The Feminist on Cellblock Y

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The Feminist on Cellblock Y
The Feminist on Cellblock Y titlecard.jpg
Directed byContessa Gayles
Produced by
  • Contessa Gayles
  • Emma Lacey Bordeaux
CinematographyContessa Gayles
Production
company
CNN
Distributed byCNNgo
Release date
  • April 18, 2018 (2018-04-18) [1]
Running time
75 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Feminist on Cellblock Y is an American documentary film directed by Contessa Gayles and produced with Emma Lacey-Bordeaux for CNN. The titular subject is Richie Reseda, an 25 year old man incarcerated at a prison in California who studies and organizes around feminism and toxic masculinity with his fellow young incarcerated men. The documentary premiered on CNNgo on April 18, 2018. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Synopsis

The film follows a classroom of incarcerated men “as they wrestle with vulnerability and the confines of masculine norms through the lens of theorists such as bell hooks." [4] Called Success Stories, the program is led by a 25 year-old then known as Richard "Richie" Edmond-Vargas, (now known as richie reseda). [5] He teaches his fellow inmates about feminism and toxic masculinity at the Correctional Training Facility in Soledad, California. Richie's then-wife, Taina Vargas also appears in the film. [4]

Production

Background

CNN producer Emma Lacey-Bordeaux met Richard "Richie" Reseda [6] (then known by the name Richard Edmond Vargas) in 2008 when he was a high school student who was suspended for publishing a V-Day issue of his school newspaper to bring attention to date rape on Valentine’s Day that included the schools text book image of the female anatomy on the cover. [7] Lacey-Bordeaux read about the story in the Los Angeles Times and interviewed Reseda about the incident in her role as director of the radio station at Georgia State University. [7] She reached out again in 2016 when seeking sources for a CNN story about criminal justice, and Reseda's wife notified her that he was incarcerated for two armed robberies on local Rite Aid pharmacies. [6] [7]

Reseda and Lacey-Bordeaux began to converse by phone. She and fellow CNN producer Contessa Gayles developed the idea for the documentary after sitting in on Edmond's weekly feminist education group, Success Stories. [7]

Filming

The film was shot over several months and production worked around the correctional facility's regulations. [7] It was directed and co-produced with Gayles, who also served as the cinematographer. [4] The crew was small and consisted of Gayles, Lacey-Bordeaux, and sound mixer Eric Day. [7]

Release

The Feminist on Cellblock Y was released on CNNgo on April 18, 2018. [1]

Awards

References

  1. 1 2 3 Lacey-Bordeaux, Emma (2018-04-20). "Why feminism and racism have a lot to do with the gun debate". CNN. Retrieved 2020-07-15.
  2. ↑ Davey, Emma. "A Men's Prison Group In California Is Learning About bell hooks". bust.com. Retrieved 2020-07-15.
  3. ↑ "Meet Richie Reseda - Voyage LA Magazine | LA City Guide". VoyageLA. 2019-09-04. Retrieved 2020-07-15.
  4. 1 2 3 McCray, Rebecca (2019-03-15). "Meet the men who are dismantling toxic masculinity from behind bars - Women's Media Center". womensmediacenter.com. Retrieved 2020-07-15.
  5. ↑ Atkinson, Maxine P. Social problems : sociology in action. Korgen, Kathleen Odell, 1967-, Trautner, Mary Nell, 1974-. Thousand Oaks, California. p. 78. ISBN   978-1-5443-3866-8. OCLC   1110657601.
  6. 1 2 Finster, Tierney (2018-08-01). "The Feminist on Cell Block Y Is Now a Free Man". MEL Magazine. Retrieved 2020-07-15.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Lacey-Bordeaux, Emma (2018-04-23). "A source from a decade ago emerges, improbably, as a key player in her prison documentary". Poynter. Retrieved 2020-07-15.
  8. ↑ "Best of 2018". Vera Institute of Justice. 2020-07-14. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
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