The ‘industry’ isn’t necessarily a community; it’s an industry, but there are pockets of community within it (such as the #FilmStack community!), and it is a place where an artist may find purchase and a means to create. To find belonging is powerful, and can lead us down the way.

I am grateful to many folks who have been an inspiration, partner, mentor or collaborator. To name just a few: Geoff Gilmore, Michelle Satter, Bird Runningwater, Ted and Vanessa Hope, Sterlin Harjo, Ryan Piers Williams, Wilmer Valderrama, Effie Brown, Scott Glen, Randy Redroad, Kimberly Guerrero, Jessi McEver, Don Johnson, Charles Murray, Teddy Grennan, Tommy Oliver, Blackhorse Lowe, Josh Brolin, Sian Heder, Elliot Page, Melissa Leo, Monique Walton, Leah Meyerhoff, Praveen Pandian, Tracy Brennan, Dan Guando, Lynette Howell, Rahdi Taylor and many more.

So often, we are more than what is seen.

A deeper well resides, and on occasion, there are those who see us…

Being who you are is an ineffable art. An evolution, a pathway, a long trip. A rolling of cosmic dice. It is also a collective experience, something that shouldn’t go unnoticed.

I love seeing people. I love seeing the rich histories, the unique journey of a person, their expression of lineage and vision.

If you have had times in your life, your family, your relationship, your friendships, your community – where you have felt underestimated, or unseen, then this is for you. This is an offering. An opportunity to expand the space around you and know yourself differently…

There are depths within us that we may have yet to uncover. These are the ripe spots, the places where you can magnify and discover more of who you are, and who you may not yet know.

Experiencing acknowledgement is rare for some, and in abundance for others. Acknowledgement can come with achievement, notoriety, or even beauty. But in my experience of working with artists and human beings of all kinds, everyone experiences invisibility, even with the highest levels of recognition.

For those who have grown up with little support in their personal and family systems, that is a ripe framework for being underestimated. But even with support, the human being can feel innately flawed. Insecurity is developmental.

What is there to prove?

The art of being underestimated reflects on a pathway of self-reliance that allows us to see ourselves, for better or for worse. One of the most powerful ways of reinforcing a sense of Self is the acknowledgment of others. In other words, turning your gaze outward and seeing others. Here is a path to seeing ourselves in the eyes of another.

The greatest act of love could be the act of seeing someone, and in turn being seen. There is such a power in knowing that someone sees you, that you shine brightly in their eyes. Even with good parents, not everyone gets this.

This is an invitation to go deeper and know Oneself, in ways that could surprise you. The Archeology of Self. The sinking. The expanding. The freedom. The Power.

There is a context, or construct, of embracing what it means to be insignificant. That is power. In many traditions, such as Buddhism, mindfulness, tribal or village culture, and rural life, this is the highest state.

There is a subtle art to progressing in your life, whether seen or not.

In these challenging times, remember that storytelling is ancient.

Filmmaking is a contemporary expression of an archaic form…. So, we are the carriers of the old ways and the blood memory of the artist. Stay true to yourselves and your voice and vision.

Look to the sky, and feel your feet on the ground. Hold hands with the spirit of what you are creating and resist conformity. You are a proud member of changing ways, and the pulse of something on the rise. Steep in your energy and expression. Know yourself. Listen to others and hear deeply into what is behind their words; what is the heart asking for?

Protest the theft of the authentic. Fight back. Trust the anger. Ask yourselves, am I present to the force that I bring? Am I an ally to this powerful truth? You’re either an ally or not; there is no grey area. You are a person of your word; that is what you have. That goes with you to the spirit realm. Those who trust you have reason, you are that strength. You stand for what is real.

The ‘power’ systems will rot in their own illusions. But never mind that, that isn’t our concern. Nor is it our frequency. We are something larger, brighter, deeper, subtle… the integrity of time. When you speak, your thoughts, words, actions align. You are Genuine.

Remember the dream world. It is weaving in the background. Go there and enhance things before they take form. Remember, all things start in language, so use words wisely and respect the generative power of the tongue.

