“The Power Of Feminine Rage, A Visionary Statement” by Jennifer Trudrung

The Power Of Feminine Rage, A Visionary Statement

As I wasn’t the director, but the writer/producer, I hope it’s okay that I say my vision from those perspectives and the shared vision I had with Polly Schattel who was the actual director. When I chose the Stephen King short story “Here There Be Tygers” to adapt for the Dollar Baby program I had every intention to do a very  straightforward adaptation. I had visions of a modern day Calvin and Hobbes for the young boy and his tiger. But as a mother of two daughters, I realized that so much that I was seeing, especially in Stephen King’s works (no offense to him) and on television were stories of boys and young men with normally one female character that may or may not play the love interest. I thought, here is my chance to change that; to make this a female story, and a female story of coming into power and in this case, into strength and rage. I also wanted to capture the political climate at the time, with our conservative president with a sordid past (and present) and the disillusionment and anger I was feeling as a woman at the time, (and unfortunately still am feeling). I wanted to explore the cruelty women and girls can place on each other especially in a society and culture that deems them inferior and/or pits them against each other. All of this was the undertone of Tygers for me. I would say Carrie was a big inspiration for me in this adaptation and I’m really grateful that I was able to adapt one of my hero’s stories.

-Jennifer Trudrung (December 23, 2024)