#(A lot of families of well known criminals face harassment its a global issue)

[bijoumikhawal]

I was listening to someone talking about how much she doesn't like South Korea's privacy laws when it comes to criminals and it abruptly hit me that she doesn't like them because she's a true crime creator (yes I watch garbage sometimes)

[thenewgrlsclub]

Cinema as Resistance: Women Who Speak Out Through Film

Published on February 3, 2017 by Sabrina Luppi

It feels like a lot of people are finally beginning to recognize the problems with our society and government that many communities within America have been fighting against since it was founded. Government and big business “overlooking” treaty rights and general public interest for the sake of profit is not new. Police brutality, especially as it affects communities of color, is not new. Misogyny, racism, classism, homophobia and general unfounded hatred of “the other” have been curses on humanity for as far back as our records go.

The actions of our government and other oppressive systems over the past… well, honestly forever have been motivating communities and leaders to mobilize for just as long. If the actions of our new administration regime have just recently begun to mobilize you, you are (clearly) not alone. The uprising that is taking place nationwide is powerful, and we have to keep it up.

While marching, contacting representatives and general civil disobedience have proven to be powerful tools of resistance. I think it’s useful to also recognize the impact that cinema can have in educating and inspiring movements. From fictional narratives that serve as metaphors for our society to documentaries that bring to light the perspectives we weren’t exposed to in school, films have been known to help us see things more clearly. [Side note: this just reminded me of one of my favorite quotes, “There is no better way to exercise consciousness than movie-watching, a recursive, reflexive mirroring loop that reveals us to ourselves.” - Jason Silva].

So this week I wanted to share with you some films made by women that express female perspectives on social and political environments. Some of these directors documented movements, some tell the stories of activist leaders, and some told fictional stories of powerful female characters. Maybe this will inspire you to create some art of your own or to support the people who are already working on projects like these. Either way, the act of listening to and sharing non-hegemonic perspectives is itself an act of resistance.

Daisies (1966) Directed by Vera Chytilová Vera was no stranger to censorship in her country of Czechoslovakia. Her graduate film, The Ceiling (1962) was about empty materialism and exploitation in the fashion industry and prompted an audience member to proclaim that, “Such a film should not be made…”. Daisies was so shocking to the government that they banned it from theaters.

The Watermelon Woman (1996) Directed by Cheryl Dunye

Dunye’s term for her original genre that combines real-life with recreations and real people with actors is ‘Dunyementary’. The Watermelon Woman falls into this category. The film follows Dunye’s journey in creating a documentary on a 1930s actress known as The Watermelon Woman. On the way she uncovers and explores some of the important contributions African Americans made to cinema while also expressing her perspective as a black, lesbian filmmaker.

Daring to Resist: Three Women Face the Holocaust (1999) Directed by Martha Goell Lubell and Barbara Attie

This documentary, produced by National Geographic, tells the stories of three women who, as teenagers in 3 Nazi-occupied countries, resisted the round-ups of their Jewish communities. They did everything from distributing resistance newspapers to leading underground groups that smuggled Jews across the border.

The Fifth Reaction (2003) Vakonesh Panjom Directed by Tahmineh Milani

Milani’s film aims to empower women to fight for their rights in its examination of a female’s role in a patriarchal society. Main character Fereshteh faces sexism and injustice following the accidental death of her husband. She loses her home and her children but tries to fight back with the help of supportive women.

Chisholm ’72: Unbought and Unbossed (2004) Directed by Shola Lynch

Lynch’s film follows the career of Shirley Chisholm, the first black congresswoman in America who also ran for president in 1972. The documentary chronicles not only Shirley’s story but also the impact she had as she fought for equality and promoted public engagement in politics.

Trudell (2005) Directed by Heather Rae

This documentary tells the story of Native American poet, activist, and leader of the American Indian Movement, John Trudell. Due to the unmitigated erasure Native Americans have faced this film brings much-needed attention to the resistance that has been ongoing on our continent for centuries.

