I appreciate what the podcast is trying to do, but for a podcast highlighting the work of women in front of and behind the camera, the guests on the episodes have largely been men (I’m assuming white and cis and straight, but I’ll give the benefit of the doubt). And I feel like Aislinn gets talked over quite a bit. I come to Contenders to celebrate women, not to hear them interrupted and outnumbered.
Another sticking point I have is that in the first episode Tobin and Aislinn state that they won’t be acknowledging roles behind the camera that women traditionally have been represented in some numbers. Editors, Art Department, and producing roles are not acknowledged or discussed in this podcast. These roles are essential not only to the success of a film, but can effect the tone, story, and perspective of a film. And women still struggle with parity in these roles. Discounting these roles as unimportant to the podcast indicates to the listeners that these roles are not important to filmmaking.
This podcast has so much potential. With a wider network of guests from within the film industry as well as film theorists, film critics, and folks specializing in gender studies like Aislinn, this podcast could be more than mild mannered entertainment and actually say something important about the film industry and history of film. I gave this podcast a solid try, sad it didn’t live up to my expectations because Tobin and Aislinn are delightful in many ways.
