5 notes &
Watched this documentary on Hulu yesterday. The subject is Marian Anderson, the lead singer of InSaints, who became notorious in 1993 for incorporating her dominatrix work into her live performances. I found this especially interesting in contrast to Karen Finley, who was censored for using her body to communicate the plight of powerless women. Marian Anderson lived both sides of that and I found myself conflicted by feeling inspired and overwhelmed by her tragedy.
Obsessively googling her after watching this documentary, I found Sadobabies, a 30 minute documentary short by a folklorist named Nancy Kalow. It features a group of San Francisco street kids in the mid-80s who live in an abandoned high school. Marian Anderson is one of those kids and you can watch here.
Sidenote: very excited about discovering folkstreams.net
And there is a follow up to Sadobabies called Losers Club that catches up with some of the kids five years later. Watch it here.
So all weekend I’ve been thinking about these kids who don’t have anywhere to go and still find it in themselves pursue their dreams and express themselves and I want to do something.
