Out of Struggle, Art by Joyce Marcel

Out of Struggle, Art
By JOYCE MARCEL

Thursday, March 6
DUMMERSTON, Vermont

Here we are again at the crossroads of art and social change, having the opportunity to watch good and great films about the lives of women in support of the Women's Crisis Center.

Every time the Women's Film Festival comes around, I ask why we need a separate category for "women's" films?

Isn't this a magical era? We have a woman as a viable candidate for president of the United States. We've come a long way, baby, so isn't it fish on a bicycle time now? Can't we just agree that all films are stories and all stories are "human" (Except when they're about animals -- like that rat chef in "Ratatouille" -- and even then, humans define the narrative.)

I'm not talking here about the difference between romantic "chick flicks" and "men's" films about blondes with big bazookas and blowing things up.

When I was young and fervently feminist, I was dumb enough to think that once domestic and sexual abuse was recognized for what it was -- anger, violence, control, power, hate -- once it was brought out into the light of day and named, it would disappear like a vestigial part of the body politic.

Instead, the once-radical idea of safe houses for
Advertisement women has become an accepted and necessary resource for most cities and towns. And physical and mental abuse has become ever more prevalent -- the murder rates alone are astounding.

For the rest of Joyce's article click here to go to the Brattleboro Reformer.