Women to the Rescue

Caroline Earle White is probably a name most people have never heard. However, in the animal rights movement, she is a rock star. Caroline was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 28, 1833. It should come as no surprise that White became a strong voice for animal rights, given that her well-known Quaker Parents were abolitionists and suffragists.

When White was a young girl, she couldn’t stand to see animals mistreated. She would walk out of her way into town to avoid seeing the famers and travelers mistreating their overworked and exhausted horses and mules.

White’s love for animals grew into an ambition to start a chapter of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals in Philadelphia. She organized a petition, collected signatures and gained financial backing, but she was not allowed to serve in any leadership role because she was a woman. So, in 1869, she, Mary Francis Lovell, and a group of 28 other influential women began their own branch of the SPCA called the WPSPCA, or Women’s Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

One of her first notable accomplishments was the installation of water fountains where thirsty, traveling horses could rest and rehydrate during their workday. The fountains were carved with the words, “Drink, Gentle Friend.” She further advocated for working animals by pressing for legislation that would make it mandatory for livestock in transit by railway to receive rest, food and water every 28 hours. Under The 28 Hour Law, any railway that did not follow the law would be subject to fines.White also spearheaded boycotts on carriage companies that were known for being cruel to their horses and assisted in passing legislation that prevented the sale of disabled working horses.

Through the WPSPCA, the first animal shelter in America was built for homeless dogs and cats in Bensalem, PA. The group offered public education programs, free veterinary care, and employed cruelty officers charged with investigating and preventing animal abuse. The WPSPCA also protested the inhumane practices of dog fighting, rooster fighting, fox hunts and pigeon shoots. Still operating today, the Women’s Humane Society has housed and provided medical treatment for domestic animals for nearly 150 years.

Continuing her mission to end cruelty to all animals, White and the WPSPCA advocated on behalf of animals used in experiments and testing. According to aavs.org, in 1883, another dream of White’s came to fruition. She founded the American Anti-Vivisection Society. As the first non-profit animal organization in the US, the AAVS brought to light the suffering that animals endured in the name of research. Though the AAVS could not put a stop to using animals for research, they advocated for better living conditions and more humane treatment of the subjects.

In her time, Caroline Earle White was also the driving force behind humane education programming in schools, known as “Bands of Mercy.” Her passion and tenacity began a movement, largely run by women to this day, that has saved and improved the lives of millions of animals, while instilling compassion and respect for our animal friends in young people across the country.

Kristen Zellner owns Abrams & Weakley General Store for Animals, est. 1986, Central PA’s first health food store for pets. She helps customers keep their pets healthy through better nutrition.

Why Are Only 22% of Hollywood Films Directed by Women?

Since March is Women’s History Month, we should probably discuss women in cinema. In the past, I have talked about the plight of women directors in Hollywood. It is better than it used to be, but still just 22% of all films made in Hollywood are directed by women. Pretty low for the gender that comprises 51% of America. But we are not here to look at the negatives. We are here to take a look at some of the great female directors.

No discussion about women in cinema can be complete without starting off with Alice Guy-Blaché. Guy-Blaché was a pioneer in cinema. It is still debated if she or the Lumiere Brothers came first. The brothers, of course, get the credit. Guy-Blaché was the first person to use a narrative form to make movies, instead of just the parlor tricks deployed by most directors back in the earliest days of cinema. GuyBlaché was also the first woman to head a movie studio, long before the powers of the Hollywood studio system came to power. Sadly, this innovative cinematic pioneer has been lost in the annals of history – at least when compared to her male compatriots of the day.

Cut to the heyday of the studio system, and it becomes a man’s world indeed. Stars were owned by the studios and had to do what they said – the women, as always, had it doubly worse than the men. The biggest female name in directing back then was Ida Lupino – and even she is mostly known as a troublemaking actress. In the 1950’s and 60’s, Agnès Varda came to prominence as one of the main cogs in The Left Bank filmmakers of Paris, a cinematic group most associated with the French New Wave. But that is France and not Hollywood.

Other than Nora Ephron and Elaine May, there are no female directors to speak of until the 1980’s. The eighties gave us “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” directed by Amy Heckerling, “The Decline of Western

Civilization,” directed by Penelope Spheeris, who also would go on to direct “Wayne’s World,” and “Big,” directed by Penny Marshall. Marshall would go on to become one of the most successful women directors of all time. Today there are more women directors than ever (though still just 22%). Julie Dash, Nancy Meyers, Patty Jenkins, Ava DuVernay, Julie Taymor, Dee Rees, Gina Prince-Blythewood, Claire Denis, Mira Nair, Greta Gerwig, Kimberly Peirce, Emerald Fennell, Lucrecia Martel, Lisa Cholodenko, Miranda July, and The Wachowski Sisters, just to name a few. There are even Oscar-winning women directors. Kathryn Bigelow for “The Hurt Locker,” Chloé Zhao for “Nomadland,” and Jane Campion for “The Power of the Dog.” My favorite woman director working today is Sofia Coppola, director of “Lost in Translation,” “The Virgin Suicides,” and “Marie Antoinette” - three of my favorite films of the last 25 years. And of course, there’s Chantal Akerman, who directed “Jeanne Dielman,” which was recently named The Greatest Film of All-Time by the highly influential decennial Sight & Sound poll. Now let’s get that 22% up because there are many more women out there ready to tell their stories.

Kevyn Knox is a Writer, Artist, Pop Photographer, Film & TV Historian, Pez Collector, and Pop Culturist. He has written film reviews for FilmSpeak, Central PA Voice, and The Burg. His reviews & other ramblings can be found on his blog, www.allthingskevyn.com.