Pray the Devil Back to Hell (2008) Directed by Gini Reticker

Reticker’s documentary shows the power of women joining together in non-violent protest. As civil war ravaged Liberia, Christian and Muslim women gathered separately to organize for peace. Eventually, the groups, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Leymah Gbowee, banded together and successfully resisted.

Last Call at the Oasis (2011) Directed by Jessica Yu

Multiple sources are now reporting that water may become unaffordable within the next five years. This is one big issue that the #NoDAPL water protectors are trying to educate us about (s/o to treaty rights, but that’s another story). Jessica Yu was one of the people trying to warn us all years ago with this documentary on the global water crisis.

A Red Girl’s Reasoning (2012) Directed by Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers

Tailfeathers created this film in response to Canada’s increasing rates of missing and murdered Indigenous women. This is not just a Canadian issue, a study released by the DOJ in May 2016 found that of the 2000 Alaskan and Native American women surveyed 84% had experienced violence. Tailfeather’s film fights back with the story of an ass-kicking Indigenous woman who takes on the attackers of other women.

American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs (2013) Directed by Grace Lee

While filming another project in which filmmaker Grace Lee interviewed other women named Grace Lee from various backgrounds, Lee met Boggs and decided her story warranted a whole documentary of its own. It’s the story of a Chinese-American activist and philosopher who was part of the civil rights and Black Power movements.

Free Angela and All Political Prisoners (2013) Directed by Shola Lynch

Shola returns to the list with the story of another incredible activist, Angela Davis. Angela’s influence is still at work today as she continues to educate packed crowds, including a speech at the Women’s March. Her story isn’t over, but this documentary details some of the astonishing events that contributed to her worldwide recognition today.

Ukraine Is Not a Brothel (2013) Directed by Kitty Green

Green’s documentary focuses on FEMEN, the feminist activist group from Ukraine, who she followed for over a year. The group is known around the world for organizing topless protests in defense of women’s rights which were met with harassment and arrests.

Dangerous Acts Starring the Unstable Elements of Belarus (2013) Directed by Madeleine Sackler

Sackler’s story, created with smuggled footage, describes the level of censorship artists in the country face and chronicles the resistance movement. She follows the members of the Belarus Free Theater, who face imprisonment or worse as they stage underground performances that examine ‘taboo’ topics like sexual orientation and suicide.

Scheherazade��s Diary (2013) Directed by Zeina Daccache

“Scheherazade in Baabda,”is a drama/theater therapy project for female inmates in Lebanon. Daccache documented their 10-month program, leading to a play in front of an audience at the prison. The women, labeled as criminals, share their stories of abuse, trauma, and deprivation. The film reflects the failures of all oppressive societies that lead victims to crime.

Sepideh (2013) Directed by Berit Madsen

At 16, Sepideh is already passionate about astronomy and dreams of floating in space. As a young woman in Iran, her family’s expectations and traditions clash with her goals. Madsen followed Sepideh for two years documenting her struggle, ambition, and major life-changing moments.

A Quiet Inquisition (2014) Directed by Alessandra Zeka and Holen Sabrina Kahn

Even the trailer for this documentary, which follows OBGYN Dr. Carla Cerrato in Nicaragua, is an important message regarding the dangers that regulating women’s bodies impose on us. Stories like these emphasize the NECESSITY of pro-choice legislature to protect the right of women to make their own decisions. With so much negative propaganda surrounding Planned Parenthood and what it means to be pro-choice, these stories are important in educating people about the reality of the situation.

The Supreme Price (2014) Directed by Joanna Lipper

Lipper follows Hafsat Abiola, who became determined to make sure her parents’ pro-democracy message would be heard after her father’s presidential victory was annulled and her mother was assassinated. “If what they were hoping to do is silence the voices of Nigeria’s women who are demanding change, I would make sure that my mother’s voice was not made silent by even one day.”

