Friday reflection
Holy inspiration, Batman
There I was, scrolling through LinkedIn on Wednesday, when a post from Nicole Bates of Pivotal Ventures stopped me in my tracks. (Pivotal is a client of mine, but I had nothing to do with this post.)
She wrote,
"Last week I was fortunate to make a quick trip to support Ava DuVernay and her creative company, ARRAY, for the NYC premiere of ORIGIN – an adaptation of Isabelle Wilkerson’s Pulitzer Prize winning book, Caste: The Origins of our Discontents. The film is layered and cinematographically stunning. It prompts critical social dialogue about how we see and care for each other. ORIGIN will show in NYC or LA next week, and additional markets in January. Read more about the innovative model – which included philanthropy – that helped to bring this story to the screen.”
- Nicole Bates of Pivotal Ventures on LinkedIn
Bates’ post linked to an article about the making of ORIGIN from the Washington Post (screenshot below): Budgets for ‘prestige’ films dried up. So Ava DuVernay found a new way.In it, journalist Geoff Edgers explains that when DuVernay faced naysayers who didn’t think this cultural history of racism was good multiplex fodder, she refused to give up: “DuVernay believed her movie needed to be made. Now. Before the 2024 elections. And she wasn’t about to let money alter her vision. That meant finding a new way to finance the movie. And she did.”
Obviously, that one, lean, paragraph-length summary of DuVernay’s journey to get this film made does not convey the full story of the journey, nor does the rest of the article; what it does do is center the story of a woman with a vision who would not let anything get in the way of bringing that vision to life.
For me — and, I’m sure, for many if not all of you — hearing a story like that is a shot in the arm. And we don’t hear enough of them.
The Post article also makes it clear that often, doing things that haven’t been done before — like making am ambitious feature film about the cultural history of racism — requires doing things in a way they haven’t been done before — like turning to the philanthropic sector for support. We have to give ourselves permission to think expansively, outside of the confines of existing systems; it ain’t easy, and it won’t always work, but we have to try, because often, this is what it takes to make remarkable things happen.
Together, the funds DuVernay from foundations and other philanthropists make up the majority of the film’s $38 million budget. I, for one, cannot wait to see it, and talk about it, and watch the ripple effects of its impact.
Speaking of ripple effects: If Bates hadn’t shared her LinkedIn post, I wouldn’t have seen this article, and I wouldn’t be sharing it with all of you. As its story inspires you and catalyzes further ripple effects, please reflect on the power we unleash as women when we take the time to share our voices, ideas, and stories online, where they have the potential for exponential impact.
And please remember, always, that you — yes, you — are a mighty, mighty force.
Amanda
P.S. After I wrote this, my friend (I think we recently agreed on the term “sister ally”) Jeannine Harvey shared this Spice Girls reboot on LinkedIn, reimagined as a chance for girls and women to tell world leaders what they REALLY really want: Watch and be inspired .