00;00;01;11 - 00;00;26;20
Stasia Walmsley
Hello and welcome to the Providence College podcast. I am Sasha Walmsley, your host for today's episode, and I'm joined by our producer, Chris Judge from the class of 2005 here at the PC podcast. We aim to bring you distinctive stories about members of our community. For this episode, I have the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Alyssa Lopez from the Department of History and her research assistant, Angie Pierre, a member of the class of 20.

00;00;26;20 - 00;00;55;26
Stasia Walmsley
25. That's right. Angie is a freshman and already doing original research, analyzing primary sources in preparation for Dr. Lopez's upcoming book, a book about black film culture in New York City. Before World War Two. The research centers on how black communities utilize theaters and cinema to practice and engage in self-determination and equal access to citizenship. Dr. Lopez, Angie, welcome to the podcast, and thank you for joining us today.

00;00;56;13 - 00;00;57;07
Dr. Alyssa Lopez
Thanks for having us.

00;00;57;15 - 00;00;57;29
Angie Pierre
Thank you.

00;00;58;06 - 00;01;08;10
Stasia Walmsley
Glad to have you here. I wanted to start with you, Dr. Lopez. I'm wondering if you could talk a little bit about your research specialty and how you got interested in the subject.

00;01;08;11 - 00;01;30;14
Dr. Alyssa Lopez
So I'll start with how I got interested, because it feeds into my my research area. So when I was an undergrad a while ago, I was in a film history course, and my professor briefly mentioned sort of the black response to the birth of a nation. D.W. Griffith's a super racist. 1915 film. And he said it in passing.

00;01;30;16 - 00;01;55;08
Dr. Alyssa Lopez
I was like, You're here is this response? And now we're going to go back to talking about D.W. Griffith, talking about mainstream Hollywood and the development of cinema. And I was really unhappy with that. I asked him like a couple more questions in class. I asked during office hours, like, what is this? And he he pointed me toward some sources, but I just got overwhelmingly interested in what Moore was like.

00;01;55;13 - 00;02;25;00
Dr. Alyssa Lopez
Like filmic response, right? Because he talked about how there was this failed attempt to make a film, the birth of a Race in response. But there were protests to it in various cities, but also that the sort of evolution and growth of black film predates the birth of a nation. Right. I learned about that. And so I just my research became so focused on what black film was, not just as a response to the birth of a nation, that it is this thing that exists wholly on its own.

00;02;25;04 - 00;02;48;10
Dr. Alyssa Lopez
And yes, part of it is responding to issues in mainstream cinema, but that white people in America were engaging with the sort of modern medium from the go. And how they were using it to sort of promote equality, fight for equality, but also as businessmen and businesspeople to sort of move forward in American society in a variety of ways.

00;02;49;11 - 00;03;14;13
Dr. Alyssa Lopez
And that's what my. I'm sorry to interrupt. That's what this research project is on. Right. Is specifically focused in New York. But how black New Yorkers are using film? Maybe not the film text. They focus more on the sort of social aspects of film, moviegoing responses to censorship, labor strikes by black projectionist in Harlem, sort of how black New Yorkers are using the institutions that surround cinema.

00;03;14;17 - 00;03;26;09
Dr. Alyssa Lopez
Maybe not the film text, but those those areas around it, like journalism to you how they're using it to sort of, like I mentioned earlier, fight for equality, but sort of find their own space in the city.

00;03;26;19 - 00;03;52;15
Stasia Walmsley
And since you've been at Providence College, you have been engaging with the same research. Is this the focus on the work in New York City and this is pre World War Two specifically. Is there something about that time period that is particularly interesting to you? And I'm curious how it might relate to just today and what we could learn that's going to help us to think about being an anti-racist today.

00;03;53;03 - 00;04;13;10
Dr. Alyssa Lopez
Yeah. So, yes, this is the current focus of my research. I'm working on a book manuscript right now that focuses on this, but it's a pre-World War Two for me. I think that those are sort of the defining moments of cinema, right? By the time you get to the 1940s, we've got this like golden age, the supposed golden age, right?

