During the month of March, Shenandoah University will host “Motivate & Make a Difference,” a Women’s History Month film series. Sponsored by the women’s studies and film studies programs, as well as the university’s Division of Student Life (Intercultural Programs), “Motivate & Make a Difference” will utilize a lineup of diverse films to draw attention to the embedded themes of the past, present and future.
All film screenings are free and open to the public and begin at 7 p.m. in Halpin-Harrison Hall, Stimpson Auditorium, on the campus of Shenandoah University. Each movie is followed by a 20-minute panel discussion.
“We are so pleased to show our audience a diverse range of films,” said Women’s Studies Program Director and Associate Professor of Foreign Languages Petra Schweitzer, Ph.D. “The series offers a platform to remember the women’s liberation movement central to early feminist theory. Through the diversity of films, we learn how we are gendered in cinema and how cinematic techniques inspire our students to actively engage in recent questions of race, gender and inequality.”
“I am delighted to help spearhead this month-long event and bring gender-centered films to students and the Winchester community,” said Film Studies Program Director, Lin Rong San Chair in Communication, Professor of Mass Communication Gina Daddario, Ph.D. “This series relies on cinematic storytelling to share events, both real and fictionalized, about women’s lives and women’s history.”
The film series will also spotlight the proposed renaming of the “women’s studies” minor to “gender & women’s studies” as well as the university’s film studies minor, which will launch in fall 2016.
Full Schedule:
- Tuesday, March 1 – “She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry,” a 2014 documentary about the early years of the women’s liberation movement. This movie is followed by a 20-minute discussion with Shenandoah students about how they relate to feminism today.
- Tuesday, March 15 – “The Secret Life of Bees,” a 2008 film set in South Carolina in 1964. It is the tale of Lily Owens, a 14-year-old girl who is haunted by the memory of her late mother. This movie is followed by a 20-minute panel discussion about women of color in film.
- Tuesday, March 22 – “He Named Me Malala,” a 2015 film about Pakistani teenager Malala Yousafzai, who emerged as a leading advocate for children’s rights after the Taliban tried to kill her for speaking out on behalf of girls’ education. This movie is followed by a 20-minute panel discussion about children’s rights.
- Tuesday, March 29 – “The Danish Girl,” a 2015 film loosely inspired by the lives of Danish artists Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener, whose marriage and work evolve as they navigate Lili’s groundbreaking journey as a transgender pioneer. This movie is followed by a 20-minute panel discussion about gender transition.
For more information, contact Dr. Schweitzer at pschweit@su.edu or 540/545-7380.
