Director of ‘Power of the Dream’ discusses collective action amid upcoming elections

On Wednesday, community members gathered to watch “Power of the Dream,” a 2024 documentary by Dawn Porter following the WNBA’s historic 2016 and 2020 seasons and the Black Lives Matter movement. The event was part of “Our Storied Health,” a film and media series hosted by Brown’s Pandemic Center.

The film starts in 2016 with the killings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, two Black men, by police. The film follows the league through 2020, when players from all teams came together to fight for justice for Black Americans, helping Rev. Raphael Warnock win his 2020 U.S. senate election in the process. 

After the film, Porter spoke with Lucia Hulsether, a professor of religious studies at Skidmore College, in a panel discussion moderated by Jennifer Galvin ’95, a filmmaker-in-residence at the center. 

Porter discussed how important visual mediums are in displaying and spurring political action. 

“Every story can help social change. The common element with visual storytelling is its ability to empathize with people in a very visceral way,” she said. “You can always find the humanity in people in every story.”

Reflecting on the WNBA players’ unified front, both Hulsether and Porter emphasized the importance of “thinking beyond the individual” as the 2024 election approaches. 

“They had to rely on one another … they had to abide by their own social contract,” Porter said of the players.  “We think about the safety of others in the same way we think about our own safety.” 

“Life or death stakes are with us every day, not just during presidential elections,” Hulsether added. “Get people to the polls, help people vote … but what can we do to get people primed to act before the moments are essential such that there is greater power when something big is at stake?” 

Hulsether and Porter criticized the way Black WNBA players are often depicted in the media. The film shows “how deep the solidarity is” within the WNBA, Hulsether said. “Perhaps, people who think the WNBA needs to be catering to a racist fanbase could watch this film and say, ‘Maybe there’s something here that’s full of potential if they don’t.’” 

While many of the films in the “Our Storied Health” film series directly focus on public health issues, Galvin and Jennifer Nuzzo, Director of the Pandemic Center stressed the tie between voting and public health.

“The traditional way of communicating information about health and science just doesn’t work,” Nuzzo told The Herald. “If we were going to reach people in the way that we truly need to reach them to save lives, we have to speak to their beliefs. That’s not something science does well or easily, but it is what the arts do.”

“Health is political. People are making decisions about your health and your family’s health every day.” Galvin said at the panel.

In an interview with The Herald, Galvin added that “‘Power of the Dream’ speaks to the heart of the values of public health. Everyone deserves a healthy and safe place to live, learn, work, and play.”

“My hope is that people will remember that every vote counts, that their voices matter,” Nuzzo followed. “We are a nation of individuals. Elections are individual votes rolled up. Individual acts compound to larger impact.”