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Brian Delaporte 11/29/11 SMAD 301 Professor Flamiano Something to Admire Sometimes society unnecessarily sets specific cultural boundaries that are just simply wrong. Race for example, is such a trivial aspect in life yet for almost as long as anyone can remember, it has played a role that has limited the scope of what certain people can or cannot do in this world. It is certainly not right, fair, nor justified, but sometimes thats just the way it is, and no matter what we try and do to change the trend, it does not seem to work. Sometimes however, there is a person or group of people, who refuse to believe that change is impossible, or that a race or gender barrier cannot be broken. These individuals are relentless in their pursuit for equality and justice, and they should have every right to fight for something they believe and know is morally sound. People like Dr. Martin Luther King Junior for example, are those who can be the face for a whole new generation of milestones. They walk where no other has gone before, and not for self-recognition or power, but for those will ultimately follow in their footsteps. The film Lioness, embodies the idea of paving the way for the future and future generations of people. Women being not just socially, but inherently accepted as a part of the United States military, especially as forces on the ground, is something that is unheard of. These women have achieved something special: A ground breaking feat that can and should not be overlooked, but recognized as an event in our nations history similar to Dr. Kings fight against the oppression of the African-American race. Team Lioness was first initiated in 2003 at the start of Americas war with Iraq. The team consisted of mothers, daughters, sisters, and wives, something no one had ever heard of in the history of the United States military. The fact that women were actually fighting in the war was something highly unrecognized by the American public at the time, and even to the directors and producers of the film

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itself. This war was not only changing the perception of combat, but of the warrior themselves in combat. No longer did just males fight for their country, but females too. Obviously this new trend was not simply about women fighting for their country, it was more than that. It became more and more about the womens voice being heard (Lioness: About the Film). A movement was on the rise, one that linked all women together as a collective unit. Team Lioness was another huge step in the right direction for the feminist movement to evolve past the typical stereotypes and onto bigger and better things. This victory however, has not come easy nor has it made it completely off the ground. The original Team Lioness was subjected to a combat exclusion policy, basically stating that women were unable to engage in the same types of training exercises that the men combat units were in fact able to (Lioness: About the Film). Why? Simply because they were women. This was obviously problematic for a few reasons: For one it was a blatant act of sexism and discrimination. Apparently the U.S. government thought it would be enough to allow women on the ground in combat, but then not teach them how to fight properly or strategically? Personally I do not see how this makes any real sense at all, particularly because this leads to a second major problem: The women in the combat unit now do not properly know how to defend themselves in live combat at war, a huge liability not just for these women, but for the entire combat unit as a whole. That is like telling someone who has never played baseball before to go out and get a few hits and field some ground and fly balls. Chances are, that person is going to do neither of those things, end up striking out every time up at bat, and costing their team multiple errors in the field. Except in this case, the baseball field is a war zone where anyone could be killed at any given moment. In that regard, this clear act of gender discrimination makes no sense for either party, so why even go ahead a do such a thing. Although what Team Lioness trained for, and what they were called upon to actually do seemed to be polar opposites, this did not take away from what these women experienced while at war. One thing that the film did particularly well was give a firsthand account of the tragedies of warfare on the ground over in Iraq from a female perspective, something that had never been shared before. These

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womens stories were conveyed in a more empathetic way to the audience viewing the film, and particularly allowed the male viewer to ponder what it might be like sending their wife, daughter, mother, or sister into the trenches so to speak. Even though this day has not yet come, I personally could never imagine sending my child off to war, especially my baby girl. In that same vein, sending my wife off to war would be just as difficult, and I find it hard to grasp what those fathers and husbands must have felt. One way in which the film was able to capture the raw emotion of this type of feeling was through somber, sad and dismal music. These types of songs really drew me into the film, and helped me to appreciate the logistics for how it was constructed and the audience(s) it intended to reach. At the same time the film depicted music that was more upbeat, patriotic, and heroic too. This type of music linked to scenes in which Team Lioness was being honored by their country, and also by their may followers. This group of women signifies a huge step in a positive direction for the future of women in combat, and the heroic music in these scenes demonstrated just that. Another aspect of the film that attributed to its overall quality and uniqueness was the combined usage of the Eisensteinian Montage and deep focus editing styles. Although the scenes were not all true Eisensteinian Montage style, I felt that the theme of emotional versus linear time played a vital role in this film. The way the directors where able to capture the time and space occupied by the emotions each woman was going through throughout the movie was brilliant. In the heat of combat it seemed as if time was rapidly moving through each scene, yet when one of the women became exhausted or emotionally drained from the heaviness of everything that was going on, time seemed to slow down more and more. Lioness was further able to incorporate the second editing style of deep focus by using numerous wide angle shots of the battle ground in particular scenes. Many of the scenes seemed to foster active viewer participation as well, another theme in deep focus editing. The way that the characters connected to the audience so fluently in some scenes was flawless. Furthermore, the characters seemed to be well placed and even embedded in their respective scenes more often than not. Both the fore and backgrounds would stay in focus, leaving the viewer with no visual miscues.

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Finally, the story telling design for this movie came in the form of a genre, particularly one of cultural discourse. This film was clearly not created for a return on investment or to make a huge profit on. It was not a blockbuster film, it was a culturally eye opening Sundance documentary that set out to send a message. I fell as though it did what it was meant to do, mainly to make the general American public more aware of the strides women have made in the military. These strides however, did come at a cost for women. Lioness is a genre that attempts to show that even when cultural boundaries are broken and progress is made, there will still be someone or something standing in the way of continuing on with that overall goal. The film showed that even though women received the equality to fight on the ground, they were still fighting in house against gender stereotypes and overall discrimination. In closing, I personally believe that Lioness is a film that needs to be more talked about, and so too does the original Team Lioness members. As the panel presented, each of these women come from different backgrounds and cultures, but just like anyone else in the military, they had to find a way to come together for one common goal: Their country. But in a many ways, this story is more than just America. More specifically, this story is one that targets women all across the United States. Lioness shows that women have truly reached the pinnacle when it comes to being equals. In almost every facet of life women are equal to men, and that is without a doubt the way it should be. This documentary was certainly worthwhile, for both men and women of all ages. I commend the women of the first Team Lioness for their bravery, passion, and drive to want to be more than just another face in the crowd. I

commend them for taking that leap of faith head on, and with certainty that they would succeed.

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Works Cited "Lioness :: About the Film." Lioness :: A Room 11 Productions Film Directed by Meg McLagan and Daria Sommers. Web. 29 Nov. 2011. <http://lionessthefilm.com/about_the_film/>.