Education – Page 176 – On Screenwriting and Media with Dr. Rosanne Welch

Honey, You Know I Can’t Hear You When You Aren’t in the Room: Key Female Filmmakers Prove the Importance of Having a Female in the Writing Room [Video]

A video abstract for Honey, You Know I Can’t Hear You When You Aren’t in the Room: Key Female Filmmakers Prove the Importance of Having a Female in the Writing Room.

This paper will appear in the special issue journal, Gender and the Screenplay: Processes, Practices, Perspectives (eds. Louise Sawtell and Stayci Taylor (RMIT University, Melbourne)).

Coming soon!

Transcript:

I’m Dr.Rosanne Welch. I teach screenwriting and history of screenwriting to MFA students in the Stephens College MFA program.

Screenwriters are often the unsung heroes of Hollywood, a fact that is doubly true for female screenwriters. While writers can research many things and are capable of creating unknown worlds such as Narnia or Lothlorien, it is true that the subject they know best – and will protect the most – will always be themselves and their experiences. Proof of this truth of filmmaking can be found in the careers of many successful female filmmakers from the start of the Hollywood studio system to the modern world of independents. Films produced by these women illustrates how important it is to have a female voice in the room.

My paper will discuss the ways female characters were created and protected by the presence of such female writers as:

Anita Loos, famous for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, which involves much more than Marilyn Monroe singing “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend”;

Dorothy Parker, who with her husband wrote A Star is Born, where a famous actress must juggle her rising fame as her husband’s career fails.

Ruth Gordon who co-authored Adam’s Rib and Pat and Mike, both iconic lead characters played by Katherine Hepburn.

Phoebe Ephron wrote several films, adapted Carousel from the stage to the screen all while nurturing the creativity and career of her four daughter-writers including Delia, Amy, Hallie and Nora Ephron…

Joan Didion who co-wrote the 3rd remake of A Star is Born (the one starring Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson)

and Frances Goodrich Hackett who adapted The Thin Man; It’s a Wonderful Life and The Diary of Anne Frank who said the quote that set me on the path to write this piece:

“I’m always the only woman working on the picture and I hold the fate of the women [characters] in my hand… I’ll fight for what the gal will or will not do, and I can be completely unfeminine about it.”

Beyond bringing better quality female characters to the screen, these women brought more three-dimensional, equal marriages to the screen, creating role models other could follow.

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Trailer for Trumbo movie Looks Great!

I love movies about writers and the power of writing so when I noticed the trailer for Trumbo, based on the life of blacklisted Hollywood writer Dalton Trumbo, I had to see it right away – and I did and now I recommend you see both the trailer – and the film. The script was adapted from the book by Bruce Cook (which is also worth reading) by John McNamara, who I remember pitching to when he was a producer on The Adventures of Briscoe County, Jr. (which was the show he did before his long run on Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, which itself was the ‘new Superman’ before Smallville arrived on the scene).

Anyway, what I enjoyed about the trailer is the idea that this is not just a plot-laden movie about the guy who wrote Roman Holiday (another movie you should see) with a front during the Blacklist; Trumbo the movie looks to be a movie about ideas and the freedom of speech and thought that is at the heart of the Constitution of the United States. As I said, I love movies about writers and the journeys to find their own voices and Trumbo’s story is one of those – along with the chance to make choices about what is worth standing for in this world – and the fact that those choices can lead to sacrifices – he spent 11 months in jail. And as you’ll see in the trailer – John Goodman is in the movie so how can it miss?

Gentlemen Doctors from How Doctor Who Redefined Masculinity [Video Clip]

Dr. Rosanne Welch presents “How Doctor Who Redefined Masculinity: A Study of the Doctors and their Male Companions“ at the Cal Poly Pomona University Library. Dr. Welch teaches in the IGE (Interdisciplinary General Education) program.

Watch the entire presentation here

Transcript:

These are the archetypes of masculinity in general literature and stories, right. So, Adventurer, Gentleman, Statesman, Warrior, Lone Wolf and Family Man. which seems to, sort of, argue with each other right there, but we’ll see how they play out on all of our different men. I would say that all of them have these qualities. there you go. End of lecture. But, I think the first three –and as I was picking through all of The Doctors and what I had to say about them — the first three are reflected more largely in our original 8 Doctors. So, we have this set right here as we know. So, they show us Adventurers — because they escape with the TARDIS and off into the world and time and space. They’re all Gentlemen and they’re all pretty much Statesmen. As are these four. Peter Davison being my favorite, but they all — and also we very much get the Clown with Sylvester McCoy down at the bottom.

A clip from this 5th talk on various aspects of Doctor Who presented by Dr. Welch. You can find Dr. Welch’s other Doctor Who talks using the links below.

