Tree of Life

Tree of Life

Friday, March 11, 2016

Rain Without Thunder: A Review

I'm hard pressed to pick a favorite a film, as I think "favorites" in general depend on your mood. So sometimes my favorite film is The Princess Bride, if I feel like laughing and indulging in nostalgia for my teen years.Sometimes it's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon when I'm in the mood for sweeping sagas, beautiful cinematography, and powerful storytelling and choreography. Sometimes it's any Marvel film when I want to really be entertained.

But there is a film that made such a deep impression on me that I still think of it regularly even though I only saw the film once, twenty years ago. The film, Rain Without Thunder, is an independent film made in 1991. It is a faux documentary, but not in the vein of Christopher Guest - broad comedy. The film is set in the 2050s and the premise is that a journalist is making a film to document the chipping away of reproductive rights in America. Abortion is de facto illegal, not because of a reversal of Roe v. Wade, but because a long series of state laws that restricted access to the point that no one can get an abortion. Miscarriages are investigated as potential crimes; women can randomly be selected for pregnancy tests; and many poor women are serving time in jail for not being pregnant. But a new fetal kidnapping law is now in effect and white woman and her 20-year old daughter have been found guilty of kidnapping the daughter's fetus and going to Canada for an abortion.

The journalist interview the mother and daughter, law makers, historians, poor people suffering under the restrictive laws, and people who are against reproductive freedom. The film is chilling in its reality and somber tone. And it is frightening in our prescient the film makers were. The characters talk about laws that were being passed in the early 90s in the past-tense; the speculative nature of what those laws could lead to was terrifying in a  way no horror movie ever could be. And twenty years later, it seems as if the film makers has a crystal ball to see into our present as the attacks and restrictions on women's health continue to be waged across the country.

No matter your opinions on abortion, this film is worth seeing. It explores with nuance the ways in which people with power make decisions and laws that have far-reaching, negative consequences in the daily lives of citizens. It is a cautionary tale for anyone who is invested in the rights and full equality of women. And even through its title it urges anyone who cares to take action. "Rain without thunder" is a quote from a Frederick Douglas speech insisting that if we want change and we want to make the world better, we must work for it. The film shows us a future where asking for rain without thunder may lead us.

Thursday, February 25, 2016

Unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections tend to be higher in the US than in other developed countries, in underage and adult populations. While images of sex are ubiquitous in our media, accurate, clear, non-judgmental information about our bodies, is in short supply in this country. Comprehensive, age-appropriate sexual education should be a mandatory for all schools in order to equip girls and boys to successfully navigate relationships and make informed, consensual decisions as they enter adulthood.

Should comprehensive sexual education be part of public school curriculum?

Yes
Yes, but with parental approval
No

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