photo caption: poster from Culture Change Fund partner, Center for Cultural Power
When was the first time you saw yourself represented? The first time a character in a book, film, or TV show really resonated with you?
I remember the first time I felt seen: it was a powerful and moving experience. I felt a sense of belonging important, like that I had a place in the world, and for the first time saw the potential to be my whole self — and be a part of a loving community.
The truth is there are few opportunities to see ourselves reflected in the media. Which is why our Culture Change Fund partners are working to flip the script this year at Sundance!
In collaboration with the Center for Cultural Power, Latinx House, Macro Lodge and IllumiNative, Women’s Foundation California is supporting two panel discussions designed to co-create strategies with those most impacted by media invisibility and inauthenticity. The discussions include femme and gender expansive creatives, media artists, advocates, producers, and entertainment industry professionals of color.
Join us if you can! In-person events include:
- Panel: The Climate Stories We Need Now!
- Reception: Our Bodies our Earth, honoring 50th Roe v. Wade/Making the Climate Connection & the Work Ahead.
Authentic media representation has the power to have a positive effect on our views of ourselves and our sense of belonging; it can also impact others’ views of us and thus the decisions that affect our lives at every level of society and government, as well as at the polls. We believe that authentic media representation of people of color and/or people who are femme and gender expansive will not only lead to a greater sense of belonging but also a more just and equitable world. Sundance is our opportunity to catapult this work now — and we are seizing it!
If you are unable to join us at Sundance, contact me for a chance to talk about this exciting work!
See you at the film festival!
P.S. Support our culture change work with a donation today! Together, we can use culture change and storytelling as tools to create our feminist future.