Follow Dr. Rosanne Welch on the Web and via social media at:

The Most Feminist Companion – Martha Jones from Doctor Who: Feminism in the Whoniverse [Video Clip]

A clip from this longer presentation – Doctor Who: Feminism in the Whoniverse with Dr. Rosanne Welch

Watch this entire presentation – Doctor Who: Feminism in the Whoniverse with Dr. Rosanne Welch

Dr. Rosanne Welch (https://rosannewelch.com) speaks on “Feminism in the Whoniverse” of Doctor Who, the BBC television program now in its 50th year. She reviews each of the Doctor’s female companions and speaks on how they are represented in the program and how they represented the women of their respective periods.

Transcript:

To me, Martha is the most feminist character that has ever travelled with The Doctor. I believe based on her job choice. Based on the way she handled The Doctor. She did, in fact, save his life at a certain point, which is akin to the earlier episodes. She made the choice to not to have her heart broken. Not to sit around and wait and beg and plead for something she couldn’t have and then she built a life without the firt person she wanted. For me, those are very, very powerful statements being made by that character. And I think it’s important to pay attention to that. Now, that’s my personal choice. Obviously people have many other choices.

Feminism in the Whoniverse was presented at the Cal Poly Pomona University Library where Dr. Welch teaches in the IGE (Interdisciplinary General Education) program.

This is the 4th talk on various aspects of Doctor Who that Dr. Welch has presented. You can find these talks using the links below.

Subscribe to Dr. Welch’s YouTube Channel

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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Dr. Rosanne Welch Cameo in Cal Poly IGE Program video along with her students

I have a small cameo in this video about the Cal Poly IGE (Interdisciplinary General Education) Program where I teach. Almost everyone you see here is or has been a student of mine. Check it out!

Dr, Rosanne Welch and her class read Gilgamesh out loud at the “rock circle” on campus

Watch the entire 3.5 min video here

Find out more information on the IGE Department

Behind the Scenes Video – Dr. Rosanne Welch Teaching at Stephens College Low Residency MFA Program in Hollywood

A short video of me, Dr. Rosanne Welch, teaching at the Stephens College Low Residency MFA Program in Hollywood.

Master of Fine Arts in TV and Screenwriting The first low-residency M.F.A. program specifically for TV and screenwriting.

The Stephens College Low-Residency Master of Fine Arts in TV and Screenwriting will prepare you to compete in the high-stakes world of professional screenwriting. The second-oldest women’s college in the country, Stephens is an institution on a mission: To increase the voices and impact of women in television and film.It’s a mission that has drawn both the attention and the support of some of the most successful and well-known women writers in Hollywood—women who care deeply about ensuring that women’s voices and stories are heard.

Program Highlights

You’ll begin the program in Hollywood (we meet at the beautiful Jim Henson Studios) where you’ll spend 10 days in classes and workshops, and return for another 10 days six months later.
Between residencies, you’ll work online with at least four different mentors. Our entire faculty is comprised of working writers, members of the Writer’s Guild of America, including Ken LaZebnik, Carol Barbee, Kathleen McGhee-Anderson, Barbara Nance, Rosanne Welch and William Rabkin.
Our community of professors and professional working writers are here to help you develop your vision, your voice and your career as a screenwriter. And they’ll do it on your schedule, on your time and in-between all of the other demands of your crazy-busy life.
Learning the craft of writing is essential but so is learning the business of selling what you write. Providing you with access to prominent show-runners, writers from the film world, development executives, agents and managers is a vital component of this program.

For complete information on the program, visit the Stephens College Web Site

Teaching at the Stephens College Low Residency MFA Program in Television and Screenwriting in Hollywood! [Photos]

More photos of me teaching at the Stephens College Low Residency MFA Program in Hollywood. Complete video from that presentation will be available soon.

Master of Fine Arts in TV and Screenwriting The first low-residency M.F.A. program specifically for TV and screenwriting.

The Stephens College Low-Residency Master of Fine Arts in TV and Screenwriting will prepare you to compete in the high-stakes world of professional screenwriting. The second-oldest women’s college in the country, Stephens is an institution on a mission: To increase the voices and impact of women in television and film.It’s a mission that has drawn both the attention and the support of some of the most successful and well-known women writers in Hollywood—women who care deeply about ensuring that women’s voices and stories are heard.

Program Highlights

You’ll begin the program in Hollywood (we meet at the beautiful Jim Henson Studios) where you’ll spend 10 days in classes and workshops, and return for another 10 days six months later.

Between residencies, you’ll work online with at least four different mentors. Our entire faculty is comprised of working writers, members of the Writer’s Guild of America, including Ken LaZebnik, Carol Barbee, Kathleen McGhee-Anderson, Barbara Nance, Rosanne Welch and William Rabkin.

