I had a phone call this morning from a producer who wants to create a film about women who have survived abuse. The intention is to allow women to tell their stories and have them be heard. I liked her. She sounded like she would handle the documentary with respect. She told me that the focus that she and the director were trying to take was one of resilience and hope. OK.....that has my vote. So I said I would put it out as a blog post that women (sorry guys, lots of pain in your lives too but that is not the focus of this documentary) who have suffered abuse at the hands of another person or organization can contact "There's a Production" and chose to be interviewed for the documentary.
So what are the pros and cons to doing something like this? Well, coming out of the closet and naming your truth is, essentially, a hard conversation. And you have no control of whether the people listening will be respectful or judgmental when they hear what you have to say. I think the hardest way to come out of the closet is the way that the witnesses of the Jian Ghomeshi trial came out. They were speaking their truth publicly and being grilled by the defense lawyers as if they had committed a crime instead of having been on the receiving end of one. So here is my recommendation.... If you decide you want to be part of this documentary then do it from an internal place of "This is what happened and I am OK no matter what people think". It is what happened to you and NOT who you are. There is no shame in having been on the receiving end of abuse of power. What you have control of is speaking your truth. You don't have control of what people do with it. If people move into judgement then that is because they still judge themselves at this very vulnerable level and that is not about you. However, you free up a lot of internal energy when you stop having to edit, lie or pretend in order to protect yourself from the real or imagined judgments. And you might find that there is a new found pride and a more solid sense of self that comes from stating out loud "This is what happened to me and I survived. It's what happened to me.....it's....NOT... WHO I AM.
So what are the pros and cons to doing something like this? Well, coming out of the closet and naming your truth is, essentially, a hard conversation. And you have no control of whether the people listening will be respectful or judgmental when they hear what you have to say. I think the hardest way to come out of the closet is the way that the witnesses of the Jian Ghomeshi trial came out. They were speaking their truth publicly and being grilled by the defense lawyers as if they had committed a crime instead of having been on the receiving end of one. So here is my recommendation.... If you decide you want to be part of this documentary then do it from an internal place of "This is what happened and I am OK no matter what people think". It is what happened to you and NOT who you are. There is no shame in having been on the receiving end of abuse of power. What you have control of is speaking your truth. You don't have control of what people do with it. If people move into judgement then that is because they still judge themselves at this very vulnerable level and that is not about you. However, you free up a lot of internal energy when you stop having to edit, lie or pretend in order to protect yourself from the real or imagined judgments. And you might find that there is a new found pride and a more solid sense of self that comes from stating out loud "This is what happened to me and I survived. It's what happened to me.....it's....NOT... WHO I AM.
I've attached a TED talk given by Monica Lewinsky who was 'Patient Zero of losing a personal reputation on a global scale almost instantaneously." Her TED talk is her prideful statement of naming the abuse and how many lives, similar to hers, have been lost due to suicide as a result of cyberbullying.
https://youtu.be/H_8y0WLm78U
And a here's a youtube clip of Gloria Gaynor's song "I am who I am".
https://youtu.be/xcr62rSv9xY
If you are interested in being a part of this documentary then you can contact Kristen Henderson or Theresa Noon at:
905-745-6358
Or by email:
theresaproduction@outlook.com
kristen@lmjfilms.com
https://youtu.be/H_8y0WLm78U
And a here's a youtube clip of Gloria Gaynor's song "I am who I am".
https://youtu.be/xcr62rSv9xY
If you are interested in being a part of this documentary then you can contact Kristen Henderson or Theresa Noon at:
905-745-6358
Or by email:
theresaproduction@outlook.com
kristen@lmjfilms.com
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