Stay steady. Stay keen.

hrp

However, the act of seeking approval from others and ‘fawning’ as a trauma response and survival mechanism doesn’t serve any of us.

Note: for those of us who came up in an environment of hypercriticism, that is a toxic state. From a therapeutic standpoint, it generates from cognitive disorder and is a mechanism for shame. From a spiritual standpoint, hypercriticism is wicked.

has a great podcast on Fawning. And I am very grateful to for giving me some Bitch energy with his beautiful works.

That pushed me to an interest in economics and the inner workings of the systems that structure our lives.

The Political Economy

The United States is the wealthiest country in the world, and we have one of the largest wealth gaps of any highly industrialized country. Wealth inequality is, in fact, very American.

The entertainment industry isn’t separate from the U.S. political economy—it’s one of its most expressive symptoms. Entertainment is a microcosm of the macro system, and we are uniquely and intricately woven into this economy.

Our economic system in the U.S. is a mixed-market economy with its foundation in Capitalism. There are two dominant ideologies when it comes to political economy – ‘Free Market’ developed by Milton Friedman and ‘Keynesian Economics’ developed by John Maynard Keynes. The U.S. is a mix of the two, providing free-market capitalism and a dose of social welfare that offers programs such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Services (Food Stamps, TANF, SNAP, etc).

Our ‘political economy’ is an intersection of law, policy, tax systems, market economy, and social and corporate welfare (more on corporate welfare down the page). Some things to note: 10.5% of Americans live below the poverty line, and the ‘poverty line’ was established in the 1960s. Children are the poorest individuals in the country, with 14.4% of children living below the poverty line. The ‘Working Poor’ (full-time workers who remain below or right at the poverty line) are another significant share of the political economy.

These numbers adjust depending on the community you hail from – poverty does travel differently through varying communities via racial and ethnic lines. Following the conception of the country, and the tremendous economic disadvantage of many, I think it’s important to understand the intersectionality of political economy – the darkest institutions in U.S. history: slavery, Jim Crow laws, and systemic racism in banking, education, housing, and industry have impacted generational economic gain.

Political economy cannot be separated from history…

Land, Labor & Capitalism

The American economic system was created with Capitalism as the goal.

In Europe, before the ‘migration’ to this land (don’t get me started), Feudalism was a land-based system of power, loyalty, and protection, where kings, nobles, knights, and peasants each played a role in maintaining a deeply unequal but structured society.

This underlines the seizing of the Americas… it was and always has been about the land. These European roots in Feudalism drive the conceptual foundation of the economy and the underlying ‘land grabbing’ of the systems of Capitalism. Getting all you can is a Capitalist, and thereby American, value.

One way that America built its foundational wealth was by creating federal agencies like the Bureau of Land Management, which was the formal design for stolen land. Its predecessors were the General Land Office (GLO), established in 1812, and the Homestead Act of 1862 (which the GLO administered), which were pivotal in seizing Native lands to become private property owned. Understanding how Capitalism and its value system shaped the economic base for the United States helps us understand how we fit into this system.

Another aspect of how we fit into history is the fundamental American view on poverty as the fault or responsibility of the individual. Crazy enough, this stems from the Elizabethan Poor Laws of the British Empire, which qualified poverty as such. This imprint has withstood centuries, and it underscores the way America functions from the standpoint of policy, law, and economic opportunity.

Franklin D. Roosevelt was one of the early presidents to truly address this structural poverty when he created the Social Security Act in 1935 after the Great Depression. And President Lindon B. Johnson was the next to design an anti-poverty charge in the United States when he created the ‘War on Poverty’. Inspiring to note: these changes were greatly influenced by the early social workers of the time, namely Frances Perkins, who was appointed by Roosevelt to serve in the presidential Cabinet, the first for a woman.

Where Those of Us in Entertainment Fit In

Entertainment is one of the country’s number one exports, following Aerospace. With the recent shifts in the industry, impacted by the pandemic, strikes, fires, and flyaway production, this is challenged. However, Hollywood, the media, music, and theater remain a steadfast part of what drives America’s creative economy.

