California NOW

Support Feminist Films - They ROCK!

Last night I found myself all alone in a movie theater. Normally, I would be excited to have my own screening, but on this occasion it made me sad because it really brought home how under appreciated feminist film making is in our society. I went to see the absolutely wonderful film Girls Rock. At times it was a relief that I was alone in my enormous individual screening, that way no one could hear me crying my eyes out as I relived my teen years as the odd girl in black that listened to the music that no one else at school understood.

But there was also no body around to join me as I continued to cry (this time tears of joy) and laugh as these young women found their inner rockers. It's not everyday we get to watch young women empower themselves on the big screen and I hate the fact that this film was going to close its run early because not enough people had come out to see it. So the moral of this story is: Please don't put off seeing that amazing feminist film you've been thinking of seeing. I know we all do it. It does matter that you get out there and see them in the theaters. If we don't do it they won't stay in the theaters for long, they won't make money, and the next one won't get funded and made. And if that happens, what will we have to cry and laugh about when we go to the movies next time?

'Torture Porn' Ads Go Too Far

This creepy Captivity ad was effectively banned in the US, but still used in Europe. This is one of the films some are calling "Torture Porn."

Check out Hollywood NOW President Lindsey Horvath and CA NOW "Women in the Public Eye" Conference speaker Jill Soloway* in this Women's eNews story on the subject. Here's some of it:

Women have long borne the brunt of on-screen terrorizing says Jill Soloway, a consulting producer of ABC's TV show "Dirty Sexy Money." But she says the difference is the element of torture in movies that followed "Hostel," such as "Captivity," which prompted a storm of criticism for its graphic ads.

"There's all this blood spurting and it's like waiting for the money shot in a porn movie," says Soloway.

Lindsey Horvath, who works in film advertising and is president of the National Organization for Women's Hollywood chapter, doesn't see it that way. "We think the term is devastatingly accurate," she said about calling the films torture porn. Both she and Soloway emphasize that they do not want to censor the films but have organized against graphic, torture-porn advertisements, since they are in public view, where onlookers don't make an active choice about seeing the images.

Ick. If people are going to make and watch this kind of dehumanizing, violent crap, they could at least keep the ads fit for popular consumption. Right?

*If you haven't read Soloway's Tiny Ladies in Shiny Pants, and you "came of age" in the 80s and 90s, OMG you MUST!

Earth Hour 2008: 8pm, March 29th

Global Warming is our problem.

Earth Hour is our turn to fix it.

5 things to do in the dark:

1. Host an Earth Hour eco-party...candles, organic good, live acoustic music.
2. Give yourself an energy makeover by making a list of ways you can save energy. Then, on the following day, take action by replacing old light bulbs with energy-saving CFLs and installing power strips.
3. Take one hour for yourself to just unplug and chill out...turn off the screens, put down the handheld devices and just take some "you" time to reflect.
4. Give someone a massage.
5. Grab a flashlight and take a long walk with some friends through your neighborhood, picking up trash and recyclables as you go.

Keep the Wall Intact!

Everything You Wanted to Know About Separation of Church and State, But Were Afraid to Ask
A special simulcast event

From the presidential campaigns to city council races, candidates need to hear why protecting our Constitution and Bill of Rights matters! Join Barry Lynn, Executive Director of Americans United and Welton Gaddy, President of The Interfaith Alliance Foundation – make your voice heard!

Hosted by Actor/Director Peter Coyote
Featuring special guests: The Bacon Brothers (Kevin and Michael)

Messages and performances by...
Jack Klugman, Wendie Malick, James Whitmore, Catherine Dent, Dan Lauria, Marc Maron, Catie Curtis, Roy Zimmerman, with a personal message from Michael J. Fox. Meet individual church-state champions sharing their stories of courage.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008, 6:00 PM

Century Cinemas 16
1500 North Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View, CA 94043

Natomas Marketplace Stadium 16
3561 Truxel Road, Sacramento, CA 95834

Mira Mesa Stadium 18
10733 Westview Parkway, San Diego, CA 92126

Promenade 16
21801 Oxnard Street, Woodland Hills, CA 91367

RSVP for FREE tickets

Help Protect LGBT Rights!

  Once again LGBT rights are under attack by members of the religious right.  Efforts are under way to gather signatures for a ballot initiative that would repeal California domestic partnership benefits and amend the California constitution to prohibit same sex marriage.

California NOW is part of the Equality for All coalition, working to defeat this coalition.  That's where you come in!  As Action VP, I am encouraging members across the state to get involved in this effort to ensure the rights of LGBT Californians.  Get more information and sign up to get involved by visiting Equality for All.

Women Supporting Women in the Performing Arts!

Guest Blog from Jerilyn Stapleton, CA NOW Chair, Media Reform

Last Thursday a group of us from the Screen Actors Guild Women's Committee took a field trip to see our fellow committee member and National SAG Board member Frances Fisher in her play entitled Sexy Laundry.

It was the most laugh-out-loud funny, touching and moving play I have seen in quite awhile. This dramedy is about a long married couple trying to put the spark back into their marriage on a weekend in a hotel. Both Paul Ben-Victor (Henry) and Frances Fisher (Alice) give outstanding performances. In fact, the guy sitting behind me said "she's amazing!" Because the play has just depth and range into human relationships, I was surprised to find out that the young women who wrote the play, Michele Riml, is only 30 something. She is an award-winning playwright from Vancouver, British Columbia. The setting is a room in the lavish "L" Hotel and done very plush by Production Designer, Joel Daavid. The Costumes were beautifully done by Traci McWain. And wonderfully directed by Gary Blumsack.

