Naming the Nameless
“We are led to pose the woman question to history in quite elementary forms, like, ‘Where is she? Is there any such thing as woman?’ At worst, many women wonder whether they even exist. They feel they don’t exist and wonder if there has ever been a place for them. I am speaking of woman’s place, from woman’s place, if she takes a place.� (Cixious, 43)
I found Searching for Angela Shelton to be very thought provoking and interesting. I felt that the road functioned as a connecting link that somewhat bridged the gap between these women who had very different, yet similar experiences. Angela traveled the road from one woman to the next and told their stories as a tool for both personal closure and for giving a voice to women around America. I think that the road was also used to represent the fact that women from all walks of life and all parts of our country face abuse and trauma. I personally feel that what Angela Shelton did was very brave and that she used her camera power responsibly. I can understand that many students may believe that she exploited the women in the film and opened up old wounds, and in some ways I don’t disagree. However, I feel that the results of the film were extremely powerful and gave a voice to many women. For example, the anonymous Angela Shelton said “I’m invisible, really� and “I’m nobody�. This shows how this woman completely lost her sense of self and her identity was ripped apart as the result of abuse. This film gave her an identity in a way, and by doing so, it also provided women around the country with a sense of self and a voice. If I were Angela, I would have focused more on the women I was interviewing and I would have emphasized the idea that the purpose was to tell their stories. However, she had a personal journey to take, and although she may have emphasized it too strongly at some points, she used her own story as a tool to reach out to others.