What motivates me as a woman in filmmaking

Principal photography is done. This feels great to say.

There were many times when problems arose, such as broken microphones or threats of rain, when I wanted to quit filming. However, I had to keep pushing through, figuring out ways to film when it seemed impossible to do so.

One of the things that motivated me through the production process is this image of a letter from Disney that I keep tacked up on my wall.



(larger size here)

The letter addresses Mary Ford, a woman who wrote to Disney asking for a job as an animator. In reply to her request for a job, the letter states:



Although this letter singles out Mary for being a woman, the writer of the letter is herself a woman.



Considering that this letter was written in 1938, the woman who wrote the letter from Disney (her name is also Mary) is most likely a secretary, merely transcribing the orders of a male executive with authority hiring new animators. Did this woman, the secretary, feel empathy for Ms. Ford? Perhaps she too tried applying for a job at the wonderful world of Disney, only to be forced into a secretarial position.

At the top of the letter is Snow White, smiling innocently, unaware of the inequality occurring in the stationary she is affixed to.



In the lower right of the letter, contrasting Snow White's feminine grace, is her vile stepmother, the Queen.



The two images represent the ideologies placed on women. Snow White establishes women as a dainty and fragile entity, only to be looked at (in this case by seven different men). On the other hand, the evil Queen shows women at their worst, cold and manipulative.

This letter may seem like an odd choice when I say that it motivates me. Every time I read it, my initial reaction to it is anger. It would be easy to say that it's not fair, that Disney is prejudiced against women. I could easily write an angry letter to the offices at Disney and wait for some sort of reply, justification for their blatantly sexist practices.

However, as I reflect on this picture more, all I really want to do is keep writing and making films. I want to prove to others, and more importantly myself, that I can tell the stories I want to tell. There will always be obstacles, whether it be a broken microphone or a person telling me that I can't make a film because my gender makes me too weak to hold a camera or write a script. But overcoming these expectations of what I can and can't do is the best feeling in the world.

I hope that Mary Ford was able to pursue her dream in animating. If nothing else, she should know that her attempt to break into a system adamantly against her is one of the bravest things a person can do. Her attempt certainly inspired me.