Keep the conversation going

A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.  - Margaret Mead

Did you watch Miss Representation last night?  I got together with three girlfriends, and one of their boyfriends, and we all watched together.  We surrounded ourselves with some wine and pumpkin bread and settled in for the documentary.  It was scheduled to run from 9 - 11 but we didn't finish watching until around midnight because at every commercial break we would end up pausing and talking.  And sometimes during it one of us would say, "Wait. Pause. I want to talk about that," so we would pause and discuss more.  There was a mixed reaction from our sample group.  Overall we liked it.  But there were a few that found it to be a skewed view because most of the people interviewed in the documentary were women.  To that point I thought, Of course - that is what this is about.  Most documentaries are skewed toward the filmmaker's perspective.  For me, I loved it - no matter the perceived inherent biases - because it fostered discussion.  It had all of us looking at our lives and our influences and how we view ourselves and fellow women.  It had us thinking about how we consume media - what shows are we watching? What images are we supporting?  What are we ok with?  What do we have real problems with?  When we were growing up, when did we start to feel a shift in how we determined our worth?  I think it is so important.  As a wife, as an older sister, as an aunt, as a daughter, as a granddaughter, as a cousin, as an actor, as a writer....I need to be more aware of the imagery that is out there.  The imagery that I help to create.  On Wednesday at the Web Series Unplugged event GIRL PARTS screened with ten other web series.  Of those ten, only 1 other show was written by a woman.  I'm really proud to be in a show that is written and produced by a woman, starring women - in several different quirky ways.  I feel an increased urgency to complete my screenplay and get it made because I do feel my protagonist shows a rounded woman finding her way in the world.  And we need more stories about women - not about helpless women or women as sex-objects but about women as people, with our strengths and our flaws fleshed out...beyond our flesh - or in celebrating our flesh, but on our own terms.  There is so much we need to talk about and I want to keep the conversation going.  I went to MissRepresentation.org and took the pledge to "use my voice to spread the message of Miss Representation and challenge the media's limiting portrayal of women and girls."  And if you think it is important, you should too.  If you're not sure about pledging anything yet, no worries.  But think about discussing it.  Go to the site to learn more.  Watch the documentary to learn more.  There is a lot to consider...and a long way to go.