was never ending like the movie! But after further thinking and reflection I realized that the road signified more than I initially realized. The road really encompassed her journey. In her quest to find other Angela’s, the road was not a straight line from city to city or in a logical order. That was mirrored even within the editing and telling of her own story. The film jumped around a lot, I felt like I was on an emotional rollercoaster of my own.
In class we talked about how this movie was uniquely different from the other films because it was more through the female gaze then through the male gaze. I would like to challenge that because I felt her whole journey on the road, in the film and through her life revolved around unfinished business with her dad. He became the center of the story. I even felt like he some what had control over the viewer as well. I don’t believe the male gaze was completely hidden, for the most part I feel like it never went away. The issues that were talked about revolved around violence against women, other issues were graphically sexual—all of which the male gaze was present. Also, how can the male gaze go away when it is the dominant norm? It would like saying that whiteness or heterosexuality can exist at times and not exist at other times.

Posted by ernst081 at 11:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In this documentary, the road functions quite differently than we've seen it in past films. It doesn't seem to be the focus, instead it is the connecting force that brings these women together. The road is filmed without much emphasis on the driver/traveler giving the viewer a first person experience. This perspective shows how every woman could be on that very road. At the same time, however, Angela Shelton (filmmaker) uses the camera power to over represent or under represent different women throughout her journey. She focuses much of the journey on herself rather than equally representing each of the women and her story. This is an abuse of power as a documentary filmmaker, but I believe in order for this kind of dialogue to emerge (one that exposes abuse and recovery) she had to pick certain stories to focus on, including her own. This movie was intended to be a vehicle for women to connect and talk about their personal experiences with one another. I think it succeeds in this to an extent but also has a flawed and simplified view of "solidarity" and "sisterhood" amongst all women. Angela does not take into account race, class, age, ability, and sexuality disparities between the women interviewed. What she did accomplish, however, was an important discussion on abuse and the figurative road to happiness.

Posted by Corrie Halladay at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Searching for Angela Shelton raises a very important topic and tells a story that needs to be told but Shelton's abuse of the camera tells it in a very irresponsible way. The way she brings her subjects to such a fragile and unpredictable place (especially the anonymous Angela Shelton) tells me that she is more interested in making a dramatic documentary than actually helping the other Angela Sheltons. In this film, the road functions as a metaphor for Angela Shelton's personal journey to acceptance of her tramatic childhood. If I were making this documentary, I might have spent more time developing the stories of the other Angela Sheltons and utilized more responsible filming tactics. In fact, I probably wouldn't have made this into a film at all. A book would better tell these womens' stories and most likely result in more honest accounts. Many of them seemed very uncomfortable with the idea of being on camera and often said that they wouldn't for fear of hurting their families.

Posted by chri1645 at 11:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Searching For Angela Shelton is this: a woman named Angela Shelton (who seems very much in love with herself) wants to embark on a quest to, appropriately, meet and dissect all the other Angela Sheltons living in the U.S. as a way to represent and connect the stories of women. It's a premise that might otherwise be dismissed as a vanity project had Shelton not learned along the way that a good majority of her subjects have suffered under sexual abuse, particularly as children (even more disturbing, most of their abusers were never charged). Herself a victim of incest, Shelton decided to shift from her original idea and zero in on the serious (and often muffled) topic of the abuse of women, and how the painful and violent pasts of these Angela Sheltons have shaped their hopes for the future. Engrossing and extremely admirable, right? So how come we got only one Angela Shelton (over and over and OVER) for the price of so many others? Searching For Angela Shelton should be empowering; it is only in the sense that the director had the opportunity to conduct this project, and that she stumbled on so many remarkable "I survived..." examples, despite how briefly they're examined. Otherwise, it's done so selfishly (and awkwardly, thanks to its distractingly contrived set-ups and overall poor editing) that it's hard to give the woman at the center a whole lot of credit.

