Dump Star Media
Dump Star Media LLC is an independent media production company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Our Name & Style
Dump Star Media’s name is an homage to trash filmmaking, a subgenre of B-film popularized/coined by John Waters. We often use comedy to explore American culture, making our work easier to consume than if they were told in a dramatic tone. What we’re doing feels fun and palatable, or perhaps strange and distasteful, but we are always examining our world and calling attention to the societal inconsistencies and absurdities that end up hurting our shared socio-political growth. Camp comedy is self-aware and meant to push boundaries; it’s a great tool to stimulate critical thinking in a non-confrontational manner.
We are taught to ignore what isn’t pretty, not to stare at it. Trash filmmaking challenges these notions by glorifying ugliness in a way that calls attention to our own ignorance. We invite our audience to laugh at us while also considering who is the butt of the joke and why it’s funny.
What We Do
Dump Star Media creates original content as well as produces, promotes, and exhibits the work of other independent media artists with a special focus on artists whose stories and labor are underrepresented in American culture.
Why We Do It
Historically and currently, our society erases and exploits the talents of marginalized groups including the queer community, people of color, and female-identifying artists.
Dump Star Media believes in the importance of equity, representation, sharing our platform with organizations and people from all walks of life.
How We Do It
Dump Star Media actively works to cultivate a more inclusive community by acknowledging the systemic problems in our culture and how we may be contributing to them as well as how we can work to combat erasure, oppression, and inequity. We strive to reduce barriers that prevent people from joining the filmmaking industry, which is notably hard to break into. We ensure that we are creating safe spaces and invite crew members with little or no experience to assist on sets where they can be trained on the job and make professional connections. We also create work-for-trade agreements to help build relationships while cutting production expenses for both parties.
Our Name & Style
Dump Star Media’s name is an homage to trash filmmaking, a subgenre of B-film popularized/coined by John Waters. We often use comedy to explore American culture, making our work easier to consume than if they were told in a dramatic tone. What we’re doing feels fun and palatable, or perhaps strange and distasteful, but we are always examining our world and calling attention to the societal inconsistencies and absurdities that end up hurting our shared socio-political growth. Camp comedy is self-aware and meant to push boundaries; it’s a great tool to stimulate critical thinking in a non-confrontational manner.
We are taught to ignore what isn’t pretty, not to stare at it. Trash filmmaking challenges these notions by glorifying ugliness in a way that calls attention to our own ignorance. We invite our audience to laugh at us while also considering who is the butt of the joke and why it’s funny.
What We Do
Dump Star Media creates original content as well as produces, promotes, and exhibits the work of other independent media artists with a special focus on artists whose stories and labor are underrepresented in American culture.
Why We Do It
Historically and currently, our society erases and exploits the talents of marginalized groups including the queer community, people of color, and female-identifying artists.
Dump Star Media believes in the importance of equity, representation, sharing our platform with organizations and people from all walks of life.
How We Do It
Dump Star Media actively works to cultivate a more inclusive community by acknowledging the systemic problems in our culture and how we may be contributing to them as well as how we can work to combat erasure, oppression, and inequity. We strive to reduce barriers that prevent people from joining the filmmaking industry, which is notably hard to break into. We ensure that we are creating safe spaces and invite crew members with little or no experience to assist on sets where they can be trained on the job and make professional connections. We also create work-for-trade agreements to help build relationships while cutting production expenses for both parties.
Sources:
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/taraji-p-henson-memoir-black-actors-hollywood-racism-diversity-brad-pitt-pay-equality-cate-blanchett-a7358761.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/18/movies/hollywood-separate-and-unequal.html
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/feature-film-directors-overwhelmingly-are-847331
https://www.naacp.org/campaigns/naacp-hollywood-bureau/
https://www.indiewire.com/2017/02/major-hollywood-studios-discriminated-female-directors-eeoc-1201783475/
https://hbr.org/2017/10/a-study-used-sensors-to-show-that-men-and-women-are-treated-differently-at-work
https://www.forbes.com/sites/maddieberg/2015/11/12/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-hollywood-pay-gap/#25eadf5f5cf1
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/sep/27/sexism-film-industry-stories
https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/lgbt/news/2012/04/16/11494/the-gay-and-transgender-wage-gap/
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/taraji-p-henson-memoir-black-actors-hollywood-racism-diversity-brad-pitt-pay-equality-cate-blanchett-a7358761.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/18/movies/hollywood-separate-and-unequal.html
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/feature-film-directors-overwhelmingly-are-847331
https://www.naacp.org/campaigns/naacp-hollywood-bureau/
https://www.indiewire.com/2017/02/major-hollywood-studios-discriminated-female-directors-eeoc-1201783475/
https://hbr.org/2017/10/a-study-used-sensors-to-show-that-men-and-women-are-treated-differently-at-work
https://www.forbes.com/sites/maddieberg/2015/11/12/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-hollywood-pay-gap/#25eadf5f5cf1
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/sep/27/sexism-film-industry-stories
https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/lgbt/news/2012/04/16/11494/the-gay-and-transgender-wage-gap/
To reach Dump Star Media directly, please visit the contact page.