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Tuesday,
March 1, 2005
8:00
a.m. – 9:15 a.m.
"I, Doll"
Introduced by: Marleen Hoover,
Visual Arts & Technology, SAC
“I, Doll: the Unauthorized Biography of America’s 11 1/2” Sweetheart”
is the story of the Barbie doll and the impact of its image. The video
traces the history of dolls from idol worship to child’s toys, from the Neolithic
Cycladic female figure to the objects of the modern world. Played
with by generations of girls and collected by adult men and women, the Barbie
doll has become an icon of American culture and an idol of the perfect woman.
Barbie’s pink house, car, and
perfect boyfriend and her idealized body prove to be unattainable. If
Barbie were a real person, she would be 5’10” tall, with body measurements
of 39-23-33 and would weigh 110 pounds, along with the removal of some ribs
and internal organs to attain that shape. Women interviewed for the
video explain how their quest to look like Barbie led to the severe health
problems of bulimia and anorexia. The video suggests that there ought
to be a warning with the Barbie doll: “Warning: staring at Barbie’s
body may cause self-induced vomiting.”
9:25 a.m. – 10:40 a.m.
"Escuela"
Introduced by: Robert Gomez, History, SAC
"Escuela" examines the lives of a contemporary Mexican American migrant
family. Centered on the life of Liliana, a daughter entering her first year
of high school, filmmaker Hannah Weyer follows the movements of the family
between their Texas borderland home and the agricultural fields of California.
Like any adolescent girl, Liliana worries about classes, boys, and her social
life. While the schools and the adults who work in them try their best to
accommodate students like Liliana, the social and emotional life of this
young woman is constantly in flux.
10:50 a.m. – 12:05 p.m.
A Challenging Identity: Looking at Women in Film
Introduced
by: Eileen Oliver, Library & Media Services, SAC
Presented by: Joan Fabian, Library & Media Services, SAC
This presentation discusses two films by Agnes Verda, a female director
from the French new wave. Excerpts of her films, Vagabond and Cleo 5 to
7, will be shown. Each film explores the role of a woman filmed by a woman
who confronts the stereotypical portrayal of the female as a beautiful object.
The roles of women in film have made a great impact on conceptions of beauty
and how a woman’s identity is shaped by “beauty.” If she is not beautiful,
she is a witch, an outcast or insane. If she is beautiful, she is pure and
desired. The two films show a stark contrast to the glamorous view of
women we are accustomed to seeing through the male gaze.
12:15
p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
"Daring to Resist"
Introduced by: Eileen Oliver, Library & Media Services, SAC
In times of war, danger and crisis, what forms can resistance take? "Daring
to Resist" tells the story of three teenage girls who resisted Hitler’s Nazi
regime in very different ways. Actress Janeane Garofalo narrates this portrait
of three teenage girls fighting genocide, taking risks they never dreamed
possible: Faye Schulman, a photographer and partisan fighter in the forests
of Poland; Barbara Rodbell, a ballerina in Amsterdam who delivered underground
newspapers and secured food and transportation for Jews in hiding; and Shulamit
Lack, who acquired false papers and a safe house for Jews attempting to
escape from Hungary. "Daring to Resist" broadens our understanding
of the concept of resistance and reminds viewers of the enormous potential
young women have to effect change.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2
8:00 a.m. - 8:50 a.m.
"Daughters of War"
Introduced by Gioconda Costello, Foreign Languages, SAC
Maria Barea’s documentary follows the story of Gabriela, the leader of
a girl gang and mother of a seven-month-old daughter. Both before and after
her mother’s murder, possibly by terrorists, Gabriela and her older sister
are left in the care of their maternal grandparents. Emotionally rejected
by her grandmother and unable to admit her feelings of pain and loss over
her mother’s death, Gabriela, like many of her contemporaries, turns to gangs,
alcohol, and drugs. At the age of seventeen, confrontation with the law,
poverty and violence is a constant presence in her life. This film demonstrates
how children and civilians are the true long-term victims of war.
9:00 a.m. - 9:50 a.m.
"Anna of Benin"
Introduced by Julie Alfaro, Political Science, SAC
This documentary by Monique Phoba examines the choices facing seventeen-year-old
Anna Teko, one of 31 children, born in Benin to a father of royal lineage.
Anna struggles to remain a normal teen despite the success of her music career.
After she accepts a prestigious scholarship to study music in France, she
must obtain her father’s permission to live there. The opportunities and
obstacles Anna faces will be familiar to many females who have struggled to
gain independence for the first time.
10:00 a.m. - 10:50 a.m.