The road in Searching For Angela Shelton could be argued as a tool for uniting women from around the country, but it seemed ultimately useless as a narrative structure because it was depicted so literally. We as the audience are simply guided along on the director's route (and provided a hefty amount of clichéd driving montages), but why? We already know that the filmmaker is on a road trip, as she introduces each new Angela Shelton by their name and the city they inhabit. It seems that the road footage is mostly used to illustrate, enhance or fabricate a mood that Director Angela really, really NEEDS us to feel, and the number of loaded, "emotional" images grows exhausting: among others, there's a trailer park, a tattered American flag, a close-up of the words "Father" and "Wrong" on a church message board, and grim city rain against the voice-over conversations with the clearly unstable "anonymous Angela." The visuals are plunked in as filler for the moments that have no obvious visual footage to boast. Worse, Director Angela's narcissistic habit of being in EVERY IMAGE immensely reduced the film's original potential. When not scanning over those brooding, black and white stills of her "talking on the phone", the camera simply couldn't get enough of our filmmaker crying, complaining or talking about herself in such a ridiculous, inflated manner that you can't help but wonder if she's kidding.

I would argue that Director Angela abused the camera, in fact. Not only did she open up a number of old wounds, but she leaves the audience completely confused as to how she dealt with each subject's stories aside from using them to bring it back to her. What happened to these other Angela Sheltons AFTER the camera was turned off and the crew was moved on? An assurance that she was leaving these women with at least a bit of information about where they could go to talk to someone or how they could help others in a similar situation would have been nice. While her attempts to turn the film into a portrait of women as a unified body so as to remedy the problem of abuse in America were promising, they seemed too often overshadowed by…her. Whether or not it was intentional, Director Angela edited the film in such a way that undermined the other women’s stories with her own blather (at one point in the film, the subjects are uncomfortably asking HER questions).

Personally, I would have focused more on the scattered Angela Sheltons and how their stories must be told, and less on how I "healed" from it (which, after we see Director Angela's meltdown, complete with...crayons, we're not so sure how she's doing). Alternative voices are the key to a documentary, not an over-dramatized personal account. And, I would absolutely, absolutely have a counselor along for the ride to provide actual resources. In the end, Searching For Angela Shelton offers very little solution, only discomfort; the simplification of a complex issue that deserves less of a filmmaker's quest for personal answers and more of a critical debate. With each pit stop, the strength of a new Angela Shelton should prove necessary, so it's a shame their stories are so simplified for the director's sake.

Posted by gost0008 at 11:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The camera has a huge role in what is seen and not seen in this documentary. Searching for Angela Shelton tries to show the hardships of women, named Angela Shelton throughout America. Although her attempts to help women in America “break their silence” she is unsuccessful and irresponsible in doing so. The road functions in this film as a way for Angela Shelton to get her name out in the public. She not only revolves this movie around herself AND her name, she also makes shirts for what seems to be publicity. Angela Shelton contacts many women with the same name and tries to find their story. The problem with the camera shots in this film is the editing. Angela Shelton only needs to put in what she wants into the film. Since her documentary is about child abuse and domestic violence, it seems that anything said by the “Angelas’” other than that wouldn’t be used in the film. The idea of helping women in general speak and understand they have rights are women is a great idea, but Angela Shelton’s centered focal point, takes the great ideas away. Shelton uses the film to promote herself rather than telling the stories of others. Many of the other women seemed like examples for abuse cases in America but everything stays centered around Angela Shelton. At the end of this film it seems like nothing emerges from the road. Nothing is solved, no one seems to receive guidance and it seems as if wounds and old memories were opened without any closure. Angela does not use her camera power responsibly. Angela has all the power in this film and uses to only for herself. She doesn’t take into consideration how the other women might feel after this film. There is no sign of psychologists on site for help or counselors for the women. This would have helped tremendously in assuring safety for these women. The anonymous woman on the phone seems to be the most unstable and yet Angela Shelton hassles her. Her irresponsibility to help take care of this woman shows Shelton’s true self-centeredness. Angela could have successfully made this film if it was more about the other Angela Sheltons. She also could have focused on their stories rather than herself. It would have been nice to see some professionals on site helping with these issues as well. If Angela Shelton would have been responsible and caring towards the other “Angelas’” I feel this film could have had a completely different outcome.

