We're making a commitment to allow diversity, accept diversity & celebrate diversity. To "tolerate" diversity implies patiently waiting while the minority becomes more like the majority. I know I'm going to do things differently than the man who had the same job on the last production. Just as I know someone from a different culture brings the perspective of that culture to the job. It would be silly to try and wash away the differences, when we can appreciate them so easily. Anyone who appreciates art, food & wine, knows that differences are to be celebrated. In celebration lives the knowledge that art, food and wine appreciation is subjective. When it comes to getting a particular job done, if the job is indeed being done, the rest is subjective. By not only accepting, but also seeing the beauty of different paths to a goal, we might learn something not only about "others", but also about ourselves and certainly about the goal or accomplishment
It isn't always easy to let someone come in and do something a little differently. We’ve learned to trust the way we know, the way we’ve already experienced it. Showing up differently on set, takes me back to a child hood memory of being “other”. I remember the look of fear and distrust on neighbor’s faces (in the suburbs) when they first heard my parent’s accents. I also remember the difference my mother made in so many lives in our neighborhood. She makes things beautiful and naturally encourages women to embrace their personal beauty. They may have approached her with a sour face, but they walked away radiant.
Accepting differences goes beyond gender and culture, especially as we age more gracefully in the years to come and plan to continue working into our advanced years. I held a workshop for people interested in getting work in the industry, who are humble enough to go the PA route, the participants ranged in age from 17-70 plus. I know I don't need to make the wine analogy, suffice it to say, it was great to be reminded that there are benefits from every age and every walk of life. Yes, someone who is 55 may perform a task differently than someone who is 17. When the job is not being performed, the 55 year old deserves the same level of patience that 17 year old would get. When the job is getting done, there’s something to appreciate in the way it was executed.
Accepting differences goes beyond gender and culture, especially as we age more gracefully in the years to come and plan to continue working into our advanced years. I held a workshop for people interested in getting work in the industry, who are humble enough to go the PA route, the participants ranged in age from 17-70 plus. I know I don't need to make the wine analogy, suffice it to say, it was great to be reminded that there are benefits from every age and every walk of life. Yes, someone who is 55 may perform a task differently than someone who is 17. When the job is not being performed, the 55 year old deserves the same level of patience that 17 year old would get. When the job is getting done, there’s something to appreciate in the way it was executed.
Happy Women's History Month.
Thomai T. Hatsios
Director / Writer of GASP
Freelance
Director, Producer, Line Producer, Production Manager, AD
