I just received a great email from Dr. Amy Sarch Schopick, director of Women’s Studies at Shenandoah University. She is using my book, Finding Angela Shelton,
I get emails from students all the time after they see my film or read my book in class. For those professors, teachers or students who want to use my film please do! Here is the licensing page – http://store.searchingforangelasheltonstore.com/pubperf.html
Here it the report from a student named Alison:
Finding Angela Shelton
According to Lisa Maria Hogeland, feminism “offers and requires courage, intelligence, boldness, sensitivity, relationality, complexity, a sense of purpose, and test.” Angela Shelton started her journey to speak to all the Angela Sheltons in America with very little idea of whom she really was. Her entire journey across the country, as well as, the years after that it took her to make her movie, helped Angela find her identity. At the beginning of the book, Angela Shelton was starting to look like a feminist; however, she did not know it. She had all the requirements: courage, intelligence, boldness, sensitivity, complexity, and test; however, she was still searching for her sense of purpose and relationality.
Angela possessed courage when she packed up with no money and began to travel across the country to make a movie. Overall, Angela is an intelligent woman and bold. Angela was bold every time she talked on the phone with a different Angela Shelton, whom did not believe she was telling the truth, and they told her that they would hide their credit cards if she came to see them like Angela from Oregon did; Angela showed intelligence when she convinced all the other Angela Sheltons that she was really coming to make a documentary. All the times that she was talking to the anonymous Angela Shelton, she showed compassion and was sensitive. She listened to anonymous Angela Shelton when no one else would. Angela is also very complex, and her past is a large part of her complexity. Angela’s father molested her, her stepsister and her stepbrother; making her past very complex and giving her future a purpose. She was also willing to test her own limits. Angela was always trying to see how far she could push herself, with making the movie or even in her everyday actions. Angela kept making the movie even when she only had fifty dollars left in her bank account, and all of her credit cards were at their limit.
However, Angela lacked two traits that are very important to be a feminist: relationality and a sense of purpose. During her journey she met many Angela Sheltons that helped her bring out her story and find herself. Many of the Angela Sheltons say they trust in God and put their faith in God. The Angela Shelton in Kansas said, “You have to put God first. I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about the big picture, how I should live my life, and what God has planned for me. And God has given me a sense of hope and direction in my life.”(Shelton, page 70) Angela Shelton in Kansas also said that God helped her get past her anger. “I’ve been praying and asking to grow and to change and be a better person.” (Shelton, page 105) After speaking to a few Angela Sheltons, she started wondering if that was a part of her that she was missing. During Angela’s journey she slowly began to trust God. She started praying and used God’s strength to visit her father. “God give me strength” (Shelton, page 185) Angela also used God’s strength to help her make the third cut in her movie herself.
It was not until after her journey across the country was over that Angela realized that her purpose in making this movie was to get the word out about violence against women by portraying her own story as well as all the other Angela Sheltons in the world. After two different versions of her movie were rejected, Angela realized that she needed to face her fears and cut the movie herself. Most of the Angela Sheltons agree that Angela’s purpose was to make this documentary and get the word out.
By the end of her book, Angela Shelton is the true definition of a feminist. She posses all the traits of a feminist: courage, intelligence, boldness, sensitivity, relationality, complexity, a sense of purpose and test.
Angela Shelton in New York also posses many of the traits that Hogeland says make a feminist. Angela Shelton describes her simply as “fierce.” (Shelton, page 123) Angela tells the story about how she was almost raped; however, her friend stayed with her and they were able to fight the man off. Through this, Angela shows courage and intelligence and boldness. She also describes how after her and her friend fight off the man, they ran into a girl that had heard the whole event and did not help, and Angela punched her in the face. This also shows Angela’s bold side. Angela then goes on to say, “All of us females should stick together. Unity. We don’t have that.” (Shelton, page 127) Through this statement, she shows compassion and her sensitive side. She also shows her sense of purpose. She feels that all women should stick together.
All through Angela’s house, there are quotes and pictures of Jesus, showing her relationality side, and her past shows her complexity. “I believe in unity. We need to teach women to look out for each other. We need a club. I’m serious. What if we all stuck together and took care of all the rapists and child molesters.” (Shelton, page 127) This shows Angela’s sense of purpose. She, like Angela Shelton, wants to get the word out about women and violence. She is fighting for what she believes in, unity.
Angela feels that the most important thing women need to fix about themselves is their low self-esteem. “No woman should stand for that or go through that. But as long as their self-esteem is low, they’ll stick with it. Because they feel that ‘Oh, I don’t have an education.’ Or, ‘Oh I don’t have a place to go. Oh, he’s the only one that I have been with. He does love me.’” (Shelton, pages 127 and 128) With low self-esteem, women lack the courage to stand up against the violence. When the men in their lives are abusing them in some way and putting them down, it is very difficult for them to be able to stand up for themselves. For example, anonymous Angela Shelton said over and over that she was lower than a dog. She only thought this because her father told her that; however, in reality, she is a beautiful young woman. Angela Shelton in New York believes that it is only after we fix women’s low self-esteem, that we can stand together and unify.
Angela Shelton in New York took her daughter and left her abusive husband. It took a lot of courage for her to be able to leave him. She did not wait around for him to change and make up excuses for his behavior. When Angela was living with her husband, her daughter saw him abuse her. This was one of the reasons that she left him and got out of that situation. Now she is back living with her mother, but she is happy and is giving her daughter a good life. Many women are not that lucky. For example, the Angela Shelton that lives in South Carolina whose number had been disconnected the second time Angela had tried to call. Her husband is abusive and when Angela tries to get a hold of her a second time, she gets an automated response saying that this number is no longer in use. No forwarding number was left. Angela had no way of getting in touch with her and her vision of getting this Angela Shelton the help she needs will never come true. (Shelton, page 58)
Deciding if I am a feminist is a very difficult thing for me to do. Looking over the traits that Hogeland says a feminist should have; I realized I do not fit many of those traits. I am not the most courageous person you will ever meet, and I would like to think that I am intelligent; however, that can sometimes prove to be a different story. I am more of a shy person, so being bold proves to be a challenge for me.
I try my hardest to be a sensitive person. I always try to put myself in the other person’s shoes. Relationality is something that I find to be very difficult. It is very hard for me to relate everything in the world together. I am a very complex person; nothing is ever straight black and white for me. Since I am only 18 years old, it is difficult for me to say exactly what my sense of purpose is in life. However, I am always trying to test my own limits in everything I do. I am very competitive with myself and I am always trying to beat my best records.
Overall I would have to say that even though I do not have many of these traits, it is something that I have been working on. Being a shy person, it is difficult to be bold or have courage; however, I have been trying to find ways to help myself get past that. As of right now, I would not consider myself a feminist; however, in a few years I hope to be able to say that I am a feminist. At this time I could not compare myself to Angela Shelton and Angela Shelton from New York. They are in a league of their own when it comes to feminism.
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