The question of how we can sustain ourselves as artists and creatives is an ongoing factor. And there is the unavoidable truth that our industry has its own version of structural poverty. Understanding independent production and the journey of being an artist (or supporting artists) could be observed through a socio-economic lens. I think it’s important to understand the political economy and where we stand in it—and how our industry fits inside of it.

The conversation about sustainability has been ongoing for some time. It was striking to hear filmmakers Sean Baker and Brady Corbett speak truthfully about their own personal and professional journeys, and the lack of sustainability for even the highest-level, award-winning filmmaker.

Many of us have been contemplating Ted Hope’s non-dependent cinema (NonD

e) as a path to economic and creative sovereignty. Perhaps this is my #FilmStack Challenge of the Year – offering a social welfare or ethical tenet to what we are collectively creating. I am currently pursuing a Masters in Social Work, for the very purpose of working more effectively in Macro-systems. So, resonating with FilmStack’s First Principles #7, here is a hopeful value add for confronting structural poverty and working for the betterment of all.

It has also been impressive and inspiring to see what Producers United has done in a short amount of time to challenge the structural inequity that independent producers face (one of the few groups in the industry make-up that is not unionized). For the first time in my career, I received an early commencement wage on a project – something I would not have asked for had I not become a member of Producers United and followed the guidance and collective momentum of the group.

Although the leadership of Producers United may not see themselves as organizers in an anti-poverty movement, they, and all involved, have been fighting for something that addresses the structural poverty in our community.

We’ve come to understand the concept of anti-racist, that being non-racist is not enough, we need to take bold steps to confront racism in the system that surrounds us. Well, I propose that we, as an industry, also take strong positions against structural and endemic poverty. We need to actively engage in anti-poverty strategies and find powerful and effective ways to stand for one another.

We need ethics in our industry, a true value system that recognizes the value of people, of the worker. One that mitigates the overvaluing of celebrity, an odd extension of the monarchy. And one that is not complicit with the corporate welfare offered to studios and streamers (see corporate welfare appendix below!) Ultimately, finding pathways that offer collective strength and coalition building is a true power.

Elinor Ostrom was the political economist who theorized about collective action, governance, and the Commons. She greatly challenged Hardin’s 1968 theory of The Tragedy of the Commons, which suggested that human beings fail at collective self-governance. Because of her work upholding the Commons and pro-community sentiment, she was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Economics, and she was a Los Angeleno. Ostrom’s thinking helps us to reframe how we think about resource sustainability, democracy, and human cooperation. She sounds like a good producer.

“What we have ignored is what citizens can do and the importance of real involvement of the people involved – versus just having somebody in Washington... make a rule.”

“Humans have a more complex motivational structure and more capability to solve social dilemmas than posited in earlier rational-choice theory.”

--Elinor Ostrom, 1930-2012

“I got fuck-you money, girl..”

--Post Malone

UNDERSTANDING CORPORATE WELFARE

Since the 1940s, the U.S. tax burden has shifted from corporations to individuals. In the 40’s, corporate income taxes made up 40% of federal revenue. By 2015, that number had dropped to just above 10%. The notion has been that lower corporate taxes help create jobs, but the truth is: people are still struggling, and economic inequality in the U.S. remains one of the highest in the world compared to other developed countries.

So, since 1940, the country has been moving steadily toward a cradle-state for corporations, and the American worker is carrying the load, leaving the true heart of the economy – the people – to contend with the complexity of sustaining a life.

—Ella Langley, Country Boy’s Dream Girl

May 31^st was a fifteen-hour drive to Idaho, something I have done a hundred times over. Driving out of L.A., the 14 gets us to the 395, then into Nevada, a cutover to the 95. From there, the Interstate 80 up to Winnemucca, where my dad was born. I remember going there with my family as a kid, but the only memory that stuck was The Griddle, a place that claims ‘Good Cookin’ since 1948.’ This is the place for pancakes in the state of Nevada.

My day was fueled by Ella Langley, Jessie Murph, Shaboozey, and eventually a little George Jones, George Straight, and Led Zeppelin. Ella Langley marks for me one of the freshest female country artists to land the recent spotlight – her nomination for Favorite Female Country Artist at the American Music Awards made a lot of sense, as did the win to Beyonce for Cowboy Carter (my other obsession – and that show is an entire Substack post).