00;04;13;10 - 00;04;38;09
Dr. Alyssa Lopez
But in the decades before that, cinema was really trying to establish itself as a respectable entertainment, as something that people can go to without it being considered sort of like down and dirty. Right, or sort of scandalous. And I think that by the time you get to the forties, it's sort of settled. And so I'm more interested in the development of it, how those those tensions get sort of worked out.

00;04;38;09 - 00;05;09;11
Dr. Alyssa Lopez
And I, as I said, on this sort of social social side of it, and in terms of sort of relevance, I think that it it just a lot of the problems that black journalists, black workers, black filmmakers, black actors are dealing with in the early 20th century, some of those unfortunately still exist in terms of like recognition for work, particular storylines that get told over and over and over again.

00;05;09;13 - 00;05;28;16
Dr. Alyssa Lopez
So I think that while that work is still happening, it's important to recognize that this is a long standing battle that black activists and just ordinary black people that are going to watch movies have been working through for for a long time.

00;05;29;00 - 00;05;42;08
Stasia Walmsley
Angie, you are a freshman and are able to work directly with Dr. Lopez on this research. Could you tell me a little bit how you were able to come by this opportunity?

00;05;43;09 - 00;06;10;29
Angie Pierre
Well, as an undeclared student, you take a class called Intro to PC and one of the first assignments was why do you why did you decide to go to Providence College? And what is your goal for for being here? And what do you hope to pursue? And at the end of my paper that I written, I said that I'd like history and I like to analyze information, and I hope that it can contribute into a major one day.

00;06;11;11 - 00;06;26;04
Angie Pierre
So my head by my advisor for the class had told me about this job opportunity, and I was like, this is amazing. This is exactly what I want to do. So I took up on it and I'm like, I'm really happy that I am able to take it and I'm able to do this and help Dr. Lopez.

00;06;26;29 - 00;06;43;29
Stasia Walmsley
On a day to day basis. When you're working and doing this research, what does that look like for you? What kind of actions, what kind of work are you doing day to day? And then is there anything in that work that you have been able to discover maybe about yourself or about the topic that surprised you?

00;06;45;06 - 00;07;20;15
Angie Pierre
So I look primarily I like primary sources so I look at like newspapers and I gather information from those newspapers or any other primary sources that I able to see and I organize them into a document. And then after I'm during our weekly meetings, we talk and discuss and analyze the things that I found in those sources. And I think one of the one of the things about these sources that surprised me the most was about Noble Johnson, who was the president of one of the production companies, Lincoln Motion Picture Company.

00;07;20;15 - 00;07;44;13
Angie Pierre
And he was like one of the first African-American film stars. And what it surprised me the most about his character was about his about who he was, was that after he died, he had changed his race on his death certificate to White. And because he he played about between 155 160 roles. And some of the roles he plays played were of different races.

00;07;44;14 - 00;08;12;29
Angie Pierre
This when he was not with Lincoln. So I kind of thought between because of him being playing these different races and different roles, that he kind of got lost in this like racial identity. Which surprised me the most. Like kind of blew my mind that one of the first African-American film stars had this had this, like had was just it was probably like some point like thinking about his racial identity that at the end he were too like he changed his race and his death certificate.

00;08;13;05 - 00;08;15;20
Angie Pierre
So which I thought was pretty interesting. And it surprised me.

00;08;16;21 - 00;08;34;20
Stasia Walmsley
That's really fascinating. And I wonder, Dr. Lopez, if these are that. Could you talk a little bit about these discussions that you have about the research that Angie is uncovering and, you know, when she shares these observations with you, how does that inform your work and the work you're doing on your manuscript?

00;08;35;04 - 00;08;56;23
Dr. Alyssa Lopez
I will start by saying that Angie is incredibly helpful and going through a ton of newspaper databases for me, I because it's in the middle of the pandemic. There's archives that I haven't been able to get to, but they are sending me like hundreds of pages of scanned documents that I don't really know what's in them. And I give them to Angie and Angie checks them out and lets me know, okay, you should probably look at this in more detail.

00;08;56;23 - 00;09;21;02
Dr. Alyssa Lopez
This has some really interesting quotes and her notes are really detailed. So she's been incredibly helpful in sort of narrowing down where to look for for material for me. But I think that the the thoughts that she brings me about. So for star power for, for one example, right. Talking about Nobel, Johnson helped challenges me to think through a lot of the materials that I might be more familiar with.

