A Question of Habit
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In the February 23, 2008 episode of Saturday Night Live, Tina Fey made a
seemingly serious case for Hillary Clinton as president, arguing that we
shouldn’t mind if she’s a bitch because “bitches get stuff done.” Fey went on
to bolster her argument with the following observation: “That’s why Catholic
schools use nuns as teachers and not priests. Those nuns are mean old
clams, and they sleep on cots and are allowed to hit you. And at the end of the
school year, you hated those bitches, but you knew the capital of Vermont.”
How did nuns become part of this discussion? And how did they get reduced
from the historical reality of their significant contributions to such a narrow
and nasty caricature?
Enter “nun” on Ebay and you’re likely to get over 800 items ranging from the
old to the new, expensive to not, devotional to hostile, nostalgic to edgy,
historical artifact to caricature, tasteful to kitsch. Examples include an “
antique French nun’s linen dress”, starting @$531.00, a DVD of a film entitled
Sinful Nuns of St. Valentine, starting at $18.99, and “vintage ceramic nuns
playing baseball….CUTE!,”starting @$1.00.
A Question of Habit explores popular culture’s fascination with all things “nun”
and dives into the real stories behind the women religious in the United
States from the battle field medics of the Civil War to the creators of the first
HMO in the Country to the political activists fighting against capital
punishment.
The film is narrated by Academy Award winner Susan Sarandon.
seemingly serious case for Hillary Clinton as president, arguing that we
shouldn’t mind if she’s a bitch because “bitches get stuff done.” Fey went on
to bolster her argument with the following observation: “That’s why Catholic
schools use nuns as teachers and not priests. Those nuns are mean old
clams, and they sleep on cots and are allowed to hit you. And at the end of the
school year, you hated those bitches, but you knew the capital of Vermont.”
How did nuns become part of this discussion? And how did they get reduced
from the historical reality of their significant contributions to such a narrow
and nasty caricature?
Enter “nun” on Ebay and you’re likely to get over 800 items ranging from the
old to the new, expensive to not, devotional to hostile, nostalgic to edgy,
historical artifact to caricature, tasteful to kitsch. Examples include an “
antique French nun’s linen dress”, starting @$531.00, a DVD of a film entitled
Sinful Nuns of St. Valentine, starting at $18.99, and “vintage ceramic nuns
playing baseball….CUTE!,”starting @$1.00.
A Question of Habit explores popular culture’s fascination with all things “nun”
and dives into the real stories behind the women religious in the United
States from the battle field medics of the Civil War to the creators of the first
HMO in the Country to the political activists fighting against capital
punishment.
The film is narrated by Academy Award winner Susan Sarandon.
Released: January 2011
Credits:
Bren Ortega Murphy - Writer/Producer/Director
Michael T. Whalen - Producer/Editor
Narrator: Susan Sarandon
Credits:
Bren Ortega Murphy - Writer/Producer/Director
Michael T. Whalen - Producer/Editor
Narrator: Susan Sarandon
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For more info visit: http://www.questionofhabit.com
Screenings:
* March 5, 2011 Queens World Film Festival in NYC
* April 4, 2011 @ Santa Clara University
* August 6, 2011 @ UFVA conference
* March 5, 2011 Queens World Film Festival in NYC
* April 4, 2011 @ Santa Clara University
* August 6, 2011 @ UFVA conference
Television Broadcasts:
* January 2012 - Chicago PBS
* January 2012 - Chicago PBS
