Anderson Center to host screening, discussion of ‘Who Does She Think She Is?’

The Idaho State University Janet C. Anderson Gender Resource Center invites the public to a film screening of “Who Does She Think She Is” at 1 p.m. Nov. 8, in the Pond Student Union Bengal Theater on the ISU campus.

The documentary by Academy-Award winning filmmaker Pamela Tanner Boll features five contemporary women artists between the ages of 27 and 65. While most people cannot name a handful of woman artists, the film highlights the fact that women can be successful in the arts and encourages women to undertake artistic pursuits and move towards equitable representation in the arts.

There is still a long way to go, according to the filmmaker. For example, of the more than 100 Tony Awards awarded since 1947 for theater direction, only 2 to 5 percent have been to women directors. A recent study by the Coalition of Women’s Arts Organizations showed that in all one-person shows for living artists in American museums, only 2 percent of the featured artists are women. Furthermore, women with children make 73 percent of what their male counterparts make, and while paid maternity leave has been proven to lower child mortality, improve children’s learning and reduce juvenile delinquency, the US has no such program.

Through these five women’s lives, the film explores some of the most problematic intersections of our time: mothering and creativity, partnering and independence, economics and art. There is no cost for admission, but donations to help cover the cost of the screening will be accepted.

The Anderson Center at Idaho State University serves as the focal point on campus for the consideration of gender issues.  In our efforts, we are especially guided by the ideal of diversity, which allows us to envision a future free of the limitations imposed by our culture's standard definitions of gender and other categories of difference.

If you would like more information about the screening or the Anderson Center, or to set up an interview with Anderson Center staff, please contact Dr. Rebecca Morrow at 282-2805 or gndrctr@isu.edu.