About a minute later Screaming at midnight, Gretchen Stoeltje’s passionate documentary about Texan lawmakers’ repeated efforts to eliminate access to safe and legal abortion, footage of an elderly protester appears on the Internet. screen. The gray-haired man peeked out from under his hat, holding up a sign that read: “I can’t believe I still have to protest this damn thing.” The short clip is sandwiched between one of the former state senators Wendy Davis passionately speaking in front of a crowd of protesters and another among the protesters who presumably marched for the same cause decades ago. there, revealing a surprising truth about civil rights: They’re always under siege.
In societies built on inequality, equal protection under the law is not guaranteed. The spoils of the hard battles of one generation are not promised to the next. Screaming at midnight understand this, and perhaps that’s why Stoeltje’s syndicated film uses Davis’ historical drama as a point source – a moment that stimulates more Texans to organize. Watching Davis stand on the rooftop of the state capitol in Austin for 11 hours inspired three of the doctor’s subjects – Sadie Hernandez, Carole Wall and Krithika Shamanna – to take action in their communities. What emerges from their stories, woven into Davis’ monumental act, is the importance of local politics, a reminder of how regional decision-making paves the way for national policies. disadvantage.
Screaming at midnight
Key point
An informative and energizing chronicle of the struggle to save legal abortion.
The opening montage, which is soundtracked by The Chicks’ (officially Dixie Chicks) protest song, “March March”, leads to an effective summary of the political climate before Davis’ filming. . Through a face-to-face interview, Davis, a minority Democrat in Texas state politics, explains how her time in office (2009-2015) was characterized by rapid adoption. of the Republican Party toward far-right, Protestant views. Later, Governor Rick Perry and Attorney General Greg Abbott were among many white men in office who had promised to ban abortion and protect “unborn children.” They – along with other lawmakers – will go on to pass a series of legislation stripping away the protections Roe v. Wade (a Supreme Court case that originated in Texas).
When state legislators introduced SB 5, a bill that would close 37 of the 40 abortion clinics in the state by 2013, Davis and Democrats in her state had decided to remove it. Unlike at the federal level, a film in Texas does not preclude presentation of the bill; instead, it’s an opportunity for open debate – giving Texans a chance to understand the impact a proposed law would have on their lives.
The legislator’s physical requirements are severe: Only one person can stay on the floor, they cannot swap seats with another legislator, take a sip of water, lean on the table for support, or leave the floor to use the bathroom. Davis was elected to conduct the filming. On the day she was due to speak, she had a urinary catheter inserted.
Screaming at midnight Davis successfully dramatizes the film by breaking down hours of CSPAN footage with the story of Hernandez, Wall, and Shamanna. Hernandez, a college student from Brownsville, Texas, experienced the moment through the tweets of Andrea Sherman, a local journalist. She found herself inspired by Davis’ determination and joined Planned Parenthood, first as an intern and then as an organizer. Her advocacy focuses on making the reproductive justice movement inclusive of working class, gay, non-binary and transgender people. Shamanna, then a high school student, started a campaign for her school to provide free menstrual products.
Wall’s story begins with an impressive letter she wrote about the abortion that saved her from having to bury a child that doctors determined early on had no chance of survival. born. Davis read the letter aloud during her filming and, in footage from that moment, we see the congresswoman holding back tears and momentarily choking at her words. Witnessing the impact her story had on the senator made Wall feel ashamed of her decision and made her more elated. She drove to the capital that day to join hundreds of other protesters in support of Davis, and later took a job with Planned Parenthood.
Stoeltje toys with structure in other ways. She’s not afraid of interruptions, using them often to understand the awkward jargon surrounding the bill and the film’s rules. This gives power to the document, which would otherwise pose little aesthetic risk.
The power of the subjects’ stories and the weight of abortion as a subject makes Screaming at midnight an absorbing watch. Stoeltje observes the challenges of aligning around such a controversial issue with the same vigilance as winners. Ironically, that stability gives the film’s final moments – when Davis is minutes away from a hit – a surprising emotional impact. It’s easy to gain benefits like these. What’s harder, and what Stoeltje makes clear in her documentary, is to appreciate what it took to get there.
