Documentary Research: Catty Women

Documentary Research: Catty Women

To kick off my research, I first wanted to look at mere public opinion. This led me to finding a Yahoo Answers page entitled, "Why are women so catty?" The forum was filled with a variety of answers from men and women, but the overwhelming majority had to do with jealousy.

One respondent said, "Some women are so insecure that a woman with a better figure or who is younger or prettier or even just a nicer person will make them so mean and jealous, because they feel selfish and angry and that big green eyed monster jealousy!" She also added, "If they will talk to you about someone else, then they will probably talk about you too. 

A woman commenter also said, "I think for some reason we feel in competition with each other. Whether its for men, jobs, or on some kind of self image/body image issue we are quick to tear apart another woman to feel better about ourselves."

This idea of a "competition" gives an opportunity for creative presentation in our documentary. One inspiration of mine is the use of animal sound effects in Mean Girls (2004). The roar of a lion or the screech of a monkey effectively dramatized the tension between girls in the film. The sounds also gave the conflicts a primal feeling, which is exactly what our documentary is going for. We are trying to show how female catiness transcends generations, implying that women have been like this forever in their social circles.

One way that I've assisted in the production of the film is helping seek out talent and subjects. As a leader in a youth ministry called Young Life, I come into contact with a lot of high school students. There are currently 3 young girls I know at New Hanover that act, so they could possibly be our female actors playing high schoolers. I have sent one of our female leaders to ask them if they'd be interested, and if they are we will get their contact info to our producer, Rebecca.

I also know of a clique of girls at Ashley High School that constantly have drama between them. If we could land a couple of those girls for our expert interviews, then that would be great. I have sent another female leader to inquire with them.

Sources:

• askyahoo post: https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=1006040418543
• My friends and fellow Young Life Leaders: Karen Myers and Hannah Smedley 

Week 1 Class Blog

Walking into the classroom of my senior capstone class was an odd feeling. One one hand, there was a lot of excitement. "This is it," I was thinking, "my college career is coming to close." But at the same time, there was some uneasiness in my heart. I knew that the class would be a lot of work combined with a great deal of team coordination. Working on a team is not a foreign idea to me, but this semester I have more on my plate than ever before. On one hand, I am under the pressure to finish strong as a college student. On the other hand, I am just starting some other big things in my life. I am now the marketing director for Visions film festival, which is huge. I have also been promoted to team leader on my Young Life team at New Hanover, which is another big responsibility. Last, but definitely not least, I was recently hired as a Media Intern at Christ Community Church. These new responsibilities combined with finishing my old ones made me realize that I would not have the mental or creative capacity to direct my own film this semester. Thankfully, I was assigned with only being the sound guy! 

Don't get me wrong, this is no easy way out, but I am looking forward to contributing to an idea in any way that I can, while also letting the leaders lead, themselves. I am especially comfortable with this because the leaders on my crew are very strong; Mariah as director and Kebba as producer, respectively. I am very excited about Mariah's idea. I think it will be a playful and entertaining look at something that has been a foundation in western civilization for so long. That 'something' is how women so easily go behind their friends' backs.

I was intrigued by the other ideas in class, as well. Whether it be the space animation, the credit card film, or witches, our classes' films should very greatly in style, tone, and affect. This should be a fun and exciting semester.