JoAnn Elam

JoAnn Elam (April 20, 1949 – June 25, 2009) was a Chicago-based experimental independent filmmaker. Her films explored socio-political topics, from feminism to working-class struggles. During the 1970s and '80's, Elam became a central figure in the experimental film scene of Chicago. She is best known for the films Rape and Lie Back and Enjoy It (1982), which can be accredited in part to their continuous distribution from Canyon Cinema. Other notable works include documentaries and short films, such as the unfinished Everyday People (1979–1990). The majority of her work was filmed on small gauge, home movie formats (8mm and Super 8mm), which she has advocated as political decision because it not only increased intimacy with subjects but was more affordable and accessible, and appropriate for small-scale viewing. In her own words, "Small gauge is not larger than life, it's part of life." Everyday People has been of interest to art and film communities because of its incomplete state and the insight into the postal service, where she worked as a letter carrier. Elam was one of eight children. Elam's father was a well known physician and respiratory researcher who developed the method of rescue breathing, or CPR. Her mother Elinor was what Elam called a "practical activist." She served on the Chicago Jobs Committee, was a member of the Chicago League of Women Voters for more than 40 years and was president from 1972 to 1977, founded and was president of the Child Care Center at South Shore United Methodists Church, and has accomplished much more. Elam's first husband Bill Brand, whom she met at Antioch College, was also a filmmaker. She was also married to Joe Hendrix, whom she met through her fellow employees at the US Post Office. On June 25, 2009, Elam died due to cancer. Rape places three women, all rape victims, and the filmmaker, Elam, in a domestic space, one woman's living room. The 35-minute B&W 16mm film depicts the women angrily discussing the physical, emotional, and intellectual turmoil the experience has given them. Peter Steven explained that the film pushed the boundary by encompassing the social change that was seen in the U.S. between men and women and the ideas of gender and sexuality in documentary film.

The film was meant to leave viewers with a reason to discuss rape as a larger issue. By ending the film with an intertitle that flashed and disappeared too quickly to read, it leaves viewers to discuss what should be done about rape but also leaves them to discuss the reason why it should be spoken about. The soundtrack, which guides the moving images, consists of a dialogue between a man's voice and a woman's voice. The man, a filmmaker, wants to shoot a film on his relationship to the woman, but the woman is skeptical and the conversation evolves into a broader criticism of female representation and their lack of autonomy under patriarchy.

Everyday People (1979-1990) Everyday People is a short, experimental documentary film focusing on the lives and struggles of mail carriers in Chicago and their relations with their communities.

In making the film, Elam explored "what it meant to represent 'everyday people'" as Capper explained. Elam wanted to breakaway from the representations of the working class by "avant-garde" film. Capper goes on to state that Elam also explored the dynamics within working class structures. However, Elam stayed close to her main focus on gender issues and feminism by stating in her notes on this work that, "the narrators of the film are black, Puerto Rican, and/or women. These groups are under-represented within organized carriers, which are dominated by Irish, Italian and German men. Because of the choice of narrators, issues of racism and sexism are often brought out." Elam had a plan to construct the film from her ideologies in feminism but also present new ideas about the working class and the postal service through the film.