00;09;21;02 - 00;09;50;11
Dr. Alyssa Lopez
I think I know because I've read the historiography. Sure. But she's bringing a new she often brings me a new point of view, I suppose, or a different take that because I had seen it for so many times. I read it so many times. I'm like, oh, yeah, I know what that means. In addition to Nobel Johnson, she talks a lot about a lot of the ad material that she looks at, focuses on Clarence Brooks, who was also a founding member of Lincoln Motion Picture Company, but who was also one of the first black stars.

00;09;50;11 - 00;10;15;08
Dr. Alyssa Lopez
But within race films, as opposed to Noble Johnson who was more of a like pre Hollywood mainstream cinema star. But how ads for black film really played on him, right? That audiences would know him. They would want to see him, that sometimes he came to theaters to see audiences after a film shot and that material of course, have been looking at ads.

00;10;15;08 - 00;10;35;17
Dr. Alyssa Lopez
Right. But her attention to detail that I'm maybe forgoing in some cases. Right. Is really helpful and thinking through, oh, what is the draw for some of these films beyond those black characters, right? It's that this actor is seen as so important. But he also he's a fixture in potential local communities. Right, because he gets to come to every showing that's particularly interesting.

00;10;35;17 - 00;11;03;04
Dr. Alyssa Lopez
Right. She did similar work with some of the stock advertising materials for similarly Lincoln Modes. We even spent a lot of time on Lincoln City, but in that one of the first black female millionaires in the country was funding Lincoln Motion Picture Company. Right. And she was she was a beautician. She has a she ran a beauty madam C.J.

00;11;03;04 - 00;11;33;13
Dr. Alyssa Lopez
Walker. She ran a beauty empire. Right. But she's also funding race films like that. Those connections are really cool. And Angie sort of forcing me to think through again the the large nature of early race filmmaking that it's not just this here is commercial film and whatever here those filmmakers it's that by the nature of racial uplift, there's all these different aspects of the community that are feeding into what black filmmaking is in the early 20th century.

00;11;33;20 - 00;11;35;25
Dr. Alyssa Lopez
And so I really I really enjoyed your help in this.

00;11;36;25 - 00;12;07;08
Stasia Walmsley
I'm really interested to see how this connects to some of what is happening within Hollywood today and the uplift of of not only black actors and actresses and an attention to the types of roles they they get, but also thinking through how leadership behind film and the focus of making sure that there are there's representation at all levels of the filmmaking director in particular.

00;12;08;19 - 00;12;36;02
Stasia Walmsley
I'm wondering how your research might connect to that and maybe talking a little bit about that. But then also, Angie, I'm interested as somebody who is coming at this from from your perspective as well as somebody who might be new to some of this material where you're seeing the connections between what is in the the source material from pre-World War two and what you're seeing and what some of the actions are today.

00;12;36;14 - 00;13;03;03
Dr. Alyssa Lopez
So you think that the emphasis of my research on the sociable sort of answers that question about who the power behind certain things, right? Because I don't just talk about filmmakers, right. Which are the most obvious form of representation, but I focus on audience members, particularly black women spectators. Right. And how they navigate the interior space of theaters and what moviegoing means for them.

00;13;03;12 - 00;13;28;00
Dr. Alyssa Lopez
Right. But also projectionists who like we don't even in modern times, we don't even think about like the projectionist at all because it's literally a machine where we put a projectionist pushes a button now versus in the 1920s. It's someone who's literally cranking the machine and needs to make sure that it doesn't catch on fire. But what does it mean when that projectionist isn't black in an all-Black neighborhood like Harlem right.

00;13;28;00 - 00;13;52;26
Dr. Alyssa Lopez
Or black journalists Who are we looking to for information on black film, on black moviegoing in the early 20th century? So I think that the sort of social feeds into what you're asking about, who gets to say what, who gets to have an opinion and who makes black film culture what it is. Right? Because my argument is that it's not just film.

00;13;52;27 - 00;14;02;18
Dr. Alyssa Lopez
It can't just be the film text. It's got to be reception. It's got to be the labor that goes into it. And the the conversations that happen around that text.

