----------------------------Original message---------------------------- Wheeler Dixon writes: "It seems as if women and Third World filmmakers/videomakers are being marginalized in the ongoing discussion [on Screen-L]." My first thought in reading your post is to welcome you to the list and to put the ball in your court for extending the range of our discussion. Actually, the situation may not be quite as bleak as you paint it. There are some very knowledgeable film specialists on the list; I've certainly learned plenty. Your plea for wider discussion does bring up the need for a wider audience for the directors you refer to. Obviously, the system of distribution to theaters works against independent filmmakers. We can only discuss what we have seen, and theaters in nonmetropolitan areas don't offer much of a selection. In my own case, the only theater in Roanoke that presents foreign or independent films has not yet shown "Barcelona" or "Spanking the Monkey," but we got "Pulp Fiction" on its first weekend of release. The film festival in Charlottesville has been an additional source of exposure to new and different filmmakers, but that's a once-a-year burst. I would welcome recommendations from your quarter about worthwhile films that might not have seen wide release, especially if they are available on VHS. (Mail order film rental constitutes a hefty portion of my monthly budget.) Let's attack this problem of marginalization where it lives. Dan Gribbin [log in to unmask] Ferrum College Ferrum, VA 24088