Fists

Well, I kept my promise to my son. I raised my clenched fist and yelled out my bedroom window, “Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner.”

Why?

Blake’s movie, “The Totally Mind-Blowing Show” won the best TV pilot award at the Thilsri International Film Festival (TIFF).

Then I refocused on the Thilsri logo, that clenched fist, and asked, ” What does it mean? What does a fist have to do with a film festival? What role have fists played in my life?”

I left the comfort of the womb with clenched fists;

I tasted the power of the fist as I punched an adversary in the gut and licked my bleeding knuckles after they smashed into the teeth of my enemy;

Every Yom Kippur, I pounded my chest with my fist as punishment and acknowledged my transgressions—my sins, greed, lusts, and anger. Yes, I confess my sins. (viddui)

During the Viet Nam War and the protests to free the Jews of the Soviet Union, I raised my fists in solidary with these movements;

Meir Kahane’s Kach party logo and flag was a fist wrapped in a Magen David;

I watched the Black Panthers raise their fists and chant, “Power To The People.”

As I heard their chants, it hit me like a clip to the jaw, the meaning of the Thilsri logo to the filmmakers.

Yes, that black clenched fist surrounded by a black-bordered shield represented protection from rejection.

When a filmmaker receives an email from a film festival rejecting their film, it feels like a hail of punches in the solar plexus. (Blake and I know that feeling.)

So here’s my suggestion, when the filmmaker reads their rejection email, he/she must raise their protective shield and chant, “I’m a winner, winner and I deserve a chicken dinner.”

As the filmmaker laughs, the pain of rejection quickly dissipates.

Give it a try.

And thank the Thilsri International Film Festival for its compassionate logo.