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MAKING WOMEN'S LIVES VISIBLE

E-mail: yahnk001{at}umn.edu

Maggie Kuhn is one of the great names in gerontology. The video Maggie Growls, reviewed below, examines her life's work using a variety of serious and sometimes comic documentary techniques. The video functions as biography, provides an historical perspective on her life's work and many accomplishments, and conveys a sense of this woman as a force for change in so many ways that are relevant to the history of gerontology and social advocacy. The second video reviewed below, Her Name is Zelda, introduces viewers to an 85-year-old woman who lacks the fame and name recognition of Maggie Kuhn—and yet in many respects is a kindred spirit. Zelda is her own woman and, like Maggie Kuhn, redefined herself in her old age. Although most of the video focuses on her role as a fixture in the social life of a part of the Manhattan art crowd, the last segment of the video shows that Zelda is not a one-dimensional character—and that she has a streak of social advocacy in her character that reminds us of Maggie Kuhn's work. The third video reviewed below is How Can We Love You? Behind the Scenes With the Play Handle With Care? Its inclusion in this column is a promised update of the review of Handle with Care?, which appeared in an earlier column, Lessons from Creativity: Music & Drama (Vol. 44, Issue 4). Both videos tell the story of an intriguing fusion of research and the arts. Dr. Ross Gray, a researcher at Toronto-Sunnybrook Regional Cancer Centre teamed with the artistic director from Act II Studio, Ryerson Polytechnic University, to create a drama about the pitfalls experienced by women with metastatic breast cancer. Laura Sky's expanded version of Handle With Care? combines scenes from the dramatic performances by the small cast of actors that toured Canada and the United States with scenes showing two of the cast members dealing with metastatic breast cancer. How Can We Love You? celebrates the bonds between members of the cast and documents the healthcare crises experienced by the two women and their families. The video reveals the many ways in which women affirm other women, and it is a testament to the strength and dedication expressed by the two women featured in the play.

A subtitle for the first two films reviewed below could be "iconoclastic women." Women like Maggie Kuhn and Zelda Kaplan attack the status quo, the established beliefs of the dominant members of society. They redefine old ways and lift up those who have been marginalized and rendered invisible. In some respects, the two women featured in How Can We Love You? also share some of the traits of iconoclastic women. They devote their energy to changing societal perceptions of women who have been diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. These two women want viewers to acknowledge the wholeness, individuality, and complexity of the lives of women who are survivors of metastatic breast cancer.

Footnotes

Audiovisual Editor: Robert E. Yahnke, PhD

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