This drive is through Paiute country. Pretty much all the way. Paiute and Shoshone. I always think of the Dann sisters when I drive through this country. They have been an inspiration to me for as long as I can remember, for the strength of their fight for land and rights. But it was their fight for the horses that caught my spirit as a young person. I grew up with the Challis [Idaho] band of mustangs, which moved along the East Fork of the Salmon River. I used to follow them, from a distance, on my own horse. All wild horses are threatened today, but the power of the Dann sisters somehow guides their freedom.

I saw a family of mustangs today in central Nevada, somewhere after Hawthorne, a picture-perfect assembly alongside the water. I often see rams on this stretch; they are one of the most regal and robust of the four-legged, negotiating the rock-face cliffs as they do. I have photographed my share of wild horses, but never a Ram.

I once road-tripped through Northern Nevada with Sam Shepherd (and my friend Elizabeth in tow). Sam and I had the idea to work on an experimental documentary called Nevada, born of our mutual fascination and reference for the state. The land, really, but also the place – the towns, the highways, the colors, the people, and the vast space that allows for something else to emerge.

We drove around Winnemucca, Sam’s version of the town. This included hitting the best bars, and passing by the various brothels at the edge of town. Not sure whether his knowledge was empirical or just bar-knowledge of the landmarks. From there, we made our way north and ended up at my dad’s hat shop in Donnelly, Idaho. Sam was a solid patron of my dad’s hats and loved all things of the authentic West.

Both Sam and my father died of Lou Garret’s disease.

I wish I knew where those hats ended up.

(Sam & dad at the hat shop)

Before my dad got sick, he came to Santa Fe and hung out for a few months while I was working on a show, waiting out the Valley County winter. As if Santa Fe’s winter could be mild to another… but it can be. During this time we spoke of years of life behind us, and at a point he asked if I’d consider taking the family name back: Priest. I had dropped all my last names when I was a teen – too much pain, too much memory, and too much to contend with. I took off when I was fifteen and left family and all that behind. But last year, I honored that conversation and took back his family name, so I am Heather Rae Priest.

Not too long ago, one of my dad's friends told me a story of their last trip to Winnemucca – a party trip. At some point, my dad wanted to go to the brothel, but first had to swing by the grocery store to get pork chops and potatoes. His friend said they went to the brothel, my dad made dinner for the staff, and they partied the night away. I dared to ask, did he patronize the brothel?

His friend said no. He just wanted to make them pork chops.

It should be noted that throughout Central Mountain, Idaho, my dad was famous for his pork chops. I never knew him to use anything but salt and pepper, but somehow, they were magic.

I do have an association with Nevada and men. Elko has hosted the Cowboy Poet Gathering for years and years, going back to the very early days of my dad's hat-making. He was a mule packer and a cowboy, and I’m not clear if the hat-making may have come out of necessity. I think it started with just cleaning and blocking the hats of his peers. But as time went on, and his body couldn’t cowboy or mule pack anymore, well, making hats was there.

From Winnemucca you get back on 395 and head north. You’ll go through the Fort McDermitt reservation, and then cross into southeastern Oregon. Some miles later Rome, Oregon, and beyond that is Jordan Valley, one of my favorite rodeos of the region. My dad used to sell his hats at that rodeo, one that maintained that intimacy and charm.

Driving this country, you are feeling some of the finest High Desert a person can see in the American West.

There are many places in the world with crystalline substrates, and the geological phenomenon varies accordingly with these rock manifestations. In the central Idaho deserts, there are crystalline structures the size of skyscrapers beneath the earth. In my younger years, I developed an interest in spelunking (cave exploring) and spent some time in the underground of central and southern Idaho.

One cave promised a crystal wonder-site at the other end of a ten to twelve-foot ‘tube’. The crystal cropping in the ‘room’ at the other end of the ‘tube’ was something the New Age dreams of, a conglomerate of stalactite dreamscape and a powerful pay-off to the breath-defying ‘tube’ which was a rock birth canal that required us to blow out all our air, move a quarter to half inch, then breath some more and inch further along. I don’t know why I wasn’t afraid. I’m hyperventilating as I write about it now. But I can understand the treasure of the unknown, and I continue to have a deep sense of wonder when it comes to the Earth.

