Earlier today I was talking with a friend about Batman vs. Superman. He was telling me about a review he’d read stating that Gal Gadot only had about seven minutes of screen time and that just shows the male chauvinist nature of Hollywood.
I’m not saying there isn’t a problem… There’s a huge problem. It’s like Chris Rock said at the Academy Awards a few weeks ago.
"Think about! There’s no real reason for there to be a man and a woman category in acting. There’s no reason! It’s not track and field. You don’t have to separate them. "Robert De Niro never said, ‘I should slow this acting down so Meryl Streep can catch up.’ No. Not at all.”
That said, the character of Wonder Woman having seven minutes of screen time in a movie called, “Batman Vs. Superman” but getting her own movie, coming out next year, isn’t the best way to "put women in their proper place… " which is in equal footing with men mind you.
After I got back to work I listened to a Podcast with Patricia Riggen. She directed "The 33" about the Chilean miners and her new movie “Miracles From Heaven” just came out.
She talked about growing up in the male dominated Mexico, being told that directing isn’t what women do, went to Columbia University for her masters and has won more awards than I could keep count of.
All of this made me think of someone I’ve been wanting to write about for weeks.
I would give credit to this photo if I knew who took it.
Marcela Gomez, or SMG as I like to call her, is a strong, determined business person in Nashville who had little more than a serious dream, and came to the USA to make a way for herself and her young son.
(Sidenote: her son is now a filmmaker in NY.)
SMG makes me happy. Her zeal for taking hold of what she wants is inspiring. Now, note the difference between “take what she wants” and "take hold of what she wants.”
She is fearless as she goes after anything she sets her mind to. She doesn’t understand “you can’t do it” or “maybe you should think of another alternative.”
There is a tenacity to her that raises my intention to go after my dreams. Her strength is matched equally with her inquisitive mind. She isn’t afraid of asking questions. She is more concerned with learning. She’s more interested tackling the challenges.
Something else that was similar between my friend and this director was their confidence. There is certainty in SMG’s voice but in the midst of it is always a strongly held undercurrent of gratitude.
The thing that didn’t make me think of SMG was that this director came from Mexico and despite the narrow assumptions of some, that’s different from Colombia. This brings me to one more thing I love so much about my friend. She is PROUD to be Colombian. Her evenly placed love for the country of her birth and the country she now calls home makes a person hard pressed to not love our growing international communities in Nashville.
I love Marcela deeply. She is my friend. #thisiscrazylove2016