Lights, Camera, Activism: Using a Film Series to Generate Feminist Dialogue About Campus Sexual Violence

• Author: Dana A. Weiser,Elizabeth A. Sharp,C. Rebecca Oldham,John B. K. Purcell
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12228
• Published date: 01 February 2017
• Date: 01 February 2017

J B. K. P, C. R O, D A. W,  E A. S

Texas Tech University

Lights, Camera, Activism: Using a Film Series to

Generate Feminist Dialogue About Campus Sexual

Violence

We examine the use of an interdisciplinary lm

series, “2015 Sexism | Cinema: 50 Years on the

Silver Screen,” as a space for discussion where

attendees can discover allies, express critical

thought, and advance their thinking. A lm series

is a useful response to the widespread problem

of campus sexual assault in three critical ways:

(a) a theater provides an informal, recreational

space for discussion of feminist thought; (b)

the content of the lms highlights the insidious

nature of sexual violence and gender inequal-

ity in our culture; and (c) there exists a degree

of separation that subverts defensiveness while

inspiring a critical dialogue. Wediscuss the util-

ity of a lm series as an accessible approach to

the cultural antecedents of sexual violence on

college campuses. We offer our own experiences

of the lm series and recommend lm as a femi-

nist pedagogical tool to address sexual violence.

A recent trend in higher education has been for

universities to attract and retain students with

lifestyle and entertainment offerings (Armstrong

& Hamilton, 2013). As part of this trend, most

universities screen blockbuster lms on campus

Department of Human Development & Family Studies,

Texas Tech University, Mailstop 41230, Lubbock, TX

79409-1230 (jbk.purcell@ttu.edu).

Key Words: Feminism, gender issues, sexuality & related

issues, social change, television and media.

for students at a free or reduced cost. These

entertainment efforts, including the popular lm

screenings on college campuses, frequently do

not have any educational component. Students

are not encouraged to critically analyze sym-

bolic and structural representations of sex, gen-

der, race, and sexuality in the lms they con-

sume. This is a missed opportunity given that

there are growing reports of sexist, racist, and

heterosexist attitudes and actions among col-

lege students. Indeed, universities continue to

make headlines for their students’ (most often

groups of upper-class, White, male students)

sexist and racist antics. To offera few examples:

In March 2015, a video of a mostly White fra-

ternity emerged in which members sang about

lynching and used racial slurs at a large state

university (Svriuga, 2015). In August 2015, a

fraternity posted signs reading “Freshman [sic]

daughter drop off” at a different large state uni-

versity (Samuels, 2015). Our own university,

Texas Tech, was featured in national and inter-

national news when a fraternity showcased the

slogan “No means yes, yes means anal” at its

party (Kingkade, 2014; Van Brunt, Murphy, &

O’Toole, 2015). These incidents, coupled with

the pervasiveness of sexualharassment, discrim-

ination, and sexual assault at U.S. colleges and

universities (Cantor et al., 2015), call attention

to the need for critical feminist discourse within

higher education. Given that lm is embedded

in a cultural system that simultaneously reects

and shapes reality (Wright, Mindel, Tran, &

Family Relations 66 (February 2017): 139–153 139

DOI:10.1111/fare.12228