Dear Lisa

Streaming video - 2016

The filmmaker questions her sister, herself and others about the dreams and hopes they had growing up as girls in contrast to the reality they face as women. Topics include: childhood, athletics, careers, motherhood, body image, sexual assault and self-esteem. Made in 1990, this film documents a growing awareness of feminist issues. Have things changed, today? Dear Lisa: A Letter to My Sister is a pastiche of women and girls who speak candidly about growing up female. Interviewees include a former Miss California contestant, a judge, a banker, an electrician, a secretary, and adolescent girls. The subjects of the film offer up their personal stories which range from getting a plastic baseball glove instead of a real one, to men doubting th...eir capabilities in the work arena, to being trapped in a car and raped. These are sad and stirring tales that demonstrate the cultural landscape that women and girls had to navigate in the last century. Unfortunately these stories are as relevant today as they were back then. more