Experience Two
"History isn't what happened.— Sally Roesch Wagner ↓ scroll
It's who tells the story."
Waypoint One
The Cassandra Moment
"A Cassandra Moment is any moment
when a woman's truth is overlooked, doubted, or dismissed."
Something comes up when we watch this. It is different for every woman.
Find yours.
Waypoint Two
The Stories We Inherited
"Once metabolized, the old stories are hard to shake from the mind of an individual or the hierarchy of a family or the guiding principles of a country. Sometimes they are experienced as benign entertainment, and sometimes they are used, as the Tennessee assistant principal did, to remind women of the blame and shame we inherited from our founding western mothers, starting with Eve, and followed by a long line of disgraced leading ladies."
— Elizabeth Lesser, Cassandra Speaks
In a family
A daughter told to be quieter, more agreeable, less bossy than her brother.
In a country
The Tennessee assistant principal and athletic director, on camera, telling girls their bodies are the problem while letting boys off the hook for their own conduct. A new origin story being written in real time and every day.
In entertainment
It Ends With Us sold over ten million copies packaged as a romance. The story was domestic abuse. The cover was pink flowers. When the actress spoke up about harassment on set, the director's team ran a campaign to destroy her reputation. The story inside the book and the story behind the camera turned out to be the same story.
Waypoint Three
The Story of Eve
Why was Eve blamed for mankind's fall?
Who wrote that story? Where did it come from?
Tell each other.
Waypoint Four
Eve Was Blamed.
She was not the last.
Waypoint Five
The Story of Pandora
Why was Pandora blamed for the world's suffering?
Who benefited from telling Pandora's story that way?
Tell each other.
Two women, Eve and Pandora.
Perhaps curious.
Brave.
Ready to grow up and take responsibility for their lives.
And the men who blamed them did not.
Waypoint Six
A Story I Was Handed
What story have you been handed, from books you have read,
movies you have seen, songs you have sung,
that you never questioned?
What about the stories handed to you
by the people closest to you?
What are you questioning right now?
Tell each other.
Waypoint Seven
The Questions
- Why do you think these stories were written?
- Do you think stories that diminish women are still being told today?
Tell each other what you think.
Waypoint Eight
The Answer
"It's important to understand that the stories were not created to help women respect their bodies, intelligence, and legitimacy. They were not told to help women tap into their strength, or to use their voice to influence priorities at home and at work and in the world. Quite the opposite. They were told and are still told to bury the truth of our equality, values, and voice."
— Elizabeth Lesser, Cassandra SpeaksDo you believe it is important to know the origin stories about women that have been passed down?
Tell each other what you think.
Waypoint Nine
The Missing Voices