Our community of professors and professional working writers are here to help you develop your vision, your voice and your career as a screenwriter. And they’ll do it on your schedule, on your time and in-between all of the other demands of your crazy-busy life.

Learning the craft of writing is essential but so is learning the business of selling what you write. Providing you with access to prominent show-runners, writers from the film world, development executives, agents and managers is a vital component of this program.

For complete information on the program, visit the Stephens College Web Site

Our Inaugural class – Stephens College Low-Residency Master of Fine Arts in TV and Screenwriting [Photo]

Our inaugural class — with Program Director, Ken LaZebnik, instructor, Dr. Rosanne Welch, and David Wilks (Mindfulness Meditation for Writers Instructor) — for the new MFA in Screenwriting program from Stephens College, held at the Jim Henson Studios in Hollywood, California.

Master of Fine Arts in TV and Screenwriting The first low-residency M.F.A. program specifically for TV and screenwriting.

The Stephens College Low-Residency Master of Fine Arts in TV and Screenwriting will prepare you to compete in the high-stakes world of professional screenwriting. The second-oldest women’s college in the country, Stephens is an institution on a mission: To increase the voices and impact of women in television and film.It’s a mission that has drawn both the attention and the support of some of the most successful and well-known women writers in Hollywood—women who care deeply about ensuring that women’s voices and stories are heard.

Program Highlights

You’ll begin the program in Hollywood (we meet at the beautiful Jim Henson Studios) where you’ll spend 10 days in classes and workshops, and return for another 10 days six months later.

Between residencies, you’ll work online with at least four different mentors. Our entire faculty is comprised of working writers, members of the Writer’s Guild of America, including Ken LaZebnik, Carol Barbee, Kathleen McGhee-Anderson, Barbara Nance, Rosanne Welch and William Rabkin.

Our community of professors and professional working writers are here to help you develop your vision, your voice and your career as a screenwriter. And they’ll do it on your schedule, on your time and in-between all of the other demands of your crazy-busy life.

Learning the craft of writing is essential but so is learning the business of selling what you write. Providing you with access to prominent show-runners, writers from the film world, development executives, agents and managers is a vital component of this program.

For complete information on the program, visit the Stephens College Web Site

Donna Noble from Doctor Who: Feminism in the Whoniverse [Video Clip]

A clip from this longer presentation – Doctor Who: Feminism in the Whoniverse with Dr. Rosanne Welch

Watch this entire presentation – Doctor Who: Feminism in the Whoniverse with Dr. Rosanne Welch

Transcript:

So, in this scale they pick Donna. I have a problem with that. Donna ends her life with The Doctor married to a guy. That is the ultimate goal in her life and she’s not going to have a job. How’s she going to make money for the rest of her life. (Crowd: She’s married) Well, she’s married, sure, she’s married a guy, but she does it get something handed to her. Who remembers how we get rid of Donna? Lottery ticket. The Doctor hands her a lottery ticket, because traveling in space and time he goes to the future, figures out what lottery ticket’s going to win, then buys it in the past and hands it to her. So, there’s not — she talked to women more in her scenes but I’m getting the whole feminist vibe of Donna. Frankly, if it’s up to me…Martha.

Feminism in the Whoniverse was presented at the Cal Poly Pomona University Library where Dr. Welch teaches in the IGE (Interdisciplinary General Education) program.

This is the 4th talk on various aspects of Doctor Who that Dr. Welch has presented. You can find these talks using the links below.

Subscribe to Dr. Welch’s YouTube Channel

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Video: Male Archetypes and The Doctor from How Doctor Who Redefined Masculinity

Dr. Rosanne Welch presents “How Doctor Who Redefined Masculinity: A Study of the Doctors and their Male Companions” at the Cal Poly Pomona University Library. Dr. Welch teaches in the IGE (Interdisciplinary General Education) program.

Transcript:

These are the archetypes of masculinity in general literature and stories, right. So, Adventurer, Gentleman, Statesman, Warrior, Lone Wolf and Family Man. which seems to, sort of, argue with each other right there, but we’ll see how they play out on all of our different men. I would say that all of them have these qualities. there you go. End of lecture. But, I think the first three –and as I was picking through all of The Doctors and what I had to say about them — the first three are reflected more largely in our original 8 Doctors. So, we have this set right here as we know. So, they show us Adventurers — because they escape with the TARDIS and off into the world and time and space. They’re all Gentlemen and they’re all pretty much Statesmen. As are these four. Peter Davison being my favorite, but they all — and also we very much get the Clown with Sylvester McCoy down at the bottom.

A clip from this 5th talk on various aspects of Doctor Who presented by Dr. Welch. You can find Dr. Welch’s other Doctor Who talks using the links below.

Follow Dr. Rosanne Welch on the Web and via social media at:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS