OPENING TITLE SEQUENCE.
THE BEARS WE WRESTLE BY KATHRYN USHER.
(five minute animated short
w/ 22 drawn animation loops and
45 digitally enhanced photographic animation loops)
KATHRYN (V.O.)
The Bears We Wrestle by Kathryn Usher.
WRESTLING COLUMN HEADER.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
I met my husband around the time
WRESTLING COLUMN TERRY TAYLOR.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
I wrote my column on professional wrestling.
JERRY USHER WRESTLER IN RING.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
My dad had been a wrestler and a referee.
CLOSE UP JERRY USHER REFEREE SHIRT.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
When it was legal – he even wrestled a bear.
JERRY USHER’S BEAR WRESTLING WISDOM.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
That’s how he came up with Jerry Usher’s Bear
Wrestling Wisdom. It’s applicable to lots of
situations. Even those without bears.
WRESTLING COLUMN RIC FLAIR.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
The 80s were wild! I partied with Ric Flair. Woooo!
NUMBER FOUR JERRY USHER’S BEAR WRESTLING WISDOM.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
To survive- I applied Number Four of Jerry Usher’s
Bear Wrestling Wisdom “Proper dress is important.”
RIC FLAIR KAMIKAZE COCKTAIL FOUNTAIN.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
When partying with the “Nature Boy” it meant wearing
something green in case I spilled one of those
kamikaze vodka drinks he kept buying.
HEARTS IN LOVE.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
In the late 80s
CHARLIE AND KATHRYN WEDDING DAY.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
I fell in love,
CHARLIE AND NEWBORN KATEE.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
got married. Had a baby.
CHARLIE IN FRONT OF HOUSE.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
Became a family. Bought a home
CHARLIE AND KATEE WITH FORD TRUCK.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
on a tree lined street that
reminded us of New Orleans.
CHARLIE’S HANDS WITH PILLS.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
Two years later my beautiful husband got sick. He
had surgery that went terribly wrong. Along the
OXY PILLS AND BOTTLE.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
way he became dependent on opioids.
KATEE IN DOROTHY COSTUME.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
We struggled making it work.
CHARLIE AND KATEE AT ART OPENING.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
Just after our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary,
CHARLIE IN FRONT OF LOWE’S.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
something horrible happened. My husband
died from an accidental drug
OPIOID NEWSPAPER HEADLINES.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
overdose. I became a young widow.
CHARLIES’ CARGO SHORTS/SAD SHORTS.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
I wore my husband’s brown cargo shorts every day
for a year. My daughter called them my sad shorts.
OPEN STUDIO SIGN.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
I used art making to process my grief.
MAN AND JESUS.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
As I crept towards normalcy —
LEADBELLY AND IAN.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
two people I knew in real life
began cyber harassing me
LAPTOP OPEN.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
on social media. Maybe I could
have anticipated those attacks
MY HUSBAND MONUMENT.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
if I’d paid attention but my husband’s ashes
were still in a box on top of the refrigerator
FOLDING CHAIRS.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
when they picked up virtual
folding chairs to smash me.
NUMBER THREE JERRY USHER’S BEAR WRESTLING WISDOM.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
Their attacks proved Number Three of
Jerry Usher’s Bear Wrestling Wisdom “Be
flexible and ready to wrestle bears at any time.”
JERRY’S PAINT COVERED RIGHT HAND.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
Incredibly, the two attacked my, by then,
84-year-old legally blind dad, because he
JERRY IN REFEREE SHIRT.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
collaborated with me on an art project.
iPHONE POST.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
Their disturbing posts ranged from
statements like they should sue me
CYBER HARASSER POST.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
and take my house to the art I
made really wasn’t art
TEAR HER DOWN HOUSE.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
to I was mentally unstable and
should be hospitalized.
CHARLIE AND CLOUDS.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
Everything about being a widow
was a challenge.
HOUSE FRONT PORCH.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
Sunday afternoons were the worst.
The house was so quiet.
LAMP LIGHT.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
You know late in the day
when the sun slides in,
ORCHID IN WINDOW.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
the shadows of leaves, the light, play
together on the walls and the soft couch?
FLEUR DE LIS WINDOWS.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
Right then, that’s when I missed my
husband the most.
WHY?.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
Why did The Tag Team want to crush
me? I offended their morals.
ROSE SHREVEPORT, LOUISIANA.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
I live in one of the most
conservative states in the U.S.
MORALLY MOTIVATED NETWORKED HARASSMENT.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
Researcher Alice Marwick says a lot
of cyber harassment happens as
Morally Motivated Networked Harassment.
THREE MASKS.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
They punched because they didn’t like
what I did, didn’t like the art I made
STAY WEIRD.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
or who I did it with.
STATUE AND TREES.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
I stopped being vulnerable because I
feared their attacks. I withdrew from
much of social media. Stopped
participating in many real life events.
RENZI AND MASK TEXTILE ART.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
But I still created.
WILD GIRLS ARE GOING TO HELL.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
Somehow I keep offending their
morals by living and making art.
iPHONE WITH GLOW.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
I have no place to turn to so I can tap out
for help. Cyber harassment’s so new there
aren’t many experts. Because the internet and
LAPTOP OPEN.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
social media haven’t been around
long, we’re still trying to figure
out how to wrestle this bear.
HANDS GESTURING.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
I’m on the mat. Arms cover my head in
survival. Bullies brutalize people they
think are incapable of fighting back.
Maybe they’re right. I can’t. Is this how it
TRUST YOUR SELF.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
ends? Wait…Dad told me something
before bear wrestling wisdom.
KEEP YOUR DAUBER UP.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
He said “Kathy, always keep your
dauber up.” Wrestling speak for
keep your chin up. Hmmm. I don’t
know how to begin to bring
GLOW CHARLIE IN FRONT OF HOUSE.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
my chin up. But if I don’t get my dauber
up, cyber harassers will
KATEE WITH SUCKER AND DADDY.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
take my house. The home where we lived
KATEE BRAIN GLOW.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
twenty-five years of marriage,
where we raised
KATEE DANCE POSE.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
our daughter.
DOUBLE SELFIE.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
Ooooo…A little gasp pushes
out of me —
DOUBLE ANIMAL HEAD.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
when I realize I can tear
the metal chairs away from
them — by telling my story.
FOLDING CHAIRS.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
I snatch a chair, then swing
CRUNCH!.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
CRUNCH! It’s not the end.
FIGHT FACE SELFIE.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
The Tag Team bullied me, two against
one. But now I drive the folding chair.
ROARR!.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
ROARR!
TRIPLE TRUST YOUR SELF.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
With every cold metal clash,
I rebuild. Each swing morphs
NUMBER ONE JERRY USHER’S BEAR WRESTLING WISDOM.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
me into an archetype of Number 1 of Jerry Usher’s
Bear Wrestling Wisdom “Get tips or
WRESTLED BEARS BEFORE FINGERS.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
listen to advice from someone
who has wrestled bears before.”
KA-POW!.
KATHRYN (V.O.)
KA-POW!
HOUSE AND HEART.