Humping The (new) Media Landscape

Of War and Ballet

This week I got choked up over the Village Voice's cover article, a truely moving story about the power of the arts. Written in the first-person by Roman Baca, an Iraq war veteran who re-ignited his passion for dance to help heal from PTSD and connect to others damaged by the experience of war.

His company Exit12 began by addressing issues close to home, like his mother's anxiety but has now extended to work with children in Iraq.

Their mission is to "inspire conversations about worldly differences and the lasting effects of violence and conflict on communities, families, and individuals. Through movement, we educate audiences about the reality of war, advocate diversity and mutual understanding through cultural exchange, and champion the humanity and dignity of all persons."

Link to read the article.

Where Your Mouth Is?

Time to put my money where my mouth is - I will be taking my last paycheck of the 2009 calendar year and donating it to a variety of organizations which support independent creative projects. Trust me its not because I have the cash to spare, I live in NYC for goodness sake!

I am going to post about each of the organizations over the course of this month.

Feel free to send me any suggestions for orgs I should add to my 2009 donations list. I am specifically interested in learning about any that have helped you or your friends (or just artists you admire) with their creative work, this year.

The first organization I have chosen to donate to is WET  - this is a production company that supports women writers.

Here's how they explain their mission:

Equal opportunity still does not exist in the entertainment industry.

Only 17% of theater productions in the US are written by women
Only 16% of theater productions in the US are directed by women
Only 15% of film directors, producers, writers, and editors in the US are women.
Only 20% of film studio executives working in the US are women*

Additionally, the representation of women and girls in the media is often based in stereotype, and sets up impossible and unhealthy expectations women and girls feel they must live up to.

According to studies, Women and girls of all body types are equally and negatively affected after viewing pictures of models in magazine ads for just three minutes**

Teen-age girls who viewed commercials depicting women who modeled the unrealistically thin-ideal type of beauty caused adolescent girls to feel less confident, more angry and more dissatisfied with their weight and appearance.***

If we continue to accept the under-representation and misrepresentation of women in the media, an industry that defines and reflects our culture, then we are responsible for supporting and perpetuating inequality.

This is not a woman’s issue, this is a human issue.

I couldn't agree more! And they produced my brilliant friends' show I Eat Pandas this year on Off B'way

If you need any convincing of the shameful dearth of women's voices and the lack of variety in the ones which are represented, please read NYT Film critic Manohla Dargis article about the state of women in Holloywood in 2009.

Click here if you also want to give WET a gift this holiday season!