We live in interesting times.
The wave of change surrounding society’s relationship with
women is long overdue.
I’ve been thinking about, pondering, wondering, what is the
right way to express my own thoughts on the subject, but it seems that
everything is already being said, and mostly being said by women. So, I thought I would take a different approach. I decided I would sit down and make a list –
it turned out to be a very long list – of women who have had an influence on my
life.
I talk about the men who have influenced me all the time, but
I will not list any of those men here. This is only for the women.
It’s eye-opening, even for me, to make this list, and to think
about what the list says about me. I am even a little bit worried that people
will too easily psycho-analyze me, reading my tendencies, preferences, and psychology
based on who I include on the list.
Sometimes I will comment on a particular person listed. Often,
I’ll just list names. This would go on forever if I took the time to comment on
each name.
Who will you NOT see on this list? You will not see any
politicians. Read into that whatever you want. I don’t include any male
politicians on my list of male influences either.
Who will you see on this list? You will see a lot of
strong-minded, independent, sometimes rebellious women. Everyone on this list
has played some role, small or large, in influencing who I am today.
Let’s start with old-school creative geniuses.
Katherine Hepburn. Yes, I admit I’m a bit of classic old-Hollywood
film nerd. Lauren Bacall, Meryl Streep (I am listing names in no particular
order and allowing some free-association to come into play). Diane Keaton, Jodie
Foster, Jane Fonda, Tina Fey, Natalie Wood, Samantha Bee, Ally Sheedy, Carol
Burnett, and Lisa Kudrow.
My mom introduced me to old-school Carol Burnett. Sometimes it
was almost as if she forced the 10-year-old me to watch her. She was funny. She
influenced me.
And speaking of my mom…
There is no way to put into words….I mean how do I express
the influence my mom has had on me? Impossible. I’m not even going to try to write
that amazing influence down in English. We would need to invent a newer better
language to find the right words for that.
I will address my two sisters shortly.
Chrissy Hynde (of the band The Pretenders), Joan Jett, Janis
Joplin. You see, ATTITUDE influences me. Tough women, strong women. Women with
a take-no-prisoners attitude. Please do not ask me to explain this in more detail.
Like I said you can psycho-analyze me from this list all you want.
Ella Fitzgerald (yep, I’m also a bit of a jazz geek, and she has the same birthday as me), Billie
Holiday, Aretha Franklin, Diana Krall, Carole King, the four women in the band
Luscious Jackson - Jill Cunnif, Gabby Glaser, Kate Shellenbach, and Vivian
Trimble – Kim Deal, Tanya Donnely, and the brilliantly innovative Laurie
Anderson.
I would not be quite the same writer I am without the influence of the great Dorothy Parker. I have sometimes ended standup comedy sets by quoting her line, "Love your enemies...it will drive them nuts." Fran Lebowitz is another writer who has infiltrated my outlook on things.
I would not be quite the same writer I am without the influence of the great Dorothy Parker. I have sometimes ended standup comedy sets by quoting her line, "Love your enemies...it will drive them nuts." Fran Lebowitz is another writer who has infiltrated my outlook on things.
Athletes…First I want to explain a little bit what kind of
influence athletes have on me. Athletes influence my attitudes about difficulty
in life. The best ones inspire me and give me resolve. Getting inside the head
of a great athlete as they fight to come back from a mistake or a set-back,
gives a person hope and inspiration. My sister Becky, a handful of years older
than me, ran a state-record High school mile once. I was in middle school. I
remember watching her round the last curve of the last lap, far ahead of those
chasing her. It was a truly life-changing moment. Of course, records are meant
to be broken, and her record didn’t last too many years. Becky then received a
running scholarship to college. She ran
for four more years, through college, and then swore she would never run again
as long as she lived. Today she is a walker and a hiker. I respect these
decisions.
My sister Keren, two years younger than me, has been a
soccer teammate of mine. I have played amateur recreational soccer through my
adult life, and for a while played with my sister in a coed league in Seattle.
One team we went up against included five women who were a year removed from
playing together in the NCAA, at the University of Washington. The five of them,
along with their male teammates, knew each other’s tendencies and tactics quite
well. They ran circles around us…and we had good players ourselves! My respect
for female athletes is absolute. Here are a few famous athletes who have had
some influence on my outlook and mindset; Jackie Joyner Kersey, Mia Hamm,
Martina Navratilova, Michelle Akers, Tracy Austin, Steffi Graff, Monica Seles.
Before moving on I want to say one more thing about my
sister Keren. She has been a collaborator, creative partner, partner in crime,
and co-conspirator. No, there have been no actual crimes, but she will laugh at
the comment and understand why I mentioned it.
The rest of the names on this list will be people you do not
know. Listing people who I have known in
my personal life is where publishing this list gets a little complicated. I
worry that I should not include certain names because of the public nature of
this blog. If I want to be fair and thorough, though, I want to list everyone
equally. I will try to set up the personal list this way; This list might
include an ex-girlfriend or two. It includes my ex-wife. Most of them are just
people who have been good friends at one time or another in my life. Some of
them I am no longer in touch with. Others remain good friends today. One or two
of them might hold some lingering anger towards me for one reason or another,
but I will still be fair and list everyone who has had an influence on me. One
of them has influenced me within the last few months. Towards the end they also
become creative collaborators. I will not say anything about who is who or who
fits what category.
Dorothy Frances Kent, Liz Wick, Jena Shinabarger, Cristina
Grigoni (who has a different last name now), Jen Youngdahl, Natalie Vause, Elizabeth
Newsom, Nancy Ndlela Papas, Deborah Nash, Liza Warfel (Mae), Roberta Orlandi,
Jen Casebeer, Jennifer France Talvitie, and Debra Pralle.
That last name, by the way, Debra Pralle, besides working
with me on two films, has also been a co-teacher of mine. We taught film
classes off an on for a time, in Seattle, and even though we were officially
co-teachers I somehow came away feeling that I was also her student. I learned
a lot from her in those classes.
I will end with a few more teachers of mine; Barbara Pleuss,
who after being my 6th grade teacher, somehow managed to turn up in
High School as my Art teacher. Bonnie Wallace Hoffman, who in my opinion is one
of the great unknown Acting teachers of all time. Carol Magnuson, who supported
a few creative and rebellious high school students when they got in trouble.
I’m not counting but I believe this list has something like
50 names on it.
I would not be who I am without the influences of all these
women.
It is with this mindset that I move on into the new world that is
being created.
We live in interesting times.
-Peter WickFebruary 14, 2018
