Do you ever do something, plan it really well and feel really, really good about it only to be slapped upside the head when something totally unexpected takes it somewhere you never, ever anticipated? Maybe it’s just me.
I have been wrangling with this in my head since this past Saturday where, at Canada’s largest social media conference for women, Blissdom Canada, UrbanMoms sponsored a screening of the thought provoking and controversial film MissRepresentation. Remember? I wrote about it here and had tons of interest from people which led to the idea to screen it at the conference. I was excited to share this film with like-minded women and to share my thoughts about what I believe we could take away from the film.
Here is what I was thinking:
Bloggers and participants in social media are producers of content. We are “The New Media” (we’ve heard that enough so it must be true). But, unlike traditional media, we “pilot the plane”. We decide what we write about and how. We decide how we portray ourselves as well as others.
And so, in the spirit of this, I wanted to have an inspiring and productive conversation about said “power”. And also about our responsibility. Not just in relation to the image of women or to the film – although this was a great starting point – but period. I was hoping to first acknowledge our power and then to celebrate it. Hooray for us! Our voices are being heard! And then to discuss what we can do collectively to rise above the negative images we see in traditional media. How can we inspire others to do the same? How can we make an impact? How can we make sure we don’t fall into the same traps where our hands are tied by advertisers? How can we stay empowered?
What I didn’t anticipate was this – not everyone came with the big picture in mind hoping to be inspired. Some came angry with a personal story raw and bubbling to the surface. And, naively, I was not prepared for this at all. I envisioned an excited conversation like the ones the feminists (oh yes I did) of yesteryear used to have (or at least I imagine they did). I saw us sitting around patting each other on the back celebrating our power and coming up with inspired ways to use it to affect change.
Yes, a few wrenches were thrown into my vision. But strangely what happened instead, I am hoping, was just as inspiring. The film and the conversation got me thinking. It got me thinking about privilege and context and life experience and expectations. It got me thinking (and missing) my amazing role model of a mother and appreciating the many, many women in my life who have patted me on the back, encouraged me and lifted me up. And it got me thinking about how lucky I am to have them.
Plus, it got others thinking. And talking. And taking action. It may not have happened in the way I had hoped for but in its own weird way it still did.