What about women in film?
As an area film teacher and filmmaker, I was thrilled to see your “Film or Die” Dec. 17, 2015. Tobin, Skolnick, Baldassaro, Levigne and Hott have wonderful stories, and I’m happy to know that other filmmakers are enjoying the Valley. However, I was thrown off that the article claims to cover four filmmakers, when in fact, it includes five. The one woman in the group, KT Baldassaro, was merely mentioned briefly during a profile of her collaborator, Jared Skolnick.
I applaud the article for drawing attention to the industry’s gender inequality. (In case you missed it, just 7 percent of the 250 top-grossing films of 2014 were directed by women). However, it is disappointing that the Advocate staff didn’t choose to defy these statistics by spending more of their word-count on local women in film.
Yes, “the Pioneer Valley is hardly Los Angeles, New York, or Boston,” but I agree with Tobin: We have all the elements to make a great film industry. As we build Valleywood one film at a time, let’s work to do something other film hubs haven’t: Close the gender gap. The local media can help this movement by featuring and celebrating women filmmakers, rather than making them asides in their articles.
Depends on what your definition of nation is
Editor’s note: There are many legal and technical definitions of what constitutes a nation. However, the word “nation” describes a large area that is controlled by its own government. Puerto Rico is a self-governing commonwealth, a territory of the U.S.
In Kristin Palpini’s article “Puerto Rico isn’t GoodFellas” (Dec. 10, 2015), you refer to Puerto Rico as a “country” or an “island nation” no less than 10 times. I am sorry to inform you that Puerto Rico is neither. Puerto Rico is a U.S. Territory (think Guam, which is also not a country or island nation).
There are eight criteria for an independent country or nation:
1.) Has internationally recognized boundaries (yes in P.R.’s case)
2.) People who live there on a permanent basis (yes for P.R.)
3.) Regulates foreign and domestic trade and issues currency (no for P.R.). U.S. regulates trade and issues U.S. dollars for P.R.)
4.) Ability to establish an education system for its people (yes, but under U.S. law)
5.) Ability to provide for a national defense (no for P.R., provided by U.S. military).
6.) Ability to transport its goods and people (yes for P.R., but under U.S. law).
7.) Has sovereignty, the right to self-determination. (no for P.R.).
8.) Has external recognition by other countries as independent (no for P.R.).
On three separate occasions Puerto Rico had a referendum for independence (1967, 1993, 1998) and all three times the people of Puerto Rico voted to retain commonwealth status. Given a Republican controlled House and Senate any bids for Puerto Rican statehood will fall short. Palpini also fails to mention current attempts in Congress to change the bankruptcy laws so that Puerto Rico can file Chapter 9 Bankruptcy and restructure its debts (think Detroit). But don’t let the facts get in the way of your MassMutual hit piece.
Typical Donald Trump supporter?
Editor’s note: This comment was left under the article “N-Bombs Away! Holyoke man blames alcohol for racist text to client” online at valleyadvocate.com.
Trump brings out the enabler in people, a variation of the Stockholm Syndrome … where you cannot get up the nerve to completely deflate the bloated bully in the playground, you keep hoping he’ll mellow out, but he doesn’t, you keep lowering yourself — hoping that he appreciates your effort, but he doesn’t. When he shows a little charm and the tiniest effort, you fawn over him, praise his effort. Praise it too much, meanwhile ignoring the really decent people who have never bragged or bullied, who have been constant and steady. It’s infantile daddy worship, for the daddy that was never really there for you. It’s born of anger and shame, that your daddy abandoned you as a child, emotionally or otherwise.