00;14;02;20 - 00;14;12;04
Stasia Walmsley
Angie, has this affected how you look at film and cinema and how you are a consumer of that medium now?

00;14;13;10 - 00;14;31;21
Angie Pierre
Well, what I think about when I'm thinking about this research, it has me looking at it has me thinking about the whole idea of with representation and how in the early 20th century it was we have to have this representation out there. We have to have a better especially after Birth of a Nation. We have to have a bit there.

00;14;31;27 - 00;14;58;02
Angie Pierre
We have to give the public a better view of who we are and not how there's not this stereotype in this and all the stereotypes about black African-Americans in the United States. But when you look at kind of look at films today, there is kind of in most cases, there's like a lack of this representation. There is sometimes it's it's not valued as much or it's not people are not going out there way like getting this representation.

00;14;58;02 - 00;15;19;02
Angie Pierre
And so it has me looking at the way that it has me looking at is it how did it start and where is it now and like where is it going now? So every time I'm like doing these researches, I kind of compare it to what is I kind of compare it to like how it was back then and how it is now and how has everything changed and how much has changed and how much really hasn't changed.

00;15;19;02 - 00;15;22;24
Angie Pierre
So that's kind of how like how I try to look at it when I'm doing these research.

00;15;22;26 - 00;15;46;15
Stasia Walmsley
Angie, I'm wondering if we could switch gears just just for a minute. And talk a little bit about your how you found what what was it about Providence College that attracted you to become a student here and in particular, especially in light of this opportunity to work directly with Dr. Lopez on this research? Has it? How has it met your expectations how is it?

00;15;46;20 - 00;15;52;09
Stasia Walmsley
Is it what you expected? And how is maybe different than what you thought it would be like to be a freshman at PC?

00;15;52;16 - 00;16;11;02
Angie Pierre
Well, my sister was is an alum here, and I used to come when I used to when I used to visit her, she'd always give us these tours and say, like how much she loved being here and how much Frenchy and the friends that she made in her classes and I kind of when I was applying to schools, I kind of didn't know where I wanted to go.

00;16;11;05 - 00;16;29;10
Angie Pierre
And I was a little unsure about my choices. And then I decided to come here because my sister had talked so much about Providence and how much she loved in the campuses and the community. So I decided to come here and I came here undeclared. So I was even a little bit more nervous because I had no idea what I wanted to do.

00;16;29;15 - 00;16;50;25
Angie Pierre
I knew I like history and I knew I like to, like, look at these information and be able to analyze and be able to talk about it. So I, I was a little bit nervous and through my first semester, like my classes and my work study, I kind of, I'm like step one, a step closer to like being able to declare major and be able to be able to like know what I want to do.

00;16;50;25 - 00;17;11;08
Angie Pierre
And it's like it's a comforting feeling because I'm not like as lost as I was when I came here. And like, it was it was definitely a journey that I really like, especially working under Dr. Lopez, because I was able to understand a little bit about myself for because of like this whole research about like early race films in the 20th century.

00;17;11;08 - 00;17;26;16
Angie Pierre
And I was able to understand what I like to do more and how maybe I want to incorporate this aspect of research into future career. And like, it's helped me understand a lot more about myself and like what I want to do. And it's and it's like, I'm not as nervous anymore. As I came when I came here.

00;17;26;16 - 00;17;26;25
Angie Pierre
You know.

00;17;27;18 - 00;17;50;01
Stasia Walmsley
That's terrific. And Dr. Lopez, is this what I'm definitely hearing from Angie is that coming in undeclared, it's allowed her to kind of follow her curiosity. And I'm wondering if you see that as something that is characteristic of other pieces students and and what your experience is like teaching at Providence College?

00;17;50;18 - 00;18;15;05
Dr. Alyssa Lopez
Yeah, no, I'd say so. So I teach history 100 year two which is sort of it gives you the writing one. Right. But it's also specific. It's meant for majors, early majors, or people who are considering history as a major right. So it's a super skill base. They go in on the first day and I'm like, Listen, we've got a general topic here, but we are learned skills like how to read, how to find sources, how to write like nitty gritty.

00;18;16;01 - 00;18;39;26
Dr. Alyssa Lopez
And I think that I've, I've encountered a number of undeclared, I think at least half of my current history. 100 is undeclared and I really love watching those like interest. But one, even people who don't decide the major, they get to choose their research topics right. So I have a number of athletes who are explicitly choosing like athletic sports related topics, but they're into it.

