A Call for the Resurrection of Feminism

With all of this #RepealThe19th chatter, I thought this was the most opportune moment to discuss an issue dear to my oh-so feminist heart. I've heard the term fourth-wave of feminism going around lately, and I think it's really a laughable concept. Feminism hasn't taken a break since before the suffrage movement. Feminists have just been shut down and shut out of the public eye in waves ever since. This is nothing new. The idea that women should be seen as mans equal is not a 21st-century notion. We're just gaining new platforms for expression.

However, during this election season in particular, we seem to have hit a roadblock, a divide, in women's active participation against our discrimination. An acceptance, even, of our suffering as a normality. For this fact, I strongly believe that the journey towards gender equality will only begin when women stop defending misogyny. But this goes deeper than age-old industry practices. Gender discrimination and bias has roots in the educational system, entertainment media, and even in the industries which manufacture and advertise toys and clothing. Every man, woman, industry, media platform, teacher, etcetera who has directed a young, impressionable girl's attention away from societally accepted masculine activities or studies or attire, and towards all things cute, pink and blissfully ignorant, is in all technicality, an accessory to misogyny—the murder of her hopes to be accepted not as a subservient, objectified wallflower, but as a human being with thoughts, rights, and choices as to how her life plays out. The solution: rebel with a cause. Create a life for yourself, a career, a personality, an air about you, that makes conservative, straight, white men cringe with fear for the end of their domineering rule. In other, more trending words, be a #NastyWoman. And for those of you who choose to break this phrase down to its most literal and unflattering definition, let me stop you right there. A Nasty Woman speaks her educated mind, fights for her beliefs with words instead of closed fists, and is relentless in the pursuit of whatever sets her soul on fire. But excuse us for the terminology we've been so cleverly handed.

Just to clarify, it is a precarious mistake to confuse my feminism for misandristic values. Feminism, in its truest sense, is not, and never has been, equal to man-hating, but if men weren't, historically speaking, known for oppressing, berating, and abusing women, feminism would have no reason to exist.

As a 22-year-old with good genes, I look significantly younger than my age on a daily basis, which is a good thing in the long-run, so I'm told, but it somehow diminishes my perceived credibility as a filmmaker, or a professional for that matter. My gender, youthful appearance and dampness behind the ears, seem to be viewed as deterrents, unless of course, I were in front of the camera. So instead, I let my work speak for itself and consider the shock-and-awe reaction to my proverbial curtain reveal to be a compliment.

I consider myself a creative, as my passions span a wide spectrum. But a side effect of this man's world is the belief that certain artistic endeavors are only seen as plausible professions for women if they don't require the use of laborious technology. Which is why there are so few camerawomen. Sadly, that's just within the entertainment industry. With all of the successful female writers today, in literature and in film, it's hard to believe that such a profession was once also considered a man's job, effectively censoring the female voice. Luckily, the recent advancements in technology are making it easier for any person of any gender with any educational background or physical ability to create works of film that may educate, inspire and entertain.

My film professor in college was female, but the one thing she never expressed to us girls was the reality that no matter how much we loved filming—no matter how much we loved operating the camera, composing that winning shot, racking focus, mastering this visual tool—our chances of ever being hired to use a video camera are slim to none. Keyword: hired. An editor is all we'll ever be—unless we take charge. To maintain my creative integrity and flexibility, I'm determined to make films only on my terms, on my watch, with my available resources. That's one of the many reasons why I tackled a project so big as to film and edit my first feature-length documentary while still in college. I researched, I wrote, I crowdfunded, I travelled, I filmed, I edited, I screened, I re-cut, I promoted, and I brought the finished product to the subject's family right on time. And certainly not all by myself. It took an entire year, but it was the most rewarding experience of my life. Now I have the experience behind me to take on just about any task I set my mind to. Now I'm not simply a young, female filmmaker—I'm just a filmmaker—but to be more specific in this generation of slash occupations, I'm a filmmaker/photographer/writer.

I think for any young, aspiring female-filmmaker to gain success, she needs to work double-overtime to be rewarded with the same recognition as her male counterpart. I believe this to be true for any male-dominated industry. And if you're stuck in a rut of rejections, I recommend either cutting ties with the industry and walking your own path or changing it from within. In the long-run, you'll be respected for your brazen, go-getter attitude. Regardless of any present opposition, we should set our goals high and help each other grow without jealousy's ugliest quality: fear of competition.

The arts and their creative industries have always been, in their most simplistic definition, optional. For this reason, now and then, we'll feel symptoms of the imposter syndrome. Just accept that comes with the job, and periodically imagine how grim a world it would be if art ceased to exist, how dim a present we'd live if the great artists of our past felt inadequacy to the point of failure.

Unfortunately, I haven't been unscathed by this patriarchal mindset. Rejection is a very ominous force but it's times like this that remind me to break free of this habitual self-doubt. Though I certainly don't have all the answers, if you're pursuing an education or career in film as a young woman, I have some sage advice, as a recent college graduate trying to find my way in this world:

Seek inspiration, not comparison. Draw on the works of others for inspiration—and inspiration only. Never compare your work with others because you cannot possibly know the progress they've made or circumstances they've faced to reach their level of success. You can only put your best foot forward, develop an undying work ethic, and hope for the best.

Do the unfathomable. If an idea strikes you like a lightning bolt to your very core, bounce it off people you can trust. If your confidants reject the idea, but your gut still tells you it's golden, by all means, dive right into transforming it from a meaningless figment of your imagination to a sedimented object of reality. The craziest ideas can only be one of two things: actually crazy or pure genius. Then watch all of your doubts fall to your side like unwelcome shadows upon the jaw-dropping reviews you'll receive from your once toughest critics when they realize you've succeeded in a way their narrow minds never imagined possible.

Look back at how far you've come. Track the progress of your artistry as you journey from hobbyist to professional. This progress won't be immediately recognizable, but don't be discouraged. You have to start low before you can ever reach the top. Just take things one step at a time, and before you know it, you've achieved one goal. But don't stop there. Always move onto the next. A creative's biggest fear is peaking too early. We never want our last project to be our best.

But most importantly, use this journey into film to have fun. With so many genre and styles to explore, film is a great artistic medium. Take this time to learn more about yourself based on what you choose to say through your visual concepts, your editing techniques, the stories you tell. So whatever your specialty may be, let's shatter this glass ceiling together, shall we?

#filmmaker #feminism #list #rant #essay