“There’s a common misconception that likens pregnancy to some kind of disability — the idea that women who are pregnant shouldn’t be active and can’t go about their normal lives,” Rachel Morrison observes in a new Instagram post. “While no two pregnancies are the same, I just want to say that for many to most women this isn’t the case at all.”
Morrison made history earlier this year when she became the first woman to receive an Oscar nomination in the Cinematography category. She was up for her work on “Mudbound,” Dee Rees’ acclaimed drama about two men who return home to Mississippi after fighting in WWII.
Now the “Black Panther” DP is using her platform to speak out about the industry’s sexist, retrograde attitudes towards pregnant women and moms — and how these attitudes result in fewer opportunities for women.
“I just wrapped a feature #againstallenemies at 8+ months pregnant,” Morrison writes. “Now I’m on to a commercial and I plan to keep shooting for as long as anyone will hire me knowing in a few weeks I may have to replace myself if I go into labor on set… the point is I am NOT a superhero. I am just going about my life doing the thing that I love for as long as I can because the more I work before baby the longer I can take off after,” she explains. “Which should also be MY choice and no one else’s. Physically speaking I could have gone back to work within a week of having my son. At the time, I lost many jobs because people were nervous to hire me so soon after the birth but again I say this should be left up to us.”
Morrison emphasizes, “Pregnancy and motherhood in general is not a disadvantage and the craft doesn’t suffer as a result. If anything the added experience and enhanced empathy has made me a better cinematographer and filmmaker.”
Besides “Mudbound” and “Black Panther,” Morrison’s credits include “Confirmation,” “Dope,” and “Cake.”
“DPs, I think by nature, like to hide out behind the camera, out of the spotlight, so it’s definitely a new experience on every level,” Morrison said regarding the press attention she received following her Oscar nod. “I never really thought about [being a woman with this job] in terms of breaking barriers or anything like that. For me, it was always just putting my head down and doing the best work that I possibly could,” she explained. “But I guess I’m realizing that suddenly I’m a role model, which is exciting, just the idea that there are and will be more of us for people to look to on their way up. There’s been a dearth for so long, and hopefully it’s just the beginning. Hopefully, the floodgates start opening and you’ll start to see 20, 30, hopefully someday 60 percent female DPs — women in the camera department, but also cinematographers.”
Women accounted for just 4 percent of cinematographers on the top 250-grossing films of 2017.
See Morrison’s complete post — and a pic of her confidently supporting a big-ass camera while pregnant — below.
