Dialogical Film Club

When Rachel was in Seattle, one of her classmates named K.J. Swanson decided that talking about movies while you watch them is better than watching them alone.  Thus came to be the Dialogical Film Club.  DFC would watch thought provoking movies together, establishing the rule that at any point during the film, any member could call for a pause.  Rachel had a great time at DFC, watching pop-culture wonders (Twilight) and thoughtful indie films.

Since we have a lot of interesting friends with unique perspectives, we decided to invite them over for the first ever Birmingham chapter meeting of Dialogical Film Club.  For our first film, we chose Demand, a documentary highlighting the role that men play in perpetuating the sex trade. The movie is intense, but the group tackled it head on with candid insight.  Discussion was great, ranging from pornography to strip clubs and from sex education to discussing sex with kids.  I loved the varied perspectives in the room - we had voices from the fields of medicine, public health, counseling, law, education, graphic design, engineering and the non-profit sector.  The first edition of DFC was all in all a success.    In maintaining our democratic nature, we are always open for suggestions for future films.  I hope you will join us for the next one.

Traffick

A few weeks ago, Rachel and I sat in on a viewing of Demand, a documentary on sex trafficking and those who participate in it.  The film, screened by Freedom to Thrive, was a great introduction into the dark world of pimps and prostitution, and the practices we engage in to support it.  Honestly, most of my perspective on "pimps and hos" has been informed by popular culture.  Thanks to the film, my paradigm has begun to shift.  Last week, NPR did a two part story this week on sex trafficking:

Part 1
Part 2