Portrait of an Indigenous Woman (2015) Directed by Caroline Monnet

Ten women try to define what it means to be an Indigenous woman. In a March 2016 interview, Monnet said, “I think, as filmmakers, that’s our power — to make the stories that we want to tell and that we feel important to tell.” I wholeheartedly agree. As audiences, our power is in seeking perspectives that society has attempted again and again to drown out.

13th (2016) Directed by Ava DuVernay

DuVernay’s documentary gained a lot of attention this year for answering the question: did the 13th amendment really end slavery? Ava presents the strong argument, supported by what she described in an NPR interview as “nuanced knowledge”, that slavery continues today under the guise of mass incarceration. This is an immediate must-watch if you haven’t already.

We Can’t Make the Same Mistake Twice (2016) Directed by Alanis Obomsawin

Obomsawin is known for her documentaries on the Canadian government’s neglect of First Nations communities. Her latest follows the complaint filed by activist groups led by Cindy Blackstock which claimed that the government was discriminating against First Nations communities via inadequate funding of services for Indigenous children.

This is by no means an extensive list. I encourage everyone to actively seek out films and stories about issues that interest you. There are PLENTY. As intersectional feminists, we must also be committed to educating ourselves and others about the problems that don’t directly affect us. People all over the world are trying to get out important messages through film. Keep in mind the value of supporting their cause either by sharing/promoting, contributing financially or even seeking a cast or crew role. And feel free to add to the list in the comments!

[gyrlversion]

How officers came knocking at the door of a devout Catholic

As a schoolgirl, Caroline Farrow relished discussing politics and current affairs around the kitchen table with her family. 

Her parents, both teachers, encouraged robust debate and Caroline and her elder sister were precociously well informed. 

‘Freedom of speech and expression was drummed into us from an early age,’ she says.

She was ten in 1984, a landmark year when George Orwell’s vision of a totalitarian future was revisited and reappraised. 

Catholic journalist Caroline Farrow, 44, was told by Surrey Police that she had to attend an interview under caution or face arrest after she used the wrong pronoun to describe a transgender woman

Her father explained the novel’s concepts of Big Brother, Newspeak and the Thought Police, and Caroline was fascinated. 

‘But I remember thinking at the time that none of it could ever come true,’ she says.

Now 44, and a trenchant Catholic journalist, priest’s wife and occasional TV commentator, Mrs Farrow was reminded of Orwellian themes last Monday when, in the middle of preparing dinner for her husband Robin and five children, a policewoman rang her at home with a startling demand.

Mrs Farrow was told she must attend an interview under caution or face arrest because she had used the wrong pronoun to describe a transgender woman.

Suddenly the dystopia described in Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four began to feel all too real. Scarcely able to absorb what she was hearing, she felt, in sharp succession, disbelief, fear and anger.

Anger because Mrs Farrow herself had been the victim of a cyber stalking campaign which, at its vile worst, made her fear for her family’s safety – but which, she says, police failed to take seriously.

‘It’s double standards. When the complaint involves the word transgender, police leap into action,’ she says. ‘Something has gone terribly wrong in this country.’

In the event, the four-month Surrey Police investigation into Mrs Farrow, which prompted much controversy last week when made public, was hastily dropped as it hurtled towards full-blown fiasco.

Following a TV debate with Susie Green, the head of trans rights charity Mermaids, Mrs Farrow later called Ms Green’s daughter Jackie (pictured) ‘him’ instead of ‘her’ on Twitter and said Mermaids promoted child abuse

Critics called the probe a waste of time and money at a time when officers are struggling with high levels of knife crime.

The roots of the sorry affair appear to lie in a TV debate. Mrs Farrow, known for her deeply held religious views, and Susie Green, the head of trans rights charity Mermaids, clashed on ITV’s Good Morning Britain about Girl Guides allowing children who have changed gender to join the organisation. 

Mrs Farrow later called Ms Green’s daughter Jackie ‘him’ instead of ‘her’ on Twitter and said Mermaids promoted child abuse.

Five weeks later, Ms Green complained to police.

