Thursday, 5/1/97 Artist explores myths, emotions behind girls’
ripening sexuality Ogrodnik dramatizes what culture neglects by
contrasting twin sisters’ unique sexual maturation
By Stephanie Sheh Daily Bruin Contributor The scenario is
familiar enough in television and film. It’s prom night. There is a
hotel room reservation. A teenage girl is eagerly anticipating her
journey into womanhood. Everything is going to be wonderful,
beautiful, romantic … perfect. But such is not reality. And first
time writer/director Mo Ogrodnik communicates this in her new film
"Ripe," which portrays the confusion and pain also associated with
sexuality. The movie is about twin sisters, Rosie and Violet, who
embark on an adventure of self-discovery while hiding out in a
military base. "I felt very much that there was a need to look at
female sexuality under a lot of the myths," Ogrodnik explains.
"What it means to be a teenager and a virgin in our society. I
wanted to show teenagers, kids, what I think it was really like for
most of us, to sexually come of age or to become sexually active or
to not become sexually active, but that there is something painful
about that and alienating and scary. I really wanted to explore
that." With "Ripe," Ogrodnik also wants to break down the rosy
picture created by the media about sex. Ogrodnik admits that "Ripe"
is not politically correct, but she is more concerned about
documenting what she thinks to be true. She starts off by attacking
many misconceptions about female sexuality. "(The misconceptions
are) that girls don’t masturbate and that girls don’t have sexual
urges," Ogrodnik says. "They are that girls don’t initiate their
own sexual experiences at that age, that girls don’t get angry
about sexuality and that girls don’t feel alienated about
sexuality." According to Ogrodnik, women’s feelings about their
sexuality are numerous and complex, but these emotions are not
often explored in the images presented by media. "There are all of
these girls that are on the covers (of magazines), 15-year-old
girls," Ogrodnik says. "They are the objects of desire, but we
never go beyond the image and really find out what’s happening for
the young girl in terms of anger, being objectified, being a sexual
object and how that feels. In addition, the kid who’s maybe not so
attractive is very alienated and feels left out of that loop. The
rejection can make them feel very angry like, ‘How come you’re not
objectifying me?’ They can feel ashamed. "I think it’s so
complicated," Ogrodnik continues. "There’s room for many more films
about this subject matter, but the way I like to think about it is
that it’s kind of a ‘coming out’ film for straight girls. It’s
saying that straight girls come out of the closet too and it’s
confusing and painful." Both Rosie and Violet go through many
sexually maturing experiences, but their different personalities
cause them to deal with sexuality in different ways. In one scene,
as the sisters walk by virile young soldiers, the are confronted
with a barrage of catcalls. Violet thrives on the attention, but
Rosie defensively gives them the finger. Ogrodnik purposely
presents the two views together. "I really wanted to make a film
about the two sides of myself that are at war about sexuality,"
Ogrodnik reveals. "One part of me feels very trusting and
vulnerable, loves men and wants to be with them. The other part of
me feels very angry, mistrustful and violent in some way. This kind
of dialectic between these two sides of myself is part of every
relationship I have with a man." Ogrodnik says that these two
opposing sides of her personality did not end with puberty. The
internal conflict continues throughout a woman’s life. "To me, the
film is also about where I am now as a 30-year-old," Ogrodnik
confesses. "I still feel that there is this conflict, this duality
within me that fights between feeling alienated and trustful."
Ogrodnik does not just struggle with her sexuality, but also fights
to convey her ideas about sexual identity on screen. With the
enormous task of making her first feature film, Ogrodnik had to be
organized and story-board the entire movie. She only had three
weeks to shoot the film, and learned a great deal through her
filmmaking experiences. She says that making a film is an "exercise
of self reliance," because no one could teach her how to really do
it. However, she does have some advice for aspiring film students
at UCLA. "Believe in yourself," Ogrodnik advises. "That’s the most
important thing, to really have a clear sense of what it is and why
it is that you’re making the films. Have a clear sense of what I
call the ‘throughline’: what this film is really about
thematically. What it is that you’re trying to communicate as a
writer or director to your audience? You can really clarify it down
to one or two sentences. I am not talking about the plot, but what
the movie is really about to you emotionally. Then lastly, really
believe in yourself and really take risks." FILM: "Ripe" opens in
Los Angeles May 30 at Sunset Laemmle. Trimark Pictures
Writer/Director Mo Ogrodnik oversees a scene from her directorial
debut, "Ripe", about the challenges of sexuality for teenage girls.
Trimark Pictures Daisy Eagan stars as Rosie, who wanders through
the lonely backroads of the South in search of a better life in Mo
Ogrodnik’s "Ripe." Related Links: The Official "Ripe" Site