Shamed - A Documentary Feature Film by Jessica Mockett

About this project

Thank you for visiting our Kickstarter page. We are so grateful to have met our goal, for everyone who helped us get there.

If you are still interested in Donating or learning more about the film, please visit us at www.shamedthemovie.com

You may also keep tabs on our film's progress by joining our Facebook Page, http://www.facebook.com/Shamedfilm

Watch our first Teaser Trailer below.

We made it to the $40K and we are so excited, but please keep giving in these last 2 days! The film costs will far exceed the $40K we've raised here and we encourage you to help us get even farther down the road in this endeavor. We are so grateful to everyone who helped us reach our goal and so grateful to everyone who will help us exceed the goal!

Scroll down to read much more about the project.

WHY WE NEED THIS FILM

As much as we hate to think about it, pornography is affecting our lives.

What was considered “hardcore” pornography 30 years ago is now considered “softcore”. What used to be considered “softcore” 30 years ago is now considered “normalized” pornography (Gail Dines, Pornland). So at the very least level, your life is absolutely affected by what our culture currently displays as “normalized” pornography. Generally speaking, someone you love very much is viewing or hooked on hardcore pornography, you may not know it yet because most users can easily keep this consumption a secret.

Some of you are extremely aware of how living with a pornography addiction can affect your lives and relationships. You also understand how the stigma of shame surrounding the issue perpetuates and increases the problem.

Here is an excerpt from a letter I received from an 18-year-old girl dealing with her addiction to pornography since age 13.

“By the time I understood what pornography was, it was too late. My conscious was telling me that what I was doing wasn’t right, but I didn’t know how to stop. I hid my problem from everyone, convinced everyone would hate me for what I was doing, as much as I hated myself. The more I sinned, the more I hated myself, and the more I turned to pornography for release. As a form of punishment, every time I messed up I wouldn’t allow myself to eat a meal. I saw it as a good solution. By doing so, I might defer myself from sinning, while getting the kind of body the women I saw had. My perception of beauty was warped. My perception of everything was warped…I tell myself, no one would ever guess I have this issue, so there must be many [others] out there who are hiding it just as effectively as I am.”

There are thousands and thousands of young men and women just like this in our cultures. We must do something to help them and to change the way people currently perceive pornography. The overall message of our film will help people to understand pornography addiction by learning to SPEAK openly, LISTEN compassionately, and HEAL completely.

We feel strongly that our best protection against this issue is through awareness, education, honest and frank conversation with your loved ones, and in taking back sex education for the sake of our children.

This is an issue that affects all Christian denominations, as such Shamed will be an interfaith effort, featuring authorities and experts on the issue of many faiths.

PLEASE do your part to make this happen.

▪ Make a donation of $100 or what ever you can afford
▪ Tell your friends, colleagues, and any relevant organization
▪ "Like" the video link above to share this information on FB
▪ Also, "Like" our Shamed page on Facebook to receive updates

Our new trailer is meant to help you recognize how much pornography is in our lives. If you wish for the list of references on the statistics, we can provide that for you via email. share@shamedthemovie.com

EXPERTS ON BOARD FOR INTERVIEWS

We have many other national level experts that we will be pursuing along with prominent religious leaders of varied Christian denominations.

FRIENDS AND SUPPORTS OF SHAMED

We will keep adding more as they join us!

MORE ABOUT THE FILM

Our film, Shamed, will address the debilitating effects of shame surrounding pornography and even healthy sexuality in conservative Christian communities. Through the voices of many experts, religious leaders of several Christian denominations, recovering addicts and their loved ones, we will begin to dismantle the fear and misconceptions that keep shame alive. We hope that this film will empower many more addicts to come forward and began to address the issue in their lives and heal. A large part of the film will be dedicated to teaching young parents how to openly and honestly communicate with their children (starting at very young ages) not only about the dangers of pornography, but also teach them what healthy sexuality is and to understand that healthy sexual relations in the right circumstances are wonderful. We want to help parents realize and accept the sacred responsibility of being the number one sex educator in their homes and make a powerful stand against hardcore porn as the current sex educator. We believe that if parents take a more active role in this, it will begin to turn the tides on an ever-increasing epidemic of pornography addiction in our cultures.

Our all-or-nothing goal of $40,000 will allow us to begin production by shooting interviews with experts, religious leaders, recovering addicts, and the loved ones of addicts. These funds will cover crew costs, equipment, studio location, and travel & lodging for many out-of-state experts. We will be able to create a solid assembly cut from this portion of the production. This can help us find the remaining funds needed to complete the film via film grants, foundations, and large donors.

Donations begin at $5, but donations of $100 add up much more quickly, so please give generously. All donations will be acknowledged with a reward, from credit on the website to various credits listed on the film. As far as other rewards, we hope the biggest incentive for you is to help change lives and support a valiant cause.

We have just received fiscal sponsorship support from a 501(c)(3). If you are interested in donating $250 or more and would like a tax write-off receipt, please email us first at share@shamedthemovie.com and we will coordinate your donation with you.

We will be aiming for a theatrical release on a small scale and then have a wide DVD release. A festival route may be part of our plan to help secure theatrical distribution.

We know that much of the amazing footage we shoot will wind up on the cutting room floor. We are interested in using this extra footage to create additional video feature-ettes that concentrate on a specific faith; giving that group more focus, time, and attention. This will allow for this extra video content to become a resource and a tool for your faith's recovery from pornography addiction. If you would like to discuss this as a possibility for your faith, please let us know.

If you want to learn more about the project or if you are interested in being an on camera subject for this film, please email us at share@shamedthemovie.com.

WHY SHAME?

Unlike guilt, shame is a constricting emotion. When we feel ashamed we are not progressing, nor are we living happy, healthy, productive lives. Shame tells us that we are not worthy of love or support; that we have to conceal the worst parts of ourselves in order to be accepted and loved.

Shamed is a film that will look at the debilitating personal and group shame that exists around the subjects of pornography and sexuality in conservative Christian communities.

A common misconception, fed to us from the media at large, is that the porn user isn't hurting anyone with their behavior. Most pornography addicts will tell you that this is a lie. Their relationship with porn directly and negatively affects their personal self-worth and in turn negatively affects the physical, emotional, and spiritual intimacy with loved ones.

It's imperative that we shift our culture's attitude of not speaking openly about pornography and sexuality for the sake of our children, emerging adults, and young adults with sexual secrets, confusion, or addictions. Removing the mass amounts of shame does not mean we condone acting out sexually. What it does, is allows for a safe place for those entrapped by pornography to come forward and begin to heal. It allows for those yet unexposed to have awareness and open dialogue with a trusted adult; creating a greater likelihood of them never falling into the addiction.

Shamed will offer solutions for turning debilitating shaming behaviors into productive attitudes towards sexuality; teaching couples and parents how to openly communicate with each other and how to correctly teach children about pornography and healthy sexuality. Our intent and prayer, as we proceed into this production, is that we will create a film that will open hearts and change lives for the better.

Thank you for caring, for your faith and trust. Thank you for joining the cause! And God bless!

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Funding Successful

This project successfully raised its funding goal on February 15.

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72 Backers

Donor credit on the film's website.

Estimated Delivery: May 2012

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59 Backers

The above benefit, plus a "Thank You" email from the director.

Estimated Delivery: May 2012