00;18;39;27 - 00;19;00;23
Dr. Alyssa Lopez
They like I love doing the research, which even if you're not a history major, you get to do something you enjoy. Right. So I think I, I, so yes, of course there's people who come in there and become a history major and they're super good at it and they love it. Fine. But I the, the skills based aspect of it gets to be super rewarding when students get to focus on what it is that they want to focus on.

00;19;01;02 - 00;19;24;01
Dr. Alyssa Lopez
And with Angie, I think we're finally getting into a point where I have to start writing the things that she has been researching for me, and she's going to switch gears and focus soon on the research that she wants right. So she has like various interests that of like she's pocketed from the research that she's been doing for me that I'm like, okay, we're going to come back to this where you get to like dig deeper into this.

00;19;24;01 - 00;19;41;02
Dr. Alyssa Lopez
I think she's got quite a few interesting points that she wants to talk about or look into. I think that I'm excited for her to go back to and explore on her own with the sort of grounding that she's gotten with the work that she's really helped me with over the past few months.

00;19;41;25 - 00;19;48;14
Stasia Walmsley
And I'm wondering if you could share how you came to pick what attracted you to be a professor here?

00;19;48;27 - 00;20;12;05
Dr. Alyssa Lopez
Yeah, so I love teaching, right? Like I really I really do get like I already said, I get a lot of joy out of watching students grow in the classroom and also just inspiring students as well. I, as I told you for my story right about my own it jump into my research topic that that came from a professor being like, here's this thing.

00;20;12;05 - 00;20;38;01
Dr. Alyssa Lopez
And I was like, okay, what's that? Right. And I want to spark that in students. I want to be inspiring force that makes students want to learn more in whatever area that they want to learn to get more information right. I get a lot of joy out of being a teacher in Providence. College really values that. And so I feel really supported here in wanting to be a better teacher and focusing on my teaching.

00;20;38;09 - 00;20;57;06
Dr. Alyssa Lopez
My colleagues in the history department are incredible. And supportive, and I've really enjoyed being here. I very much enjoy being in person. My first year was entirely on Zoom, so despite the mass, which again are very difficult to lecture and it's just it's just so incredible to be here and I, I very much enjoy being here.

00;20;57;28 - 00;21;08;10
Stasia Walmsley
Do you must be glad that we're that everything's in-person this year and you're able to attend classes. It must have been a tough senior year last year through the pandemic.

00;21;08;24 - 00;21;25;14
Angie Pierre
Yeah, it was it's a lot harder to connect with others and be able to like, have that one on one conversation or discussion about certain things or like being able to go to your teacher and like, be able to have this conversation with them in-person. Like, I'm like really happy that I'm able to even work with the mass.

00;21;25;14 - 00;21;30;19
Angie Pierre
I'm able to talk to people and have this discussion with everybody. So it's the gut's more comforting.

00;21;31;14 - 00;21;48;01
Stasia Walmsley
Angie, you had just mentioned that you are close to now declaring major, and some of that is based on the work that you have been doing with Dr. Lopez. What direction do you see your your academic pursuits going at Providence College moving forward?

00;21;48;23 - 00;22;14;24
Angie Pierre
Well, I'm considering on having anthropology as a minor because maybe going into something with sociocultural anthropology or like archeology or something in that area, because with my work, I kind of like sound that I'd like to talk about this aspect of culture and like how it developed and like it's just such an interest to me. And like every time I find something an aspect, I find like something that involves the culture.

00;22;15;00 - 00;22;32;29
Angie Pierre
I call it Dr. Lopez. And I'm like, so excited. I'm like, look at it down. So I think that that's where I'm going to go in this direction. And I recently joined Model UN, and it's a new PC club, and I'm so excited to be able to take part in the conference that we're going in New York in April 10th to the 14th.

00;22;32;29 - 00;22;47;10
Angie Pierre
So I'm excited to be part of that. And, and like hopefully that's I'm excited for like the experience I'm going to have there and having it being having it helped me on my path in my PC.