Posted by lil suzy greenburg at 10:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Throughout this documentary we viewed the journey of a woman searching for unity with other women throughout the United States, while she searched for herself and confronted her own past. The road functioned in this film as a means of connecting these women. As the filmmaker, Angela Shelton searched for other Angela Sheltons, the road connected them to one another, this was shown by the visual of the map that the filmmaker used as a graphic while showing where she had been and where she was going. As she made her way from one part of the country to another, she was dealing with difficult abuse issues of her past, in order move on and look toward the future. Meeting with different women, and sharing her story, ahd hearing their stories allowed for a healing process for all of the women.
The camera funcitons throughout this film as a tool for women's voices to be heard. The camera does not use the typical male gaze approach when the women are being interviewed. The camera stays central to the faces of the women being interviewed, and doesn't pan up and down for body shots. I think the camera throughout this documentary functioned as a mechanism to put a face to the name Angela Shelton, and allow the different stories to be heard. By staying mainly on the faces of the women being interviewed, the body is less emphasized which allows the impact of the stories being told to be heard without distraction. This is also interesting because as many of the women discuss stories of abuse in which their bodies were objectified and used, the filmmaker I believe makes a conscious decisoion to not objectify the bodies of these women further by using closer camera shots and not filming from the traditional male gaze.

Posted by cain0070 at 10:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It is time to liberate the New Woman from the Old by coming to know her-by loving her for getting by, for getting beyond the Old without delay, by going out ahead of what the New Woman will be, as an arrow quits the bow with a movement that gathers and separates the vibrations musically, in order to be more than her self.

This film, Searching for Angela Shelton, has a different direction compared to the other films we have studied thus far in the semester. The road is not the central function of the film. The main focus is on the individual women (Angela Sheltons) that have been beaten or sexually abused. Their stories are severe and very personal. This documentary gets to the core of many dark issues that are not often talked about in society (rape, incest, abuse). These struggles and how each woman overcomes these struggles are the focus of the documentary. This experience showed these women that they were not alone and that they could over come their troubled pasts and move forward.
The road ends up making it possible for Angela to make this journey to meet all of the Angela Sheltons in the country. Her journey is mainly to find out who she is as person. Who is Angela Shelton? But in the end, Angela must go home where she belongs and start HER new life. The road is one of success for Angela and many others.
I think that the documentary was wonderful. At times it was really harsh and descriptive, but sexual abuse is violent and painful. I believe Angela showed a great side of this dark story that has not been told like this before. The only thing I would have done differently is the ending of the film. I thought it was shocking to see her with little clothing on at the end bathing in water. I didn't think it was appropriate for the documentary.

Posted by jone1042 at 10:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For me, Searching for Angela Shelton is a film about a woman who sets out on the road to piece together who she is and what it means to be a woman. In the beginning, I feel that Angela doesn't exactly know what her documentary is going to say. She knows that many of the Angela's have been abused but Angela is still unsure of what her film will say and what the story is. In the end after the encounter with her father, Angela discovers that she is the only one who can give herself closure to her childhood experiences. To me, that is the story that Angela tells.

To make this discovery, Angela interviews the other Angela Sheltons of the United States. Overall, Angela uses her camera power responsibly. Although many argue that she abuses her power when interviewing these women, I would say that she does not have any responsibility to these women. I do not believe that Angela forces these women to do interviews with her about their lives (whether abusive or not). She may pry and keep calling them even after they have said no, but these women can hang up or not open their door, etc. Does a psychologist doing an research on victims of abuse have the responsibility to make sure that every single one of them goes into treatment. No. I believe that ultimately, people are responsible for themselves. For example, the anonymous Angela Shelton continued to talk to Angela and at the end of the movie it is revealed that she did start some sort of treatment.

