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Socks, Written by: Dr. Mary E. Weems

Empower Social Justice through Art with Award-Winning Film 'Socks'

Learn more about Socks below and how you can utilize the material for your organization's social justice mission.

Slavery is alive. As Belinda, Laprise Johnson delivers an award-winning performance that is a walk in the socks of the snatched, a brave recollection of relevant events and times and the aftermath of a lucky one, one who escaped.

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Welcome! 

 

The short film Socks, a one-woman, one-act drama, takes an up close and personal look at this seldom talked about American Tragedy through the lens of Belinda, a young Black girl, snatched from the inner city, Cleveland laundry her mother managed, and purchased as an anniversary gift for a pedophile.  


I’ve been using my work to speak out against racism and social issues for over 25 years. Every social movement has had artists whose creations were an integral part of the struggle for social justice. As a survivor of rape, I was inspired to create Socks when I learned Ohio was major Human Trafficking hub. Socks is designed to increase awareness about the issue, educate, entertain and hopefully inspire people who engage this Award-Winning film to act.


I am offering two options for using Socks:

 

1) A one-time license to use the work via a Vimeo link to individuals and/or organizations for a fee.
 

2) Use of the film followed by a workshop with me (via Zoom or in-person) which provides an opportunity for attendees to respond to the work for a fee.

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I’d like to thank Renee Jones of the Renee Jones Empowerment Center for promoting Socks including allowing me to present during her Human Trafficking Awareness Training week with new allies she’s developing in Malawi, Africa, and for inviting me to present Socks during Human Trafficking Month at RJEC’s Conference.


Please contact me via my website if you represent an organization or individual interested in using Socks. 

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Dr. Mary E. Weems

Letters of Support for Socks

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Incoming Acclaim

Casablanca Film Factory Awards March 2024 * Best Experimental Film
Hollywood Cinema Beats February 2024 * Best Experimental Film

Frida Film Festival October 2023 * Best Original Short 

New York Movie Award Dec. 2023 * Silver Award Best First Time Director
Paris Film Awards December 2023 * Best Short Film

Wild Filmmaker Festival December 2023 * Best Narrative Short

Green Ciak Film Awards December 2023 * Best Narrative Short 

Star Hollywood Film Festival December 2023 * Special Mention

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Select Visual and Textual Student Responses at University of Alabama - Tuscaloosa, September 2023

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Here are some examples of student responses to Socks. After watching the film I asked students to respond to it in 20 minutes, either this way or in writing. When the time was up, I asked for volunteers to share what they wrote, and their responses framed the critical discussion about the film and Human Trafficking for sex.

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  1. I think that watching ‘difficult’ films such as this is needed because it can educate viewers. I watch a lot of “Law and Order SVU” episodes. While it is fiction, it does a fairly good job of sharing realistic problems against women. However, it was nothing compared to the pain, emotion, and trauma the actor makes you feel in “Socks.”

    I was glad to hear that the character in the film was able to be reunited with her mother. It was heartwarming as she hugged her in tears. 
     

  2. I felt hope leaving and I closed my eyes. When the brutal hands gripped her neck, her open mouth, I knew that horror awaited her. I thought of my own 8-year-old body, my mother warning me not talk to strangers but because I was young and my days were made of glitter and craft glue, I paid her fear no mind. 16 years later I was stuck to the screen by something much heavier than Dollar Tree Elmer’s [glue]. It was the awareness that this baby was ripped from her mother, her laundromat lifeworld.
     

  3. Worthless. How much money did he make by exploiting my body? More than enough to cover my initial cost and by me 100 times over. My innocence will pay for his next victim yet I am now worthless. 

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