00;22;48;19 - 00;23;10;04
Stasia Walmsley
One of the things I wanted to bring up today because we are recording during Black History Month, I am just wondering, Dr. Lopez, if when thinking about your focus of research and how it is attentive to the black experience and is it focused primarily in the United States?

00;23;10;20 - 00;23;12;07
Dr. Alyssa Lopez
Yes, in New York specifically.

00;23;12;07 - 00;23;51;26
Stasia Walmsley
In New York, specifically. So, you know, because you're attentive to that experience and as you said, not necessarily just the filmmaking itself, but the social experience of film going. I'm wondering if you could tell us a little bit about what you hope the takeaways are from that research for people who are looking to know more about the black experience and what may be what might be blindspots for for some folks today who might not fully understand how film was part of the black experience and black history?

00;23;52;02 - 00;24;11;21
Dr. Alyssa Lopez
Yeah. So I think that I kind of mentioned it a little bit earlier, but one of the main arguments of this book project that I'm working on is that cinema was both an entertainment, but also a form of protest and cinema. When I talk about center, I mean, like all those institutions that I mentioned before, right? Like black film culture as a whole.

00;24;12;01 - 00;24;39;11
Dr. Alyssa Lopez
And so when we think about it that way as this thing that people did on a weekday, weeknight, whatever weekend I want it to be, sort of I and sort of larger, right. Than just this thing that people did, because it wasn't simply that right. Projectionist are struggling to be unionized and fight for recognition in a specifically black neighborhood.

00;24;39;11 - 00;25;08;13
Dr. Alyssa Lopez
Right. There's meaning behind that. It's not just for unionization. It's that we are black projectionist wanting representation as employers in this industry where you can't show the movie without me. So I want to be employed here, right? Or just spectators that are going to the movies, but framing it within. I've worked a long day as a laundress, as a domestic.

00;25;08;15 - 00;25;33;26
Dr. Alyssa Lopez
I'm tired. I deserve to go to the movies right which in and of itself, that's an act of protest, right? That's a demand for freedom. And so I think that it needs to be this this act this black culture, this act of moviegoing, the labor struggles, the censorship battles, the journalism. It needs to be seen in this sort of like continuum of sort of black freedom struggles, I suppose.

00;25;33;26 - 00;26;04;24
Dr. Alyssa Lopez
Right. We talk about OscarsSoWhite and the Oscars are still so incredibly white. Right. But it's more than the visible things that we see then the actors, then the filmmakers, then the film text that that activism has gone back all the way to the early 20th century, but that it includes those sort of battles that aren't the most obvious, where directors are literally writing letters, fighting with censors, where black women are talking about just going to the movies as like part of their daily struggles for freedom.

00;26;04;24 - 00;26;20;27
Dr. Alyssa Lopez
And within a city, right, where they're generally confined by movement in in public spaces and things like that. So, yeah, I think those are the two largest things, right, that it's a continuum and that it's more than just those things that we can see up front.

00;26;21;15 - 00;26;54;15
Stasia Walmsley
It sounds like it's a vehicle for empowerment within the community in various ways because they maybe have been under the radar, haven't been as as a focus of of censorship or bias or because it's something that the access has not been cut off to that that vehicle for empowerment. And so it's something that that socially has been something that the communities have been able to continue to do in various ways.

00;26;54;16 - 00;27;27;09
Stasia Walmsley
Absolutely. So that that's really that's that's very exciting. And and kind of a similar question to you as you think about Black History Month and you're diving into this research and uncovering maybe new information for yourself and uncovering new information that is going to be part of a manuscript in this book. I'm wondering what are you talking about with your friends about what you're uncovering and what are the things that are so interesting to you that are just all of a sudden now topics of conversation among you and your friends?

00;27;27;16 - 00;27;49;04
Angie Pierre
Well, I kind of I talk about how you don't really when it comes to black history and like in general and in this, you don't really hear about it or it's not really recognized up until Black History Month. And I always bring out I always bring up this concept of like when like before when I was a kid or even now, like it's harder for like a little girl or me to be like, hey, that's me on the screen.

00;27;50;12 - 00;28;13;27
Angie Pierre
And how they had to in the early 20th century, they had to like how to get there. They had to fight that, fight for that, like their funding or through things like getting people to actors and actresses. So it's like I always talk about how like this is kind of they make someone like they look at this representation of like how they, what they were getting or how like they feel like they should have this.

