"The revolution is not an apple that falls when it is ripe. You have to make it fall." -Che GuevaraIf you don't already know, this fall I'll be starting my freshman year of college as a film major. I first got into film around the end of sophomore year. It started out when I would imagine music videos while I listened to music in the car. I wondered how a person would possibly get into making music videos and my mother told me to look up treatment. I looked it up and it looked cool to me! "I love music, I love photography, I could totally do this," I told myself. I don't know when or how exactly it happened, but eventually I got interested in films as well and I decided that I wanted to be a film director. No matter what career interests I had, I've always been a big dreamer. When I was into marketing? I was going to be the Creative Director of Free People and there was no doubt in my mind. Now, there's no telling me that I won't be giving an acceptance speech at the Academy Awards.
One of my favorite musicals is Legally Blonde. I wanna talk about the song "Chip On My Shoulder". If you aren't familiar with it, don't worry. Here's a bit of the lyrics, sang by Emmett who has just found out that Elle (rich, blonde main character from Malibu) came to Harvard Law School to follow her true love and win him back. After questioning her reason, she asks him why he came. This is his response:
Okay, I grew up in the Roxbury slumsWith my mom and a series of bumsGuys who showed me all the ways a man can fail
I got through law school by busting my assWorked two jobs, in addition to class
The song continues to talk about how Emmett's "chip on his shoulder" has acted as his motivation. The first 100 times listening to the song (have I mentioned how much I love this musical), I didn't really pay attention to the meaning, but the last time I watched it, I really got it. I don't have a real chip on my shoulder like Emmett, but I do have a goal for my film career. How does this sound? First African-American female to win an Academy Award for best director.So, forgive me for not weeping at your tale
The best film directors in history are all white males. To this day, an African-American, male or female, has not an Academy Award for best director. 1991. John Singleton. Boyz n the Hood. (First ever.) 2009. Lee Daniels. Precious. (First to be nominated for Best Picture.) 2013. Steve McQueen. 12 Years a Slave. (First British. First to win Best Picture.) Three... Three. Now, for the women. 1976. Lina Wertmüller. Seven Beauties. 1993. Jane Campion. The Piano. 2003. Sofia Coppola. Lost in Translation. 2009. Kathryn Bigelow. The Hurt Locker. Bigelow was the first female to win an Oscar for best director. Four women. The ratio of boys and girls graduating from film school is 50/50, so why is this the case? I'm going to start a revolution because, to put it simply, this is absolutely ridiculous. When my time is up, I don't want African-American directors to still be struggling to get noticed. I don't want women scrabbling about trying to get recognized. I'm not doing this for the title. I'm doing this to be a stepping stone. I'm doing this for everyone who, as Emmett put it, busting their asses to get their art and messages across. The film industry is hard enough to get into. It's 2014 and this shouldn't still be an issue. I absolutely love the quote for today's post, so I'm gonna put it again.
"The revolution is not an apple that falls when it is ripe. You have to make it fall." -Che GuevaraDream big! Go higher! Start a damn revolution!
-mad
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