One of Mrs Farrow’s tweets read: ‘What she did to her own son [the youngest person in the world to undergo transgender surgery] is illegal. 

She mutilated him by having him castrated and rendered sterile while still a child.’

Many might consider Mrs Farrow’s choice of words unpleasant but she is unapologetic. 

She says: ‘I deliberately used the words castration and mutilation to shock because what happens is shocking. I was trying to bring home the harsh reality of what she [Ms Green] did.’

Jackie Green, who was born male and was once known as Jack, began taking puberty-blockers at 12, and went to Thailand aged 16 for reassignment surgery, which is now illegal for under-18s.

Whatever one feels about the tweet’s tone, Mrs Farrow is convinced most right-minded people would agree it wasn’t criminal. 

As anger surfaced, Mrs Farrow was left facing a tirade of abuse on social media which made her fear for her family’s safety

‘Yes, it was strong language but I wanted to make people sit up. I wanted to get the country talking about this. So much is changing in our society. 

‘The notion of what it is to be a woman or a mother is being erased and rewritten by zealots. People are too scared to question what is going on. The tweets might possibly be spiteful but they were not intended to cause alarm or distress.’

Which is why Mrs Farrow was stunned to receive the phone call from the police officer on Monday as she juggled preparing a meal of gammon, roast potatoes and vegetables for her children – aged between four and 14 – with overseeing homework and music practice. 

The message left on her voicemail said: ‘Hello there, I’m calling from Guildford police station… I need to have a chat with you about some tweets that have been sent.’

Mrs Farrow says: ‘My husband said, ‘You know it’s bound to be the trans stuff, you have been talking about this a lot lately and you know the lobbyists are looking to get you.’ ‘

She spoke to the officer later that night. ‘I pointed out that ‘misgendering’ wasn’t a crime and that as a Catholic I believed that sex could not be changed. 

I explained that the country is in the middle of an ongoing national conversation about sex and gender, what it means to be male and female, and I was contributing to that in a professional capacity.’

The officer reiterated that the CPS had ‘authorised us to bring you in for a taped interview’. 

That night, managing only an hour’s sleep, Mrs Farrow tried to make sense of what was happening. Naturally she feared the worst. Who would look after the children if she went to jail? She would be destroyed. Her husband would lose his job.

The following morning, Mrs Farrow instructed a solicitor. She says: ‘My lawyer said it seemed politically motivated but thought the case would be thrown out. 

‘He warned that I was likely to face a tough interview. What was happening felt so unjust, especially as over the past few months I have endured an unimaginable campaign of harassment, targeting not only me, but my entire family.’

A very PC force’s links to trans charity 

Flying the flag: Inspector David Harland calls himself a ‘trans ally’

Susie Green’s powerful transgender lobby group has forged close links with a police force behind a series of hate crime investigations.

West Yorkshire Police launched probes into an award-winning TV writer, a mother of four and a transsexual man following complaints from Mermaids.

But The Mail on Sunday can reveal that the force received ‘training sessions’ from Mermaids, which supports medical intervention for transgender children.

West Yorkshire Police has promoted Mermaids’ work, tweeting one of its leaflets. 

Mermaids has also advised Merseyside Police, NHS staff, social workers, the Scouts and student nurses.

One West Yorkshire officer, Inspector David Harland, declared himself on social media to be a ‘trans ally’, adding that he was dedicated to ‘doing all I can for the trans community’.

In February last year, West Yorkshire sent officers to Wiltshire to investigate a mother of four following a complaint by Ms Green.

Echoing the Caroline Farrow case, Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull was questioned on suspicion of a malicious communications offence after Ms Green reported her for tweeting that Ms Green had illegally ‘castrated’ her ‘son’ by allowing him to have sex change surgery in Thailand at 16.

In April 2018, the force received another complaint, this time from Mermaid volunteer Helen Islan.

She claimed that transsexual Miranda Yardley, who has had gender reassignment surgery, had ‘outed’ Ms Islan’s transgender son by tweeting a picture of Ms Islan with her family, which included the child. West Yorkshire referred this incident to police in Essex, where Ms Yardley lives.

