I’m so excited to share the fabulous conversation Wanda Swan and I had with Chelsea Jennings of the UnSilence Her podcast about sexism, racism, and our complicated relationship with Disney. Chelsea moderated our panel at the Denton Black Film Festival, and we all had so much fun that we just needed to keep talking.
Listen to the podcast episode >>
Presentation filmed on November 6, 2020 as part of Critical Border Crossings: Stories, Texts and Their Feminist Travels, a symposium sponsored by Women’s and Gender Studies at Eastern Michigan University.
Description: Through the “Once Upon A Patriarchy” podcast, myth and media studies scholar Dr. Shannan Palma and survivor advocate Wanda Swan explore the messaging in and impact of Disney’s animated films in a manner both critical and playful. Emphasizing the points-of-view of women of color and LGBTQ+ folks, they employ podcasting as a tool of resistance to democratize scholarship and extend important conversations about representation beyond the academy. After Palma presents guests with a brief overview of how source material and production context influence what appears on screen, Swan guides them through a discussion framed by three questions: what themes emerged for you in watching this film and learning more about its evolution? How do these themes play out in your anti-oppression work? How would you retell this story? In this talk, they will frame how they use podcasting to reclaim oral storytelling as a form of resistance.
On Friday, November 6, 2020, Wanda Swan and I will be co-presenting “Once Upon a Podcast: Oral Storytelling as Resistance” as a part of Critical Border Crossings: Stories, Texts and Their Feminist Travels, a virtual symposium hosted by the Women’s and Gender Studies Department at Eastern Michigan University.
We’ll be talking about our work producing the podcast, “Once Upon a Patriarchy;” the history of fairy tales; the critical role oral storytelling plays in resistance; the influence of Disney’s animated films in perpetuating heteronormativity and white supremacy, and what it means to intervene in stories that do the obfuscatory work of myth. I hope you’ll join us!
The event is free, but you must register in advance.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Dr. Shannan Palma,
NOVEMBER 6, 2018
Once Upon a Patriarchy, a new podcast collaboration between award-winning survivor advocate Wanda Swan, director of the Office of Respect at Emory University, and Shannan Palma, PhD, faculty director of the graduate program in writing and digital communication at Agnes Scott College, premieres November 8, 2018 on iTunes and Stitcher.
In each episode, Swan and Palma sit down with a special guest for a creative, laughter-filled conversation that both celebrates and critiques Disney’s influences on generations of Americans.
How do fairy tales shape us?
Once Upon a Patriarchy, debuting this October, is the first in what we hope will be a series of podcasts produced through the graduate program in Writing and Digital Communication at Agnes Scott College. Podcasts in this series advance our vision of cultivating just and inclusive community and promoting respectful dialogue across difference through digital communication.