00;28;13;27 - 00;28;20;29
Angie Pierre
They have they can have this as well as everybody else. And they kind of like they fought for that. And I always talk about how it started and like where it is now.

00;28;20;29 - 00;28;38;15
Stasia Walmsley
And it sounds like that might be a direction where you want to take your research going forward. Like Dr. Lopez was saying, that this is something now there's a bit of a flip that could happen where you're able to go in a certain direction with this research and Dr. Lopez can advise you on some of the directions you want to go.

00;28;38;15 - 00;28;43;17
Stasia Walmsley
Is that is that right? Is that where you kind of want to take your what you dig into next?

00;28;43;24 - 00;29;19;13
Angie Pierre
Yeah, it could be there. But it can also be like how women, I guess, are perceived in this and this like this construction, because there are ads that talk about like there are like ads or certain resources that talk about like women. If women and children can't see the movie, then women shouldn't be able to see the movie or they their sources that talk about like how women can't go walk through like certain just like streets in Chicago where some of the theaters the theaters where so there could also be that, but it also could be like this whole cultural aspect of this building, like this construction of like these these early race films.

00;29;19;13 - 00;29;38;25
Angie Pierre
Like everybody's like becoming a part of it. Like, you know, people who, like, didn't originally like make films aren't getting a are beginning to like wanting to make films and be able to add to this like uplift like no, I'm going to like they have their own opinion or they're saying of how I want how how I want black people in America to be viewed.

00;29;39;03 - 00;29;59;21
Angie Pierre
So it's like it's everybody becoming a part of it. And it's like, is it like paints this beautiful picture about like how we always want the best for, like, our society and we're always going to fight for each other. And it's like it's like one of the best aspects. Like, the best thing I like I like seeing when I'm doing my research and it's so, it's so great and how it's a community effort.

00;29;59;21 - 00;30;25;05
Angie Pierre
Everybody's getting involved. Everybody's helping each other when you're, like, looking at these newspaper source, these resources, and they're like, they're like promoting these films. I go see these films and everything, even though, like, some of the advertisement could be like, could it kind of you could be a little bit negative, especially towards, like, women, everybody's going into these and everybody's like coming in to help these to help like this uplift.

00;30;25;05 - 00;30;52;24
Angie Pierre
And you see like people you see like certain newspapers or people talking about in these newspaper columns about how don't go watch this movie or don't or don't promote this this company, because their movies are they're creating movies that are derogatory towards that race. And they're not helping us. They're making films that make us look like they're making us look like like lower and less then.

00;30;52;24 - 00;31;11;11
Angie Pierre
So don't go out and do not go promote these movies because they're not helping this uplift aspect that we're trying to promote here. So I just like the love like I think in my research, my gut, my go to this whole community aspect towards it because it's just so interesting. It's so fascinating that you just see all these different people coming from these different areas.

00;31;11;11 - 00;31;32;21
Angie Pierre
Different places, different they were in different jobs before coming into this and like how with how they have to find their own funding or how they had to find their own ways to get these films and get not being able to be censored and having to produce what they wanted out there and especially like what they had to do if they didn't really have the funding.

00;31;32;21 - 00;31;34;09
Angie Pierre
So which I thought was pretty interesting.

00;31;34;23 - 00;31;56;06
Stasia Walmsley
Yeah, there's definitely an element of intersectionality. And I think, Dr. Lopez, you were saying before, too, that that in particular looking at the experience of black women and their access to to cinema. I wanted to ask both of you if you had just about the 50th anniversary of women at Providence College, and both of you are fairly new to the community.

00;31;56;19 - 00;32;26;25
Stasia Walmsley
What has been your experience this year? Just kind of understanding a little bit about the history of Providence College, and especially in the context of it being an anniversary where we're celebrating women and having matriculated 50 years ago and now being such a force on campus. And certainly the majority of our students are women. But I just wondered if you had could talk a little bit about the experience of of being here during the celebration.

00;32;27;25 - 00;32;49;03
Angie Pierre
What I personally think about as like as a woman, like I have like this access to the education. Like I can equally talk to people about what I have, what I have to say. So like I feel I feel like very open and very comfortable on this campus. And I'm like really happy to be here to be able to celebrate the celebration of like 50 years of women on this campus.

