[Frameworks] Asking for a friend / naming names

[Kathryn Ramey]

Hi Amanda, Evan & Sam and everyone else

Some excellent points have been raised all around.

Why are there no great women (Asian, black, Latinx etc..) film artists on  lists that purport to name the greatest of all time?

What is the purpose of outing offenders?(Amanda made great points about this!!) it runs the risk of harming the survivors all over again.

What my post yesterday was trying to point to was thinking about how our institutions (and we do have them even if they look more artisan than those of academia and the art world) reproduce oppressive structures and allow for sexual predators to also be “great artists”.

People can and should come out against their offenders if they wish - but there is plenty of other work to do. At our collectives, where we teach, and the festivals and venues that screen our work we need to think about whose work we privilege and why.  Who is given access, whose voices are heard most frequently whose are silent? 

This may not be as salacious or satisfying as outing offenders but it will ultimately be more impactful in changing the way our community(s) work. And that is way better in my opinion than knowing that this or that “great white artist” slept with his students. 

I read this article by a woman who rewatched Manhattan in light of Woody Allen marrying his adopted daughter and the allegations by his other daughter and son... what she observed is that he was hiding in plain sight.  Here is a link - https://www.alternet.org/culture/woody-allen-both-genius-and-predator-why-mariel-hemingways-new-revelation-matters

I think it’s possible to look at some of this work and similarly see traces of the misogyny behind it. It is perfectly OK to view these things through 21st century eyes. In fact I depend on that. 

All the best,
Kathryn Ramey

Sorry for the brevity of my reply. I am sending this from my cellphone.

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