Feminist Rap

You don't really hear enough about feminist rap, do you? But it's definitely there, a little under the radar. There are some incredible women in hip hop, kicking ass and taking names.

A few years ago I was always reading gushing reviews of Northern State. This video for Girls For All Seasons from 2004 does already seem surprisingly dated, but it's pretty rad, none the less.



Here in Seattle there are the amazing ladies of Canary Sing. They just released their first video a few months ago- check it out!




And then there is this great new web show that prompted me to write this post. Feminist Rapper, created by Jenny Hagel (and partially shot in the neighborhood I grew up in on Chicago's north side) is absolutely hilarious. We can't wait for the next episode!



For more feminist rap, check out NOW NYC's list of 220 feminist rap songs!

Reel Grrls Recommends: My So-Called Life

A long time ago, I was a teenager in a time period we historians like to call "The 1990's." It was a strange time, that era. One of the top singles of 1990 was Poison by Bel Biv Devoe, a song which included this wonderful piece of advice about women: "never trust a big butt and a smile." But within just a few years, the grunge explosion happened in Seattle, and 60 miles south in Olympia, the Riot Grrl movement was blossoming. By the middle of the decade "girl power" became relatively mainstream, and marketers started to notice that women and girls were surprisingly interested in cultural products that didn't patronize them. Weird, right?

In 1994, Winnie Holzman, a successful television screenwriter, created My So-Called Life. The show told the story of 15-year-old Angela Chase, played by Claire Danes (who, unlike most actors playing teens, was actually 15 when the show was made). Angela dealt with pretty normal teen stresses: growing apart from old friends, crushing on unattainable boys, feeling like your parents will never ever understand you. But the show was groundbreaking in so many ways- it had a female main character but was popular with both guys and girls, it was the first series to feature a gay teen as a main character, it treated the teen experience as real and important, the parents stories were just as vital as the kids, and it never sensationalized any of these experiences. Plus, the 90's fashion and music can't be beat. (Oh my god, there is. So. Much. Flannel. On this show!)

The show had an instant cult following among teens. I fondly remember my own obsession with My So-Called Life. I was in 7th grade, and I had to ensure I was home every Thursday night to see it, since this was long before you could catch up on TV with a DVR or the internet. I was still trying to figure out who I was, but I was pretty sure I wanted to be exactly like Angela Chase- or maybe even Rayanne Graf, her really cool, new best friend. Everything on the show seemed to be exactly mirroring my own experiences- it was the rare example of media that actually helped me understand my world better. A decade later, during my senior year of college, a boy named Peter bought the DVD box set, and for a few months, a group of about 20 people gathered late at night in an empty lecture hall to re-watch what had been a formative piece of our collective adolescence.

Despite My So-Called Life's popularity among it's target audience, it didn't last very long. It aired opposite four of the most watched sitcoms on TV and the ratings stunk. After only 19 episodes, it was canceled, and it ended in a cliffhanger! The teens of America shed a silent tear in protest. Four years later, Dawson's Creek went on the air and the explosion of teen dramas began, and it continues today. Maybe if Angela Chase had been a tan, muscular boy on a fledgling network that never expected very high ratings in the first place, My So-Called Life could have stayed on tv a couple more years.

If you've never seen My So-Called Life, I cannot recommend it to you enough. Or, if you enjoyed it as a teen, I emphatically propose re-watching it- it's even better than you remember. Lucky for you, it's all available for free on Hulu!

Wednesday links round up

Free Press invites you to contact your representatives in Washington to stop the Comcast-NBC merger.

Girl Power is a new book about 90's revolution of women in music. We really enjoyed this review by 13-year-old Tavi, fashion superstar behind the Style Rookie.

PBS is sponsoring a contest for youth 13 and up to create a video diary about their lives. The best entries will be selected to air on April 11th alongside Masterpiece's presentation of the Diary of Anne Frank.

Shortie Fest is coming! The film festival for students ages 7-18 is accepting entries now through April 9.

Bad news: the opportunities for women directors in Hollywood has actually gone down since 2008. So, despite our excitement over Kathryn Bigelow's best director nod, Women & Hollywood says 2009 was no year of the woman in Hollywood.

Sociological Images did an excellent (and hilarious) round up of stereotypes of masculinity.

Join us for the 2010 Reel Grrls Oscar Party!

Have you heard the amazing news?

This fantastic woman filmmaker has been nominated for an Oscar for Best Director!


Yep, Kathryn Bigelow, director of The Hurt Locker, is the fourth woman ever nominated for Best Director in the 81 year history of the Oscars. No woman has ever won this award. Getting more women in film and changing this has always been a huge part of the Reel Grrls mission.

Kathryn's been raking in the awards around the world- she already won Best Director at the BAFTAs and from the Directors Guild of America. As for the Oscars... Right now we can only cross our fingers and hope with all our might that Kathryn is going to win. But do you know where the best place in Seattle to be when she wins is going to be?

Why, at the Reel Grrls 2nd Annual Oscar Party, of course! You know us reel grrls are going to go bananas when Kathryn walks away with that big, bald statuette.

We've got an amazing night planned- a red carpet, gourmet food, fancy outfits, great short films from our grrls, and awards for Seattle women in film. You'd have to try really hard to not have a good time at this thing.

Click here to buy your tickets now!

Oh hai! We haz blog?

We haz blog!

Oh, it's been too long. This poor, neglected Reel Grrls blog has been languishing in the forgotten corners of the internet for nearly a year. But, rejoice, readers! We are back and we are going big.

If you've been following us on twitter, you know we have plenty to say. We have so many links and videos and thoughts to share with you! We will be blogging on a regular basis now, about all the things Reel Grrls cares about. Which is a lot of things, but that's part of being a well-rounded person, right? No one would want to read this blog if all we wrote about was chocolate chip cookie recipes!

