174:'s arrival to the strikes. The documentary captures the workers' fight, considered "...one of the south’s most disruptive and bitter labor confrontations since the 1930s”, for recognition through the lens of an African-American women, and focuses on striker and mother Claire Brown. With the help of thousands of inspired protestors, the efforts were ultimately successful.
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They were looking for a filmmaker because they wanted to make a film about the strike. Someone had recommended me, and so, would I be interested? Yeah! I had already done so much research, and I knew what was available in the libraries. I was so overjoyed to do it. I would have done it for nothing,
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Anderson shared an interest in fighting for equity: "I knew that the obstacles that were before me were based on gender, race and politics...I tried to make a film that reflected my experience through their eyes." The film captures the events through a feminist's lens.
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Four hundred black hospital and nursing home employees, all but 12 women, organize for higher pay and unionization for over 100 days in
Charleston, South Carolina. The film follows the efforts of the strikers as they receive help from
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Anderson was commissioned to create a documentary about the strike by the
Hospital Workers Union Local 1199. She used archival footage and interviews with strikes and city officials. Of the commission, Anderson recalls:
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Warren, Shilyh. “Recognition on the
Surface of Madeline Anderson’s I Am Somebody.” Signs, vol. 38, no. 2, 2013, pp. 353–378. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/667201,
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called it a "a familiar story of social injustice and self-determination that relates to the larger civil rights movement even as it remains rooted in specific lives".
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Warren, Shilyh. Films for the
Feminist Classroom. Film review: I Am Somebody. Directed by Madeline Anderson. Brooklyn: Icarus Films, (1969) 1999. 30 minutes.
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Cynthia A. Young, Soul Power: Culture, Radicalism, and the Making of a U.S. Third World Left. (Durham, NC: Duke
University Press, 2006).
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Williams, John (1994). "DAUGHTERS OF THE DIASPORA: A Filmography of Sixty-Five Black Women
Independent Film- and Video-Makers".
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but this was the first time that I had a proper budget. They gave me money, time, everything that I needed to make this film.
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Martin, Michael T. (2013). "Madeline
Anderson in Conversation: Pioneering an African American Documentary Tradition".
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276:"Alternative Histories of Labor: "HSA Strike '75" and "I Am Somebody," Sep. 26 | South Side Projections"
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455:"See the 25 New Additions to the National Film Registry, From Purple Rain to Clerks"
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said "..this film packs a tremendous punch and is deeply moving at the same time."
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and both praise and admonishment from the public, even capturing the
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for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
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389:"I Am Somebody: An Interview with Madeline Anderson | Metrograph"
312:"I am somebody [electronic resource] in SearchWorks"
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http://ffc.twu.edu/issue_4-2/rev_Shilyh%20Warren_4-2.html
375:"I Am Somebody: Three Documentaries by Madeline Anderson"
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234:Clips from the film appeared in a 2008 episode of
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262:Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society
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436:"A Film Series Honors Black Women Directors"
403:"Madeline Anderson – Civil Rights Movement"
698:United States National Film Registry films
149:about black hospital workers on strike in
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708:Documentary films about African Americans
506:"Complete National Film Registry Listing"
332:Feminist Practices: Signs on the Syllabus
258:"Madeline Anderson, I Am Somebody (1969)"
481:"Women Rule 2019 National Film Registry"
294:"Madeline Anderson & I Am Somebody"
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201:Civil rights leaders praised the film;
222:for preservation in the United States
218:In 2019, the film was selected by the
453:Chow, Andrew R. (December 11, 2019).
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434:Dargis, Manohla (January 27, 2017).
531:"Andrew Young - The Colbert Report"
42:American Foundation of Non-Violence
728:English-language documentary films
537:. January 23, 2008. Archived from
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391:. metrograph.com. March 3, 2017.
335:. University of Chicago Press.
560:at the Internet Movie Database
16:1970 film by Madeline Anderson
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733:English-language short films
703:1970s English-language films
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718:American documentary films
606:10.2979/blackcamera.5.1.72
598:10.2979/blackcamera.5.1.72
329:Hawkesworth, Mary (2013).
298:Black Film Center/Archive
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280:southsideprojections.org
713:1970 documentary films
361:www.cablecarcinema.com
224:National Film Registry
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405:. Augmented Society.
264:. November 20, 2012.
197:Reception and legacy
510:Library of Congress
485:Library of Congress
300:. January 15, 2013.
220:Library of Congress
155:film industry union
629:(1): 35–37. 2007.
541:on March 14, 2017.
440:The New York Times
237:The Colbert Report
230:In popular culture
212:The New York Times
168:Coretta Scott King
54:Coretta Scott King
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67:Andrew Young
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143:documentary
39:Produced by
29:Directed by
693:1970 films
687:Categories
244:References
178:Production
151:Charleston
141:political
137:is a 1970
63:Leon Davis
614:143588614
377:. BAMPFA.
76:Edited by
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644:Cinéaste
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125:Language
47:Starring
572:Excerpt
567:on MUBI
318:. 2014.
161:Summary
128:English
117:Country
112:28 min.
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139:short
517:2020
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467:2019
459:Time
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