This Oscar-Nominated Cinematographer Got Real On Instagram About Working While Pregnant
"Pregnancy and motherhood in general is not a disadvantage and the craft doesn’t suffer as a result."
This is cinematographer Rachel Morrison. Earlier this year, she became the first woman EVER nominated for an Oscar for Best Cinematography for her work on Mudbound.
She's also worked on a bunch of other movies, including Dope, Fruitvale Station, and, of course, Black Panther.
Morrison and her wife, Rachel Garza, have a young son and another baby on the way.
On Friday, Morrison posted a photo of herself on Instagram, pregnant and carrying a camera on her shoulder.
Morrison said she just wrapped her upcoming film, Against All Enemies, while eight and a half months pregnant.
"There’s a common misconception that likens pregnancy to some kind of disability — the idea that women who are pregnant shouldn’t be active and can’t go about their normal lives," she wrote in the caption. "While no two pregnancies are the same, I just want to say that for many to most women this isn’t the case at all."
Morrison said she plans to keep working "for as long as anyone will hire me knowing in a few weeks I may have to replace myself if I go into labor on set."
ADVERTISEMENT
"The point is I am NOT a superhero," Morrison wrote.
Morrison and her wife, Rachel Garza.
"I am just going about my life doing the thing that I love for as long as I can because the more I work before baby the longer I can take off after," she said. "Which should also be MY choice and no one else’s."
Morrison added that she would have been fine going back to work a week after having her son — but she "lost many jobs because people were nervous to hire me so soon after the birth."
"Pregnancy and motherhood in general is not a disadvantage and the craft doesn’t suffer as a result," Morrison said. "If anything the added experience and enhanced empathy has made me a better cinematographer and filmmaker."
ADVERTISEMENT
People are applauding Morrison for her powerful statement and think she's pretty freaking incredible.
Rachel Morrison - first woman cinematographer to be nominated for an Oscar and the reason your faves like BLACK PANTHER, MUDBOUND, and FRUITVALE STATION looked sick af - just wrote an amazing post about working during pregnancy 🙌🏾✨ https://t.co/ZhIjJ3R5JQ
"She is a BEAST at the cinematography game and this post just made me admire her more," one person said.
She is a BEAST at the cinematography game and this post just made me admire her more. https://t.co/HVrM57B0zE
"What a fierce and talented role model to have to look up to," said another.
She just wrapped a feature while 8 months pregnant. 👏🏼 I really look up to this incredible woman. What a fierce and talented role model to have to look up to. Keep doing the damn thing @morrisondp https://t.co/1UZqnuhT2j
"I wanna say 'superhero' but women legit do this and get no recognition," another said. "Women are powerful."
I wanna say "superhero" but women legit do this and get no recognition. Women are powerful. https://t.co/K1yzJ6dMlw
-
Julia Reinstein is a reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in New York.
Contact Julia Reinstein at julia.reinstein@buzzfeed.com.
Got a confidential tip? Submit it here.