The area that was problematic for me was that in the beginning of the film Angela Shelton says how she is interested in knowing about the "women of America". However, on her map it appears as though she only visits the Southeast of the United States, which leaves out a large majority of the other "Angela Sheltons". Also, the women of America are more than just half black and half white. They are also Asian, a mix of different races, handicapped, incarcerated, of a variety of religions, etc. She uses races as a dichotomy for women. She are not just white and black.... oh and one Muslim woman, who is awkwardly placed at the end of the film and sort of left out of telling a real story.

I feel that Angela wouldn't have been able to make this movie in a different way, but only because when she sets out on the road she doesn't know what story she will be telling. Possibly if I would have made the film, I would have tried to focus more on the other Angela Sheltons instead of sobbing about my own experience in a foster home.

Posted by Jean at 10:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The road functions in this film as Angela's path to her self-discovery. She meets women around the country who share her name, but represent women as a whole. The strength that these women display by speaking about their abuse give Angela inspiration to confront her father. This strength emerged from Angela's experience on the road, talking to other Angelas. I think the camera power is used well in this film. The women are represented in their unique environments and they seem very down-to-earth and real. I can't imagine having shared an experience as awful as some of these women have in their lives, so I can't say that I would have made this film differently. I think Angela met her goal in finding herself through finding out about women in general.

Posted by kieff060 at 09:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I thought, that in the movie Searching for Angela Shelton the stories were raw and powerful. However, I think the message that the audience recieved, was maybe somewhat different than that of what the director wanted. The road in this film is a connecting agent, bringing women together who have similiar stories and/or life experiences they have witnessed or gone through. The road opens up many lost memories, and many stories that bring back emotional feelings for all the Angelas'. Whether the Angela the director was talking to shared a similiar story or not of abuse, the director always seemed to share her story with the other Angela which obviously was going to negativley affect the other Angela. The road working as a connective agent played both positive and negative roles in this film. On the negative aspect, it opened up old wounds without offering a way to heal them. It also brought a selfish aspect to the director, making it seem like she was using these other women to cope with her own problem. However, on the positive side, it did unite people who have gone through similiar situations and let them know that there are other people out there like them.
Her use of the camera in this film is what brings the selfishness to the movie, for me. I liked how she would sit with a camera possibly on a tripod and spill her emotions, because thats raw, and real. However, I didn't like her use of the camera when she was interviewing the women. It was almost intrusive, unrealistic. She was using the camera to film the Angelas response to her own story, which in part made it quite uncomfortable.
If I were to remake this movie, I would definitely do things different. I would focus more on the Angela's stories and less on my own. I would also make sure these women were doing okay after bringing back these stories and reopening the memories. It didn't seem like the director did that...it seemed as if she was only focused on her well-being (which she showed by cutting her shirt). This movie has a very touching story, I just think the way the director went about showing it was wrong and could have been done better.

Posted by elynnk at 09:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Writing gives power. Telling your story to others,gives you power, and empowers others. This was the main point in one of the readings for this week.
Angela Shelton, the film maker, shared her story with many other women. She claimed to feel less alone because of this. There were only a few instances where her abuse of the camera was very noticeable to me.
She used it to enhance emotional qualities of the film. This was done by pairing certain things together like the phone conversation with the anonymous Angela and the thunderstorm. She did it another time when there was a ripped American flag and some facts about molesters and rapists going to prison- or more accurately how they don't get prosecuted. The last bit was when she said something about her father and then they flip to a sign on a chruch that makes a statement about being in denial about things. These were done throughout the movie to enhance it, but it also manipulates it into a more biased view of the movie. we don't get to make our own opinions really, we are learning her story and we see her discovering herself more, but that journey seemed to be incomplete at the end. She had a lot of issues to work through and it was interesting to see her do so through other Angela's.