In a third case, West Yorkshire officers gave Graham Linehan, co-creator of the hit TV comedy Father Ted, a verbal harassment warning when transgender activist Stephanie Hayden reported him for referring to her as ‘he’ on Twitter.

A force spokeswoman said it was ‘committed to ensuring that anyone who feels targeted due to race, sexual orientation, religion, disability or gender identity is listened to’.

It should be noted that her stalkers were motivated not by her views on transgender issues but in part by the tragic case of Alfie Evans, the baby at the centre of a legal battle last year over turning off his life support. 

It was a morally fraught case that aroused fierce debate, and Mrs Farrow joined the global campaign to keep him alive.

Mrs Farrow often comments on social issues and her deeply held conservative religious views have made her many enemies on social media. 

Incensed by her intervention, opponents set up a blog solely for the purpose of attacking the journalist and her family.

On May 3 last year, five days after Alfie’s death, a Twitter account posted a link to her home address with the sinister message: ‘If anyone fancies having a chat with the illustrious Mrs Farrow…’ 

Even more distressing, someone posted a link to her children’s school.

Many of the abusive messages were sexually degrading, referencing her Catholic faith. 

At one stage, trolls warned that their ‘agents’ were on their way to her village. Some of the most upsetting attacks involved her children and comments made about their appearance. Mrs Farrow says there were even attempts at extortion.

‘I was ordered to delete all my social-media accounts and pay the LGBT lobby group Stonewall £1,000 if I wanted the blog to cease operation. 

‘They also got hold of our email addresses and set up accounts with pornographic websites in our name, and pictures. I had to cancel an order for £772 of sex toys.’

On January 8 – more than two months after Mrs Farrow made a formal complaint to police – one of the suspected trolls was questioned. But Mrs Farrow was later told no action would be taken.

‘I felt really let down. I have suffered so much with this, my mental health has deteriorated and I told the officer that this is the sort of thing that drives people to suicide. I was being hyperbolic, but then things turned nasty.

‘The policeman said he needed to report me to social services because I said I was suicidal. Social services called a few weeks later and after chatting to me said I was fine and they would not take it further. 

‘Yet Susie Green makes a spurious complaint and, bingo, the police are straight on to me.’

Surrey Police said Mrs Farrow’s claims of harassment were fully investigated but ‘we were unable to find evidence that meets the threshold for criminal proceedings’.

Last Tuesday, the Farrows’ 14-year-old daughter had a starring role in a school recital. Mrs Farrow says: ‘I knew I was going to have to tell her [about the police interview] but I waited until after her concert. 

‘She burst into tears at the idea that I could face jail, but regained composure when I said that it was highly unlikely.

‘I felt so guilty having to burden her with it and taint such a wonderful evening for her but I also knew that it wouldn’t be fair for her to find out from friends.’

The next day, Ms Green withdrew her complaint because she said she did not want to give Mrs Farrow a public ‘platform’. Instead of contacting police, she announced her decision on a television show.

Mrs Farrow believes police are only too willing to appease Ms Green and Mermaids, which she thinks is looking for a test case to codify misgendering into law. 

Hers is not the first transgender ‘hate crime’ police have pursued. So far none of them have ended with a successful prosecution.

‘Orwell’s novel was a cautionary tale and an example of why we always need to be thankful for and guard our freedoms,’ says Mrs Farrow. ‘I never once envisaged I would face jail for refusing to state that man cannot be woman.’

Surrey Police said: ‘We requested Caroline Farrow attend a voluntary interview to understand her intent in relation to the tweets. Details of this invitation were publicly shared and there has been criticism of our decision to investigate.

‘We have been in contact with both parties as we have a duty of care towards both, and there was concern for their welfare as a result of publicity. 

The victim will withdraw her allegation and has explained her reasoning. Without the support of the victim, it’s unlikely a criminal case could be brought.’

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