‘Doctor Who’ Director Rachel Talalay Wants Women To Kick Ass
Rachel Talalay, director of Doctor Who, encouraged women to “kick down that glass ceiling” in a rousing speech at the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles on Saturday night.
“I am constantly exasperated that my gender is even a topic of discussion,” she said, after being introduced by Tank Girl star Lori Petty.
“But we’re on the cusp now, and I want you, all of you, to use genre as a voice to get under their skins, make your statements, tell your stories, break down their walls, and kick down that glass ceiling.” She added, “It was [years ago] when the Dixie Chicks had their lives threatened for criticizing George W. Bush and they were told to ‘Shut up and sing.’ Now we are yelling back, ‘Shut up and listen.’ Our stories are part of our revolutions, shut up and listen.… As a post-punk feminist warrior, I can’t stop fighting, and none of you can either.”
“I want to end on a more positive note,” Talalay said. “I often find inspiration in the beautiful poetry in the writing on Doctor Who. In a revolutionary move, the doctor has — improbably — regenerated into a woman, against all past predictions. Hooray! In one of her male incarnations, she said, ‘I am and always will be the optimist, the hoper of far-flung hopes, and the dreamer of improbable dreams.’ These are no longer dreams, and they are no longer improbable. Our voices matter and will be heard.”