"Night Girl"
Introduced by Debra Schafter, Visual Arts & Technology, SAC
Yingli Ma’s documentary presents the story of 17-year-old Han Lin, a Beijing
Go-Go dancer by night, the obedient daughter within a traditional, three-generation
household by day. The torn fabric of existence within 21st-century China
is captured in this brief but poignant story. Generational and cultural contradictions
abound in Han Lin’s life as she tries to reconcile the economic independence
promised by the sex industry with the burden of supporting a disapproving
family.
11:00 a.m. - 11:50 a.m.
"Fast Food Women"
Introduced by Carol Ann Britt, English, SAC
Anne Lewis Johnson’s documentary examines the lives of women who work
in fast food restaurants in Kentucky. These women, mostly middle-aged and
raising children, are often the sole source of income in their family. Even
after years of employment in the same restaurant these women earn wages
only slightly over the minimum wage, and none of them receives health care
benefits. This documentary explores the role of working women in an industry
that devalues and dehumanizes its employees.
12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Peace Corps Presentation
Introduced by: Eileen Oliver, Library & Media Services, SAC
Presented by: Peace Corps Volunteers
Students can simultaneously celebrate Women’s History Week and Peace Corps
Week through attendance at this presentation. Following a brief video that
describes the Peace Corps experience, several returned Peace Corps volunteers
will share their stories of what it is like to be a female volunteer working
in the fields of health and education. Students are encouraged to bring their
lunch and plenty of questions to this special event.
THURSDAY, MARCH 3
9:25 a.m. – 10:40 a.m.
"Mai's America"
Introduced by: Mekonnen Hailey, English, SAC
"Mai's America" documents the journey of Mai, a smart, vivacious, and
resilient Vietnamese teenager, who travels to America for her senior year
of high school. Mai’s expectations of life in America are dramatically different
from what she encounters in rural Mississippi. Mai meets a variety of people
during her stay in the U.S.: white Pentecostals, black Baptists, a local
transvestite, and South Vietnamese immigrants. All challenge her ideas about
America, her own identity, her relationship with her family, and even her
homeland of Vietnam.
10:50
a.m. - 12:05 p.m.
"Phyllis Diller"
Introduced by: Celita DeArmond, Library & Media Services, SAC
She was the first woman to do straight stand-up comedy, blazing the trail
followed by everyone from Joan Rivers to Paula Poundstone. Phyllis Diller
first tried her act out as a guest on You Bet Your Life in 1950. Groucho
was skeptical, but Phyllis was undaunted. Desperate to help her family and
convinced she could make people laugh, she finally got her break at San
Francisco's famous Purple Onion. She ended up playing the club for 89 weeks,
honing her act and creating her memorable comic character. Her career took
off through TV appearances with Jack Paar, Steve Allen, Bob Hope and Ed
Sullivan. And find out how professional success was balanced by personal
struggles, including the breakup of two marriages. She is still performing
constantly, fifty years after proving that comedy isn't just for men."
12:15
p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
"Bedevil"
Introduced by: Debra Schafter, Visual Arts & Technology, SAC
Australian Aboriginal artist Tracey Moffatt presents three “ghost stories”
that challenge racial and gender stereotypes in this, her first, feature film.
The stories, constructed using narrative film conventions, are played out
on visually rich sets that confess an artistic artifice, while contributing
an atmospheric strangeness to these eerie visual scenarios. Moffatt’s photographic
and film work has been featured at the Cannes Film Festival, the Venice Biennale,
the Dia Center for the Arts (New York) and in Site Santa Fe exhibitions.
FRIDAY, MARCH 4
8:00 a.m. - 8:50 a.m.
Historical Moments in the Women’s Suffrage Movement
Introduced by: Celita DeArmond, Library & Media Services, SAC
Presented by: Julie Alfaro, Political Science, SAC
Experience the suffrage movement through the voices of the women that
made it happen. Film clips of "Iron Jawed Angels" set the mood as guest
narrators move you from one momentous historical event to another. Feel
and see the excitement of the end of the suffrage movement climaxing with
one of the most important events of modern political history.
10:00 a.m. - 10:50 a.m.
Deseos en Transito
Introduced
by: Marleen Hoover, Visual Arts & Technology, SAC
Presented by: Victoria Suescum, Visual Arts & Technology, SAC
This presentation begins with a viewing of the film, “Deseos en Transito,”
which documents an international, artistic collaboration by the same name
between three artists: Paula Fuentes from Chile, Raquel Schwartz from Bolivia
and Victoria Suescum from Panama. These artists asked women from Santiago
de Chile, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, and San Antonio, Texas to write
their heart’s desire upon paper purses and suitcases. Often little girls
are perceived as sentimental, romantic and dreamy, yearning for white dresses,
princes, and a utopian future. Once they reach adulthood however, hopes become
far more concrete and dreams adjust themselves to reality. The children and
women in this video present the viewer with a variety of wishes for themselves
and their loved ones which often defy stereotypes of female desire. Following
the film, Victoria Suescum will lead a discussion of this artistic collaboration.
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