It’s June 2009, and that means it’s time to get underway with the “Can’t Stop the Serenity” worldwide screenings to benefit Equality Now, a program that is near and dear to Joss Whedon, creator of the series Firefly and its feature film followup, Serenity.
Equality Now was founded in 1992 to work for the protection and promotion of the human rights of women around the world.
Working with national human rights organizations and individual activists, Equality Now documents violence and discrimination against women and mobilizes international action to support their efforts to stop these human rights abuses.
Through its Women’s Action Network of concerned groups and individuals around the world, Equality Now:
• Distributes information about human rights violations
• Takes action to protest these violations
• Brings public attention to human rights violations against women
Joss’ mother helped found this organization, and as a birthday present to Joss, Can’t Stop the Serenity holds these screenings every year to help raise money for Equality Now.
Joining us to talk about Can’t Stop the Serenity 2009 is David Adams, a member of the New England Browncoats who is the organizer of the Boston area screenings, and Anne Barringer, the global coordinator for Can’t Stop the Serenity. We talk about the charity, the screenings and the amazing growth of the project despite some of the challenges facing screening organizers over the past few years.
Link: Can’t Stop the Serenity
Link: New England Browncoats
Link: Equality Now
I look forward to this every year. Not only is it a chance to gather with my fellow geeks and watch a movie we enjoy on the big screen again, but it’s also a chance to make a difference in the lives of people across the world (and in my back yard, since the Boston screening also collects donations to the local food bank).
Plus, they raffle off some pretty cool prizes. 🙂
I hope this event continues for many years to come. I’ll have to time my next trip to a major city with one of these showings since I’m a huge Joss fan and believe in women’s rights. Joss Whedon has always portrayed women as complex and strong characters, something I try to do in my own writing in fantasy, science fiction and other genres. I wish the organizers of these events, Equality Now and Joss Whedon the best of luck and look forward to seeing more of Joss’ work on television next season!