Christie Callan-Jones' Cat Ladies: Breaking Down the Stereotype
Source: AOL
Posted: 04/28/09 9:47AM
Filed Under: Hot Docs 2009
By CHRIS JANCELEWICZ
Any woman with more than two cats who lives alone and doesn't have a significant other is almost immediately derided as a 'cat lady.' TV shows like The Simpsons have popularized the stereotype, and there are even 'cat lady' action figures available in stores.
Director Christie Callan-Jones' documentary, Cat Ladies, takes a look at this persistent stereotype. She offers glimpses into the lives of four 'cat ladies', who range in age from their mid-thirties to late adulthood. Some footage is endearing - the amount of time and money these women invest in the furry felines is impressive - but some is shocking.
AOL spoke with Callan-Jones about everything involving the film, from the emotional difficulties she faced while making it to the ever-present yet non-stigmatized 'cat men.' You may think twice about insulting your cat-loving co-worker after watching Cat Ladies.
Cat Ladies at Home |
Diane shares a moment with one of her cats. |
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PHOTOS |
Your title alone is going to bring in a lot of press.
Well, it is catchy.
What was your inspiration to make 'Cat Ladies'?
It's kind of atypical for a film, because the inspiration actually came from the associate producer, Suzanne Mullett. It was several years ago, but she's over 30, has cats, and she got really tired of people calling her a cat lady. It would drive her bananas. She started researching this stereotype, and then we started researching it, and then it all started developing. We had a huge casting process. It was very collaborative.
How did you decide who was going to be in the film?
Well, I really wanted a blend. A 'cat lady' is not just a little old lady in a cardigan. There's a lot more to it, and that's what we wanted to show in the film. For instance, you have Margot, who only has 3 cats, but she has that intensity in her life. Especially for me (I'm in my 30s), I wanted to see that 'red flag' type of woman who's terrified of becoming a cat lady. Then we have Diane and Sigi, who take it to a great extent, whose lives become all about saving cats. When you put all of those together, you have a portrait and you can show the different layers. It also helps to break down the stereotype - it's not just fat, lonely, old women.
The term 'cat lady' is a very powerful one. If you talk to any woman over thirty who has cats, they're literally terrified of becoming a cat lady.
Do you have cats?
No I have a dog. [Laughs]
We were just talking about that here. There's no such thing as a dog lady.
It's funny, living in Toronto, you go to all these dog parks, and I think women with dogs are considered kind of cool. I have a theory that cats have always had really bad press. Cats aren't all aloof and unfriendly, they can be very warm and lovable. Everyone thinks cats do their own thing, but it's not true. If you have a lot of cats in the house, you're dealing with loads of different personalities. But a dog person doesn't face the same stigma as a cat person. 'Cat lady' is a very pervasive cultural stereotype.
There's even a 'Cat Lady' doll.
Yep, we have one. And not to sound too academic, but it's a way of dismissing older single women. You slap that label on them. But from my experience, especially our characters in the film, these women are actually sort of rebels. They don't care about what other people think, they've rejected society's dictations - like have kids, get married. They're very independent.
There's a weird connection between women and cats too.
Women tend to be more drawn to cats. Cats are beautiful, independent, mysterious...some elements that women have. It seems that men are drawn more towards dogs.
It's kind of hard to picture a man with a bunch of cats.
Oh, but there are 'cat men,' but they don't get labelled. If a man has seven cats, he's eccentric, he's cute. If a woman has seven cats, it's like 'Uh oh, she's crazy.' It's such a negative stereotype for women. And not that this film is transformative at all, but we wanted to show that there's more to it, that it isn't this pathetic woman behind the label.
Did you ever think to include men into your documentary.
Yes, we thought of it, but then it didn't really pan out. I mean, a 'cat man' isn't really a stereotype, it just didn't work. There's a man in Kingston with 600 cats on a farm. We wanted to meet him, but he wouldn't let us in his house...but again, that comes with the whole 'cat rescuer' identity.
Was it unsettling at all to see some of the living conditions these women were residing in?
It's a pretty intense environment being in a small house with over 100 cats. It was overwhelming. I don't want to disparage these women, because they sacrifice everything for the cats. Their money, their living conditions, their house. So on one hand you're amazed at how much they're giving up, but also you think how difficult it would be to live in those conditions. They don't sleep - they sleep 4 hours a day, if that.
Yeah, there was that one woman getting up at 4 am to feed her cats.
And we weren't even shooting that! That was surveillance footage! You begin to understand their motivations, though...there's a lot of issues.
How badly did it smell in the house?
Just try to imagine all the ammonia in there from the cat urine. Funnily enough, you get used to it. At first I was like 'peee-w!' But like anything else, you get used to it. But you'd need an army of 10 to get all that stuff done. It's really impossible.
Was it at all emotionally difficult filming these women so intimately?
Yeah, these women really open up. It takes a lot of courage to open up to me, and this crew. They talk about things like their loneliness, an abusive father, or not fitting in. Those are things that we all feel in some way or another at some point, but to talk about it in such an open way...there were heavy days for sure. We didn't want to exploit that sadness, though, so I hope we found the balance. As a filmmaker, that's incredibly important to me.
They talk about things we've all experienced.
Well, especially if you live in an urban centre. A lot of us in cities feel very lonely. People in apartment buildings don't even know their neighbours. It definitely touches on our lack of community. Because these people have created a world of cats, they don't have time to be lonely.
"Cat Ladies' plays Friday, May 1 at 6:30 pm at the Cumberland Theatre, Saturday, May 9 at 9:45 pm at The Royal Cinema, and Sunday, May 10 at 9 pm at the Cumberland Theatre.
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