"If you can talk about your breasts, you can talk about almost anything."

BY CAROL O' CALLAGHAN
of the Grant County Journal
SOAP LAKE

"If you can talk about your breasts, you can talk about almost anything."
So opens 'Boobalogues,' a new documentary-style film by Kathy Kiefer of Soap Lake, a locally known filmmaker whose latest work may raise a few eyebrows. Kiefer's previous works include historical documentary pieces about Grant County's dams as well as the 2002 film 'Back Roads,' a look at Soap Lake's heyday as a destination spa in the early 1900s.

'Boobalogues' was a leap of faith for Kiefer, who hopes audiences will appreciate her attempt to explore an overwhelmingly prevalent subject in a meaningful, thought-provoking, sensitive way. "It's storytelling, it's a 'boob-a logue.' It's a dialogue... " says Kiefer, who explains the motivation for the film: "I wanted people to talk about the subject. Openly... That's the philosophy that drives my work."

There is plenty to talk about in this film that takes a quick trip through historical perspectives and then focuses on the feelings and self-perceptions of individual women. Breastfeeding, mammograms, implants, reductions, mastectomies and the dreaded reality of the word 'saggy' all play a part in the movie. Like its title, it's a fun and playful smorgasbord of vocabulary that will make all but the most stalwart critics smile: boobs, breasts... headlights, hooters, hummers... and the familiar 'those babies,' as well as many others.

It's impossible not to recognize how huge (sorry) a part breasts play in culture. 'They have been used to sell every imaginable product,' says the narrator (Beverly Hasper). The movie offers a quick glimpse of the evolution of societal perceptions of breasts, from their sacred beginnings as life-sustaining symbols to their rebellious unveiling during the turbulent 1970s. Women at that point were fed up with being flattened or flaunted by fickle society, 'defined by containers' even to the point of damaged tissue in the corset days. The viewpoints of several indigenous women are also incorporated, including one young Mauri mother who Kiefer happened to meet while on vacation in New Zealand last year. Filmgoers in Grant County will probably recognize familiar faces among the many women who share their experiences with Kiefer in the film. Their stories will evoke compassion as well as humor. The unfortunate disclosure of falsies, the first bra, the wonderful discovery of cleavage, and the psychological ramifications of the mastectomy are among stories filling the 1-hour and 15 minute film.

It was a Herculean task to edit the final product from 40 hours of interviews. Normally working solo, Kiefer for the first time enlisted the help of a team of local women, her 'associate producers.' Technically, it's an intriguing and skillful blend of images and words. Over 170 still photos turn, dissolve and segue with interviews, all wrapped in evocative music.

Kiefer managed to pull the whole thing together for about $10,000, half her own money and half loaned by the Masquers theater group. Without a Ken Burns budget, she knew she had to get resourceful, saving money for things she couldn't do without. Eight of the shots had to be purchased at a cost of about $200 apiece. Jellyfish, rocks, mushrooms, flowers, Victorian photos of women and women with flowers painted across their bared chests are all part of the final picture.

Many still photos and some video depict women nude from the waist up. To Kiefer it would have been impossible to tell the story without them. "I'm not afraid anymore to create strong emotions in the people who see my work," she says. The interviews will muster laughs, probably tears, fears, and other emotions in the audience. "People are going to come to this film unsure, especially the men," says Cindy Ray, one of the associate producers. "But if you have an argument with someone (about whether it was tasteful) you can know they won't have stayed to see it all."

Kiefer and her team know many will spurn the project based on the widely held principal that women's breasts should be covered and not discussed precisely the viewpoint Kiefer wants to reverse. Underlying her film is the idea that natural feelings that are suppressed become perverted. Women's breasts are central to humankind. They literally nurse the next generation. Half of the population has them. So why are they exploited, and why do most women agonize that theirs are too small, too large, the wrong shape or have some other flaw. Pretending breasts do not spill over the brim of advertising schemes is a little hard to do these days, honestly. Neither is pretending we don't ogle when the chance arises. Witness Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction at last January's Super Bowl halftime. Or how Team USA's Brandi Chastain tearing off her uniform captivated people more than her deciding penalty kick in the 1999 Women's World Cup soccer game. "If you say 'breast' people perk up their ears," says Kiefer, who since starting this project has had conversations about breasts with people she barely knows. "Everyone woman has a breast story," she says, "and the'll tell it to you if you ask. I was never turned down by one woman on this subject, people were very forthcoming. It was a place they wanted to go."

In all she did 25 interviews - not counting men, who do voice their opinions in the film. For Kiefer, who finds her degree in anthropology relevant in both her life and her career as a public affairs officer for Grant County PUD, the film was all about sharing stories. "I'm convinced that there are two things that can heal the world," she feels. "One is storytelling. The other is listening. We need to listen. And people need to be able to tell their stories without fear." Filmmaking, says Kiefer, is "about taking what moves you, drives you, and putting it on the table and saying, 'That's me.'" The movie does not try to discuss the subject of breasts exhaustively, an impossible task anyway. It merely serves as a starting point for conversation, which was the whole idea. "I can't say this represents all women's perspectives," Kiefer says. "But it's a pretty decent slice. Boobalogues was an attempt to include, to value, to take all those stories and make one subject, and to weave them into a tapestry that shows the whole picture."

<< Back