Posted by Margaret Hanson at 12:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Finally a road film worthy of my viewing! Finding Angela Shelton was a moving movie on many levels. Specifically, for the Angela's and their stories, but also for all women, especially those who have been abused in their lives. At the end of the film I wanted to call my parents and tell them “thank you” for giving me such a special childhood that was free of that type of pain.
The road is used in this film as the connection between the Angela’s. Despite the fact that they all of the same name, Angela uses the road to reach out, both physically and emotionally, to all these different women around the country. Also, I think the road gives the film more purpose. Angela could have discovered all this information out by talking on the phone to the individual Angela’s, but who would want to watch that movie?
The story is supposed to be about all women. Even though the sample size was small, Angela was looking to break the silence on some important issues and show America the pain some women are going through on a daily basis. Also, the other story being told along side is the story of the narrator. Angela uses the other women’s stories to fill in the blanks on her own traumatic experiences.
In the beginning I was uncomfortable watching the film, but I think that was the point. The conversations the Angela’s were having are about private issues, and the narrator puts it right in your face. I do not think that the narrator abuses her camera power. It made the film more interesting and the images and shots were used to invoke more feeling. Although some were cheesy (the tattered American flag) she was trying to invoke emotion within the viewer.
If I were Angela, I would make the film truthfully. We discussed in class about the fact that the narrator Angela was an actress, and that some of the film may have been set up, which was disappointing to me after being moved by her piece. So, if I was Angela I would make the film truthfully, and if she did that, that I would only change one other thing. I would show her father’s face. I understand it was probably a legal issue, but I would have wanted to humiliate that man.

Posted by Stephie Bjork at 09:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Angela had all the power in what the camera showed and I think that she did a good job of letting the other Angela Shelton's be heard. She uses the camera to show how other women around the U.S. have suffered from abuse also and she didn't start out thinking that abuse would be the main thing that most of the women had in common but that is what made the trip have a stronger meaning. The only times that she might have abused the camera power were when she was doing things like laying in a puddle in a parking lot and when she was throwing a fit but for the most part the shots taken by the camera were justified. There weren't any times of the movie that really bothered me because I feel that she got a lot of people to open up in front of the camera which is a huge thing especially since some of those women hadn't ever told anyone else before. The road is used as a journey where each stop builds up more and more courage and at the end Angela goes to see her dad. The other women her feel like she wasn't the only one and she was searching to actually find herself. The road is to discover what others are going through around the United States and how they cope with being abused in the past.
If I was Angela, I wouldn't really make the film differently but I would have ended it differently with some statistics about abuse in the U.S. and maybe some advice to the audience but that is all so it is somewhat educational. I believe that she accomplished she needed to though some of her words may have been biased, the message was still clear. the message seemed to be that you are never alone and it does feel better sometimes if you talk about what happened to you because if you keep it in, emotions build up and you may become depressed. She gave the women hope because she let them be heard and she told them what happened to her so they bonded and then she went on her way.

Posted by Carmel at 09:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

“A process of different subjects knowing one another and beginning one another anew only from the living boundaries of the other: a multiple and inexhaustible course with millions of the encounters and transformations of the same into the other and into the in-between, from which woman takes her forms.” (Cixous)

In the film Searching for Angela Shelton the road functions as a device for self-discovery and awakening. By searching for the other Angela Shelton’s of America, Angela is able to tell her own story and come to terms with her past. Her trip on the bus is, “a process of different subjects knowing one another and beginning one another anew only from the living boundaries of the other”. It was as though each Angela was a transformation of the one before her, different colors shapes and heritages flowing together to ultimately help Angela face her dark past. As a bottle of pop shaken, Angela was agitated and eager. With each encounter she would start off her conversation