00;32;49;17 - 00;33;16;03
Dr. Alyssa Lopez
I agree. I think that there's the atmosphere of sort of celebration helps cultivate a spirit of support, right. For the work that we're doing, whether that's in the classroom or energy with me or my research or me just in constructing my research in my teaching. Like I said, my colleagues are super supportive I think that the atmosphere makes for one that support seems available and there.

00;33;17;08 - 00;33;29;08
Stasia Walmsley
When you're not deep in your research, Dr. Lopez, which I it's probably, you know, teaching and learning in research. I'm just curious, what are your what are you reading what are you listening to.

00;33;30;06 - 00;33;51;07
Dr. Alyssa Lopez
Or I am a very big Neil Gaiman fan. And just this past week, right at the end of break, right before we got back, I just read, though, I finished all of it. I finally read all of his novels. And the last one I read was Anansi Boys, which talks about an African god who is a spider. God is sort of a trickster.

00;33;51;14 - 00;34;00;25
Dr. Alyssa Lopez
It's really it's really good. I very much enjoyed it. All of his books are great, but that one was particularly good. What am I listening to? I watch a lot more TV than I do. Anything else?

00;34;00;29 - 00;34;01;04
Stasia Walmsley
Yeah.

00;34;03;01 - 00;34;07;25
Dr. Alyssa Lopez
I've been on a supernatural kick. I just finished Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and.

00;34;07;25 - 00;34;08;09
Stasia Walmsley
I'm.

00;34;08;10 - 00;34;12;09
Dr. Alyssa Lopez
Watching Charmed. So I'm I'm in the girl power mode right now.

00;34;12;29 - 00;34;13;27
Stasia Walmsley
It sounds awesome.

00;34;14;12 - 00;34;14;16
Dr. Alyssa Lopez
Yeah.

00;34;14;19 - 00;34;24;02
Stasia Walmsley
Connects very well with our 50th anniversary about. How about you and what are you doing for fun? What are you listening to? What are you reading? If you get to read for fun.

00;34;24;15 - 00;34;46;09
Angie Pierre
So when I have time to read, I've been reading graphic novels, so I've been starting from like the silvery age. I mean, the golden age, which is like towards like the end of the 1940s and I'm like making my way up to now. So it's very, it's a lot of commitment. And when I get time, when I'm like, not reading for other classes, I try to get, I try to get to there.

00;34;46;09 - 00;35;09;18
Angie Pierre
So I've just finished a part of Batman Golden Age, and I'm going to Green Lantern Golden Age, yeah. And what I'm watching, I'm also watching a lot of cooking videos on YouTube. This this woman is making bento boxes and I like I'm obsessed with her videos and like one day, hopefully when I gain the trust of my family, I can go into the kitchen and make those bento boxes for them as well.

00;35;09;26 - 00;35;31;07
Stasia Walmsley
I love it when you make your own video and you can send it to us and we'll send it out and people can make your bento boxes. That's that's amazing. Thank you so much. It's been great talking to both of you. Oh, I'm really glad that you were both available for the podcast and keep us updated on the research and how the publication is coming.

00;35;31;07 - 00;35;51;12
Stasia Walmsley
And, and keep us in mind, certainly we love to hear more about what students are doing across campus at any given time. And we'd love to have you back on the podcast too, at some point. And when you when maybe we'd love to hear about the U.N. trip to. So keep us in mind for that because that the model U.N. is it new this year?

00;35;51;12 - 00;35;53;16
Angie Pierre
Model UN Yeah, it's brand new.

00;35;53;24 - 00;36;21;01
Stasia Walmsley
I just think that would be really fun to hear how the first conference goes. And fingers crossed that it's it's going to be in-person and yet to meet some great people. So thanks again to both of you and best of luck on continuing the research. Thank you. Thanks again to Angie Pierre and Dr. Alyssa Lopez. Subscribe to the PC podcast wherever you listen, including iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, Google Play and Spotify.

00;36;21;23 - 00;36;25;27
Stasia Walmsley
If you like what you hear. Please review and share with others. Thanks for listening.