Noon movies return to Women’s Resource Center

Escuela

The Sacramento State Women’s Resource Center will bring back its noon movie line up for the fall semester. The series begins on Thursday, Sept. 15, and wraps up on Wednesday, Dec. 7.

This fall’s movies feature a series of documentaries that highlight the different experiences and obstacles facing a variety of women. As part of the ongoing education mission of the Women’s Resource Center, a discussion about the character and conflict of the movie will follow each session. The movies are free and popcorn will be provided at each show.

The screenings begin at noon on Thursday, Sept. 15 with Escuela, a documentary depicting a 13-year-old migrant farm worker. The film highlights her struggles to succeed in her first year of high school while her family makes the journey from her home in Texas to the agricultural fields in California. The low high school retention rate of the approximately 800,000 migrant students in the United States is the underlying theme of the film.

The series continues on Wednesday, Oct. 12 with Freedom to Marry, a documentary about the events on Feb. 12, 2004 when Mayor Gavin Newsom permitted the marriage of gay and lesbian couples at San Francisco City Hall. The film is filled with insight and opinions about the controversial topic of homosexual marriage from those who were present that day, members of the gay and lesbian community, and others.

The third movie installment is Girl Wrestler on Tuesday, Nov. 15. The documentary follows 13-year-old junior-high wrestler Tara Neal in her final year of eligibility for the sport. Under Texas law, girls may not wrestle boys once in high school and because of the lack of other girl wrestlers, her opportunity to wrestle will decrease dramatically. The film focuses on contemporary views of gender roles and society’s outlook on masculinity, femininity and sports.

The conclusion of the series will be on Wednesday, Dec. 7 with Maggie Growls, the story of the founder of the senior advocacy organization the Gray Panthers. After enduring a forced retirement in 1970, Maggie Kuhn created the organization which lobbies for seniors’ rights and helped repeal several senior retirement laws. The film uses the Gray Panthers movement as a catalyst for asserting its political influence in an attempt to reverse the social scrutiny of aging.

For more information about the noon movies contact Jessica Heskin at heskin@csus.edu or visit www.csus.edu/wrc/events.