Liz Roberts on getting Super Empowered

WexLab: Super Empowered from Wexner Center for the Arts on Vimeo.

We had a fantastic group for the January 9 Super Empowered workshop. This WexLab, designed for girls ages 13–18, focused on digital video production and critically assessing representations of girls and women in the media. The day flew by and we needed to jump in quick, so I began with my version of an “icebreaker”—a giant balloon with questions written on it in Sharpie. Everyone tossed the balloon around and answered whichever question their right thumb landed on, and after a couple of rounds we were more comfortable and ready to work together. Video production is a collaborative art! And you can see the results of these collaborations in the video above.

Liz Roberts and students get to collaborating. Image courtesy of Ada Matusiewicz

After introductions I screened some of my work. I talked about using video as a medium to have your voice heard, figuring out how to say what you want to say, and questioning expectations and roles. The girls then did some brainstorming with writing prompts and each came up with their own idea. Each participant in the workshop operated the camera while their video was being made, with the other participants filling roles as actors and crew. One of the reasons I strongly believe in girls-only production workshops is that girls receive countless false cultural messages telling them they will not be good at technology. There’s lots of trying on different hats that happens at this age (you’ll see some actual hat-trying-on in the video), and the participants are encouraged to explore different proactive ways to represent themselves through media. Dealing with the influx of messages and expectations is daunting for teen girls, and this challenge is subject matter that runs throughout their videos. I’m grateful for the opportunity to have an open, encouraging dialogue with these young woman while we made videos together in the Super Empowered WexLab. 

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