Frances Fisher will also be joining us at Women in the Public Eye, the 2008 Annual Membership Meeting/State Conference, on behalf of the Peace & Safety Committee of CA NOW.

The play has been extended until the end of March. For those of you that live in southern California, I urge you to support women performers and writers by going to see this play at The Hayworth Theatre, 2511 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90067 Tel: 213.289.9860. You can get discount tickets online.

Radical Eco-Feminist West Coast Spring Tour 2008: Friday, March 28, 2008

Two activists from the Portland Animal Defense League, Rising Tide North America and Stumptown Earth First! will offer a presentation and interactive two-part workshop on radical eco-feminism and environmental ethics.

Location: Long Haul Infoshop, 3124 Shattuck Ave.,
(across from La Peña, 1 block east of Ashby BART), Berkeley. Time: 7pm. Info: 510-540-0751

Exciting New Feminist Film Premiere in San Francisco!

Filmmaker Louise Vance worked with California NOW to produce our two films, A Passion for Justice and Action for Justice. I'm thrilled to see the feminist work she is doing now!

Seneca Falls Premiere Screening and Benefit Saturday, March 29, 2008 7pm Reception, 8pm Show A SWAN Day Event! Brava Theater Center, 24th Street @ York, San Francisco TICKETS:  $20
Student/Senior $15
Buy Tickets through Brava Buy Tickets through Ticketweb  
WINE AND CHEESE RECEPTION SILENT AUCTION

MS.TRESS OF CEREMONIES: Deborah Pardes
Q&A with the filmmakers and the troupe after the show

"The world changes according to the way people see it, and if you alter, even by a millimeter,
the way people look at reality, then you can change it." - James Baldwin

Please attend on Saturday, March 29th for a fun and moving evening at the San Francisco Premiere and Benefit Screening of the independent documentary, Seneca Falls.

The film chronicles the remarkable journey of nine teenage girls -- a struggling multicultural theater troupe -- as they travel from San Francisco to the birthplace of women's rights in America to stage their original play.  Part teenage road trip, part shocking history lesson, the film is, above all, an awakening of young hearts and minds. You can learn more about the project at senecafallsfilm.org.

Please help spread the word about the event by forwarding this invitation to everyone in your orbit - friends, family, neighbors - well, you get the idea!

If you'd like to support the film, but can't attend the premiere, you can make a secure, tax deductible gift towards our project's finishing costs and educational outreach through The Fund for Women Artists. 

Message from the Film Director, Louise Vance:  

 SWAN DAY 2008

Our film's premiere is part of a new international holiday called SWAN Day - Support Women Artists Now.  SWAN Day is being organized by The Fund for Women Artists, womenarts.org, a non-profit organization that helps women artists get the resources they need to do their creative work. Over the past decade, The Fund for Women Artists has raised over $4 million and built a website that serves 500,000 visitors a year.

Proceeds from this event will allow us to secure the film's music rights and launch our educational outreach campaign.  Many thanks to Martha Richards and The Fund for Women Artists for their incredible support!  For more information about other SWAN Day events worldwide, visit swanday.org.

What is Seneca Falls?

Most of us have never heard of Seneca Falls - I surely hadn't before making this film.  That's because despite its enormous impact, the revolution born at Seneca Falls is barely mentioned in school.  In fact, the average sixth grade history textbook devotes one paragraph to the entire women's rights movement.

Seneca Falls is a sleepy village in upstate New York where, in 1848, a few courageous souls, already active abolitionists, staged a public protest that ignited a movement to free American women from social, legal and political bonds based in gender.  It is the birthplace all American women share.

Sincerely,

Louise Vance
Director

Special thanks for their support:
HONORARY HOSTS
Aileen Hernandez, Former National NOW President and Women's Rights Pioneer
Roma Guy, Women's and Health Advocate, Founder of the Women's Building
COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS
The CLAER Project
The California Women's Agenda
The Women's Intercultural Network

Seneca Falls is a fiscally sponsored project of Cinefemme, a California nonprofit supporting films by, for and about women. The SWAN Day screening of Seneca Falls is a project of The Fund for Women Artists.

How Do You Define Consent?

What comes to mind when you think of consent? Some words that come to mind are agreement, mutual and coerced.

Yes, I said coerced. Because many times when a person does not agree to consensual sex they may be coerced or pressured into agreeing to it. Sometimes we are faced with the question, “If you loved me, you would” or “I thought you loved me”. That is NOT consent! Consensual sex is when you both agree, not when one person forces the other.

Recently, I was on a college campus and women were discussing the “walk of shame”. This was described as when a woman is drunk and she has nonconsensual sex. All of these women were unaware that in the state of California, you are not legally able to consent if you are drunk. This was a wake up call for them! They asked me questions and did not realize that was the law. Prior to this they thought the “walk of shame” was just something that, as they said, “happens all the time”.

Dialogue alone can create change and when that dialogue begins online it can be the first step in making change in your community. What does consent mean to you? How can you create change?

Guest Blog by Lisa Covington

Listen to Gloria Steinem...

That is always sage advice. Here she is on NPR talking about the elections, race and gender and uniting under the common belief that something big has got to change.

She clarifies some points from her NY Times op/ed, and talks about the meeting she had with Kimberly Crenshaw, and other feminists, seeking common ground. Check it out.