Barnard Media Center's Feminist Film Series Spotlights Women In STEM

Upper West Side NY

25 October, 2021

12:39 PM

Description

Columbia Daily Spectator BY JULIA TONG OCTOBER 22, 2021 As the lights dim in the expansive Altschul 202 auditorium, an eager group of students settle into padded, red-lined seats and turn their gaze to the screen. There, as part of Barnard Sloate Media Center's Feminist Film Series, they watch the stories of captivating women unfold on screen: A group of women advocate on behalf of female workers experiencing radiation poisoning from their factory jobs; a Hollywood star invents a radio signal that became the foundation for Bluetooth innovation. These free screenings allow students to access acclaimed films and generate discussion around feminism in cinema. This year's series centers science, technology, engineering, and mathematics as part of Barnard's Year of Science. The five films featured—"Radium Girls," "Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story," "The House of Sand," and "Hidden Figures"—span documentaries and feature films, time periods and countries. Each film demonstrates the pivotal involvement of women in STEM fields, which have traditionally been dominated by men. "I thought it would be interesting to explore films that touch on STEM and STEAM themes, but still fall in line with these ideas of thought provoking films that are out there for an audience to enjoy and [examine] how can those two worlds of science and technology intersect with the world of cinema," Sloate Media Center Associate Director Rachel James said. James founded the Feminist Film Series in 2018 to encourage students to engage with screened films through discussion and critique. The series highlights the diversity of feminist film through semesterly themes that include "Resistance and Resilience," "Music in Film," "Documentary," and "Animation." Past highlights include a panel with the director and editor of the Oscar-nominated documentary "Crip Camp"; a Q&A with Channing Godfrey Peoples, director of the critically acclaimed film "Miss Juneteenth"; and a conversation with filmmaker Sandi Tan following a screening of her documentary "Shirkers." In programming films for the series, James considered two major factors to uphold the Feminist Film Series' mandate of showing diverse, female-focused films. One was choosing a variety of films to screen, ensuring that selections are not limited to American and English language films and not dominated by male directors. The other primary consideration was featuring films with female protagonists, which was especially important to James while researching STEM-themed films to screen this year. "There are a lot of films that are biopics of white male scientists, and I was like, 'That just definitely doesn't fit the bill. People can get that anywhere,'" James said. "So I was really interested in showing films that … tell the stories of people who are not often highlighted." James was especially excited about two films being screened, which centered historic women involved in significant STEM innovations: "Bombshell," a documentary about inventor and actress Hedy Lamarr, and "Hidden Figures," the true story of three Black women who broke barriers as mathematicians at NASA and helped launch astronaut John Glenn into space. "Both of those films feature characters that are really at the forefront of creating these breakthroughs in science and technology," James said. "I love the idea of highlighting stories that center women in these spaces where they're not traditionally part of the space." In addition to looking for inspiring and empowering films, James stressed the importance of choosing thought-provoking films that inspire critical questioning of what a feminist film is: What defines feminist filmmaking? Can a film directed by a man be feminist? Conversely, does a female director automatically make a feminist film? Feminist Film Series screenings that spoke to people—whether positively or negatively— sparked exciting conversations around those crucial questions. A screening of the animated comedy "Sita Sings the Blues," for instance, inspired lively discussion among attendees. Viewers were concerned that the film fails the Bechdel test—which requires two female characters to talk to each other about something other than a man—despite the film's female protagonist. The spirited conversation following "Sita Sings the Blues" spoke to the success of James's original motivations: to bring together students interested in feminism and cinema. When she was younger, the concept of feminism was particularly controversial. It was a taboo others refused to understand or accept. "When I was younger, people would call [feminism] the F-word," James recalled. "And so I loved the idea of talking about feminism with students who were younger than myself, but also sharing cinema, and talking about cinema, just for enjoyment's sake." James' primary goal for the future of the Feminist Film Series is simple: to continue providing space for students to get involved watching and engaging with feminist film. She is already excited for next semester's theme—sci-fi films—which promises to be a more "freewheeling" and creative take on the Year of Science. Above all, James hopes that the Feminist Film Series will continue featuring works that introduce viewers to lesser-known aspects of history and issues, while inspiring them to challenge social norms. "I love cinema that exposes you to characters that you might not be familiar with or comfortable around, and tell stories that often don't get told or feature issues that you didn't know about and really inspire an audience member to leave the theater and go research something," James said. "Or at the very least, unconsciously have a new sense of empathy for someone who's not like themselves." Staff writer Julia Tong can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow Spectator on Twitter @ColumbiaSpec. Founded in 1877, the Columbia Daily Spectator is the independent undergraduate newspaper of Columbia University, serving thousands of readers in Morningside Heights, West Harlem, and beyond. Read more at columbiaspectator.com and donate here.