Angela and Grace
Although Searching for Angela Shelton and the Grace Lee projects are both films about women attempting to find others of the same name across the United States, you would be hard pressed in finding someone to say that they are similar films both stylistically and by the purpose being aimed at. The Grace Lee Project was more of a fun project for her in her attempts to find people with her name. I am not making light of stereotyping as I personally despise stereotyping for the most part and believe that everyone is entitled to be their own person, but if you were to look up someone with the same name as myself, I would not be shocked to find a bunch of Norwegians guys probably with close to the same background culturally as myself going along with traditions of my own culture and strengths of my own culture much like she found. I think if you wanted to face stereotyping, you should go beyond your name and possibly to a race as a whole. Angela Shelton faced a certain problem and didn't really deny that, a very serious problem. I believe the use of the name in this film was simply as a catylist to put her on the road as I'm sure she could find enough women in her area who were victims of sexual abuse. The road was freeing for Angela Shelton, it was a way to let go to find people in the exact same circumstances down to the name to help her let go of the pain her father caused her. The road in Grace Lee was rarely used, it could have just as well done in one city and nobody would really know. She used the internet and potentially used that "road" although I would claim there are many limitations to that analogy. As far as race versus road goes, I would say Grace Lee was a race to find people like her in attempts to not find people like her and Angela Shelton was about the road, the letting go process.