University of Delaware
Office of Public Relations
UpDate - Vol. 16, No. 21, Feb. 27, 1997

                     Women's film series Tuesdays
     Women's History/Women's Lives" is the theme of the 11th
annual Women's History Month Film Series, being sponsored by
UD on Tuesdays through March 25. The films can be seen at 7
p.m. in Room 100, Kirkbride Hall. Each film will be followed
by a discussion led by a UD faculty member, or someone with
a perspective related to the film.
     Scheduled March 4 is Dream Girls, the story of young
women who flock to the Takarazuka Music School to learn to
perform Western-style musicals while absorbing lessons in
Japanese-style femininity. This fascinating film is both a
slice of modern Japanese life and a meditation on how one
country constructs masculinity and femininity. Following the
film, Gerald Figal, history, will present comments.
     Leona's Sister Gerri is scheduled for March 11. In
1964, Gerri Santoro died in a motel room from an illegal
abortion. After her death, a graphic police photograph of
her body became an emotionally contested symbol in the
struggle over reproductive rights. The film, which presents
a moving portrait of Gerri Santoro's life and society's
response to her death, inspires reflection and discussion,
regardless of one's point of view. Kathleen Turkel, women's
studies, will speak after the film.
     Gods of Our Fathers, a film that examines when and how
patriarchal societies came into being, is scheduled for
March 18. In the film, philosopher Gwynne Dyer outlines his
theories, in the process traveling around the world and
across time. Alan Fox, philosophy, will present comments
after the film.
     The Women Outside is scheduled on March 25. Called bar
women, hostesses or sex workers, the women of this film are
"outside" U.S. military bases in South Korea and "outside"
the norms of Korean society. Struggling to earn decent
wages, they are often forced into prostitution. Through
portraits of several women "outside," this film raises
provocative questions about military policy, economic
survival and the role of women in global geopolitics.
Filmmakers J. T. Takagi and Hye Jung Park will speak after
the film.
     The series is sponsored by the Black American Studies
Program, the Faculty Senate Committee on Cultural Activities
and Public Events, the departments of History and Sociology,
the Office of Women's Affairs, the Visiting Minority
Scholars and the Visiting Women Scholars funds and the
Women's Studies Interdisciplinary Program.
     For information, call 831-8474 or 831-8063.