#MediaMonday: Local Heroes
Good Morning Everyone,
I hope this email finds all of you well.
This weekend was the Central Film Festival and it was an exhausting, wonderful time to get students filmmakers back together again in a theatre, celebrating art. Even now, as I am writing you, I am sitting behind the counter in the theatre, selling popcorn and candy to festival-goers. I must admit, there were a few times this weekend when I smiled so much, my cheeks hurt. We have not had an in-person festival since 2019, and this entire experience has given me hope for the months and years to come. It has been extraordinary and inspiring sharing in this experience with students and my community and it has been good for my heart to see.
Years ago, when we were planning for a Central Film Festival, at staff member at my school happened upon a unique piece of history trivia about our high school (Central High School). They discovered that a silent film actress named Pearl White had actually gone to Central. I had never heard of her. Looking her up, Pearl Fay White (March 4, 1889 – August 4, 1938) not only walked our very halls, but also went on to star in 228 films, was dubbed the "Queen of the Serials", and was noted for doing the majority of her own stunts. In fact, Pearl White is even referenced in Sunset Boulevard when Nancy Olson's character states that her grandmother was Pearl White's stunt double.
Once we found this out, we decided to honor her in our film festival by offering the Pearl White Award for the best Missouri student filmmaker. As a part of the festival awards, we honor the best Missouri student filmmakers by giving them an award with her name to celebrate her legacy. Tonight, I will give a Pearl White award to a student, on stage, at the Fox Theatre in Springfield and I could not be prouder or more excited.
The point behind telling you about all of this is the topic of today's email: find a local media hero.
Everyone, regardless of where you live, can find a state, city or town media hero. What I would suggest is hit up the Google machine and start looking. As I looked, I found that Pearl White shares her Missouri heritage with Ginger Rogers, Don Cheadle, and Robert Altman! This process is fun and I think you will like the search.
Next, talk to your students about these people and research their contributions to the industry. This is a really cool moment when kids can look at the people who changed media history from their state and find inspiration from their success.
Finally, if it fits your program, try to find a way to honor your stars by carrying on their legacies at your school. We chose an award, but maybe you could choose a news feature or a nice social media post. However you choose to represent your film history, encourage the students to take ownership over history.
Now, I need to straighten my tie, because I'm about to go onstage.
Talk to you soon,
Josh Cantrell
STN Education Coordinator
Central High School-Springfield, MO.
josh@studenttelevision.com