September Williams supports Curd Williams-Hertz/Unique Realms' short film "Splash Mountain-Insensitive Fun"

August 02, 2020 in Film, Social Commentary, Animation, New Media, Amusement Parks, Art for Change

SPLASH MOUNTAIN: INSENSITIVE FUN, Read and see this short film on the Curd Williams-Hertz blog, Unique Realms. As it happens, the entry includes a reference to a photograph of which I own a copy, and just finished hanging in the bathroom of my new apartment. It would seem an odd choice to those who don’t know me well, as other artwork in the room is a Miro poster supporting Human Rights, a copy of a child’s drawing where stick figures overthrow a military tank to end War. Though I do believe that access to clean water for bathing is a human right, this was a light-hearted way of making the point in my bathroom. However — the blog entry on Unique Realms, “Splash Mountain: Insensitive Fun” takes the Human Rights, including the eradication of racism dialog to the next step.. it shows honestly how lights go on in people’s heads that facilitate change that is often for the better. And when Disney reopens with the new Splash Mountain, and maybe you’ll see Curd there commenting on changes for a more just society.

September Williams Author: New Film Review on Bioethics.net ASK DR RUTH →

September 09, 2019 in Baby Boomers, Bioethics, Death and Desperation, Destiny, Feminism, Grief, Sex and Love

See my film review of ASK DR.RUTH by Director RYAN WHITE. The full article was first printed on Bioethics.net https://www.bioethics.net/2019/09/a-film-review-ask-dr-ruth-bioethics-acts-of-love/ Thanks to Larsen Associates for access to the screening and photos curtesy of Hulu Originals.

Copy of September Williams'Bioethics Screen Reflections : A PRIVATE WAR Bioethics meets the Guardians of Truth

January 08, 2019 in Bioethics, Book to Film, Death and Desperation, Feminism, Grief, Human Rights, Peace, Resistance, Social Justice, Waking up in Syria

As we move into the Oscar Season — I am reviewing films from the fall. A PRIVATE WAR is a film that likely will not win an Oscar, despite an Oscar winning director, and an Oscar nominated actor who gives an Oscar worthy performance. This ought to be the period where male and female actors are held as equal not separate and compete against one another for awards — this past year gave so many stellar leading roles for women that the dramatic bar iis set somewhere in the moons orbit. There are women directors, and directors of color unlike any other — kind of reminds me of the midterm elections in terms of land-slide. I’ll be giving you a look several other films if you want to get a head start: The Hate You Give, If Beale Street Could Talk, The Kindergarten Teacher, Destroyer, Roma, Widows,

So — A Private War— Things are not wrapped up in a tidy fictional bow in the end. I really should have used one of the gorgeous shots of Rosamund Pike in the protagonist role — but that would be misleading. You may want to understand the history in more detail — given the story turns on a region of the world where the USA has troupes on the ground in several countries — at least for the moment. You will be mad as hell and guilty too. So I have posted a two part series on Bioethics Screen Reflections http://www.bioethicsscreenreflections.com — with some references.

It is a hard story to tell, about a woman with a compulsion to change just one thing — the capacity for anyone to say “But I didn’t know that atrocity was going on.” If you vote, anywhere in the world — if you believe science and technology should be used for beneficent purposes and war doesn’t meet that bill, and if you, I dare say —believe in love— this is a film you need to see.

In the spirit of full disclosure — many readers of my novel Chasing Mercury know that one of the protagonist, Forest, is a whistleblowing journalist. They are not easy types to live with— or without.