I often question whether or not there are places where we are meant to be, even for a particular season of our lives. Should we know ourselves in different spaces and places? And gather from the land, knowledge and culture of a place? It’s an interesting question for storytellers… For nearly a century, there was the notion that to work in the entertainment industry, one had to live in either Los Angeles or New York (and perhaps other major cities for theater and such). But that notion has decentralized, and many have exited, back to a homeland, closer to family, beyond the country’s borders, or to new lands.

I think of filmmakers as our nation’s storytellers. Writers, filmmakers, artists, and thought leaders are narrative designers, those who weave the story of the broader culture and perhaps the future. There is an inherent responsibility in this also…. And an interesting cultural dynamic in terms of how Hollywood works: the business of ‘IP’

The way that ‘IP’ or intellectual property navigates in the entertainment industry is a transactional and commercial exploit – often looking like an article or book or story that one has to tell. The halls and floors of the entertainment business are looking for stories to tell, hunting for stories at times, bidding on IP like a trade war over the truth. Quite often, the proud winner of the ‘story’ has never known the lands, time, or truth of the intellectual pursuit. At that point, the work of the winner is to either find a carrier of the story, or carry it themselves. The writer, director, producer becomes the anthropologist who is telling the story.

There is an entire body of storytellers who have never known the lands of the world – they are writing for the world, telling the stories of the world, but anchoring into the better sides of what we know as La La Land, Los Angeles. Once I was meeting with a high-level television executive who addressed this reality, stating, “95% of television is written by a group of people who live within a five-mile radius of each other: Brentwood. Their kids all go to the same schools, they shop at the same grocery stores, go to the same gyms, parties, and eat at the same restaurants.”

This has changed to some degree; there are more broadly represented writers and creators in television, but the anthropology still begs a larger question of where one exists, and how they relate to the world. And the pandemic gave permission to many to change their locale and travel somewhere else, whether it be where they came from, where family existed, or where they wanted to be. It has provided some kind of freedom.

So the question is: Does a person need to be in Los Angeles, or New York for that matter, in order to create film and television content? And from an ontological perspective, where do you need to be for your soul? Would being on a different set of rocks inform your journey differently? Change the way you see or are experiencing the world? My inclination is that people who work in the entertainment industry, and carry the responsibility of storytelling and content creation, have the right and responsibility to ask a much larger question of themselves and each other: Who am I in relation to this land and culture I am a part of? Where do I stand? What is calling me?

The alien part of the title: off the coast of Southern California, there have been multiple accounts of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs) going into the sea. The theory is that there are underwater bases along the coastline where extraterritorial activity has been noted for decades. The activity is increasing, which I find curious. And if you believe you are the only thing that exists in the Universe, you should definitely just stay in Brentwood.

But in these times, to see and appreciate what is most essential is to transcend the brutality of the world’s state of being. Some who know me know that I am in the process of becoming a therapist, via the route of a Masters in Social Work. It is my intention to deepen my work with artists, but also to engage community and larger systems. To work with groups of people, in all the ways we gather ourselves: productions, collaborations, working teams, companies, organizations, and families.

There are fundamental systems that haven’t always been given the attention necessary to establish healthy ways; systems such as communication, workplace culture, values-led management, and the science of leadership. The entertainment industry has a significant need for improved systems as do the arts in general, which is ironic but also not so surprising.

In studying varying theoretical frameworks, I am seeing a path forward that gives space to a larger conversation about how-to-be, how-to-lead, and how-to-evole. We can utilize our collaborative spaces for personal and professional development, and for cultural healing. Every group in existence is in need of healing, and in equal parts. Therein lies our equality: we are all equally in need of healing.

I am hopeful to engage with many around ideas of evolving our humanity. Whether a person acknowledges it or not, we are all on an ontological journey. Ontology being the study or science of Being, and the more that we collaborate on an ontological understanding of who we are, the further along we move…