Ok, I take that back, I would totally read a blog all about chocolate chip cookies recipes.

But here's what you can expect from us. Videos made by Reel Grrls! Articles about women filmmakers! Information on awesome stuff happening in Seattle! Media justice links! Critical responses to pop culture! Youth empowerment! And maybe even a chocolate chip cookie recipe or two!

So, won't you be our neighbor? Link to us, send us an email, tell us what you're up to. We're pretty excited to get started!

Don't Miss the Variety Pack Show this Saturday!

And just so we are super, super clear:

Reel Grrls is also hosting a FREE public Spring Showcase Screening at the JBL Theater at the EMP/SFM at 5:00 on the same day. So here is your plan for Saturday:

12:00 noon - Wake up. (What? It's Saturday!)
4:30 - Get yourself to the JBL Theater. Hang out with Reel Grrls.
5:00 - Watch amazing Reel Grrls films on the big screen, for FREE! Stay for the Q&A and learn about what it's like to be a Reel Grrl.
6:30 - Take a break, stretch, walk around.
7:00 - Walk over to The Vera Project and enjoy the show!

Questions?
maile@reelgrrls.org
lane@reelgrrls.org

Media Justice Website by & for youth!

**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**

Date: April 8, 2009
Contact: Lila Kitaeff
Email: lila (at) reelgrrls.org
Phone: (206) 393-2085

YOUTH FILMMAKER LAUNCHES MEDIA JUSTICE WEBSITE

“We are the next generation of media makers. We are already a generation of media consumers. We need to step up and take control of our media if we want it to accurately reflect our world. The first step towards taking this stance is learning how our current media system operates.”
-Sami Muilenburg, GenerationOfConsolidation.org

SEATTLE, WA — Reel Grrls is proud to announce the launch of GenerationOfConsolidation.org, a website created by youth and for youth, aimed at disseminating information about, and beginning discussions around issues of media justice.

Reel Grrls filmmaker and first time web designer Sami Muilenburg, with support from graphic designer and mentor Jessica Speigel, created the website, which centers on the award-winning 2008 Reel Grrls film A Generation of Consolidation.

www.GenerationOfConsolidation.org launches worldwide this week, and features:
• Flash-embedded full-length film and radio versions
• Youth-created content about Media Representation, Media Consolidation, the FCC, Net Neutrality and Broadband Stimulus
• A relatable writing style, emphasizing how media affects youth each day, and what next steps young people can take to make a difference about these issues
• Links to Youth Media and Media Justice Organizations
• An interactive Discussion Board


ABOUT THE FILM: A Generation of Consolidation, created by teen filmmakers Sami Muilenburg and Brooke Noel, explores the impact of media consolidation on news content and its effects on youth, both as viewers and media makers. The film highlights the 2008 Seattle FCC hearing on Media Ownership, and features Jonathan Lawson and Susan Gleason of Reclaim the Media, Author Anne Elizabeth Moore, UW Professor Lance Bennett, and the perspectives of numerous young people. Generation has screened at multiple film festivals, including:
• ListenUp! VIP Awards: Winner, Best Documentary
• San Francisco International Film Festival: Youth For Change Award Nominee
• Seoul Youth International Film Festival: Screening by special request
• The Social Justice Film Festival

ABOUT REEL GRRLS: Seattle-based Reel Grrls is the first all girl, year round media program in the country, empowering teen girls from diverse communities to realize their power, talent and influence through media production. www.reelgrrls.org

###

A Blog Within a Blog

Scarecrow Video just name-checked our Oscar Party (coming up this Sunday, Feb 22, 4:00 PM at Central Cinema - get your tickets now!) on their BLOG! Definitely check it out - madamecrow has some great suggestions for your Oscar viewing pleasure.

We'll be handing out ballots at the Oscar Party this Sunday, but if you want to get a head start on filling it out or doing your research, check out the full list of Oscar nominees HERE.

And start picking out your outfit for the big night!

Reel Grrls Presenting at WAM!2009!

Exciting news! RG Media Maker Extraordinaire Sami Muilenburg, and RG Program Manager Maile Martinez are going to be panelists at this year's Women, Action, and Media Conference in Boston. From March 27 - 29, 2009, Sami and Maile will gather with women media makers and activists from around the world to discuss the theme "Inside/Outside." Here's a bit about the theme:

We all belong inside some communities or networks and are new to or feel excluded or alienated from others. The tension that exists between insiders and outsiders to any given movement, identity, industry or ideology can be destructive, but it can also be harnessed toward mutually beneficial change. At WAM!2009, we’ll explore both sides of this inescapable dynamic in our relationships, organizations, societies and movements.

Sami is especially well poised to explore this theme, since her hugely successful short documentary, "A Generation of Consolidation" explores issues of media ownership and access - and tells the story of young people trying to gain access to the inner workings of "insider" media decision makers like the FCC. Sami co-produced "A Generation of Consolidation" along with Brooke Noel as part of the 2008 Reel Grrls Thesis program.

Three days of talking about increasing the access, impact, and voice of youth and women in the media world - what could be better?!

Early registration for WAM!2009 ends on February 13, so if you would like to join us, register now! Hope to see you there!

Reel Grrls is on Flickr!

Hi all,

If you have a profile on flickr, please come and be our friend there. We're adding new and exciting photos all the time, so it's a great way to keep up with Reel Grrls:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/reelgrrls

Also, we would simply love it if you would join our Flickr group, where you can add Reel Grrls (or Reel Grrls-inspired) photos to our pool (please please PLEASE!!), join a discussion about RG, or just stop by to look around and say hi:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/reelgrrls/

With love,
RG