Last October — breast cancer awareness month —Business Insider published their report on the NFL’s less-than-scrupulous division of pink-profits. What they found was, of the league’s yearly breast cancer awareness initiative (a month in which NFL players, coaches and personal don bright-pink hats, gloves, cleats, towels and a slew of other items in hopes of selling the products to the fans watching at home on TV), only a staggeringly low 8.01 percent of money spent on the NFL’s pink merchandise actually went to breast cancer research.
I can see how someone might say: “well, at least they’re bringing attention to the disease; at least they're giving something,” and be OK with the whole thing. Something’s obviously better than nothing. But I can see much more clearly how someone might say: “well, that sounds like some exploitative horse-shit right there, they could be giving so much more,” and want to get the word out about the misleading injustice. Well, the Center for Transparency, with their documentary, Pink Ribbons Inc., is doing just that: getting the word out about what's really going on with all the money mixed up in the many breast cancer awareness campaigns.
The documentary, showing tonight at The Palladium in downtown St. Petersburg, explores the role of corporations betrothed to the many breast cancer awareness campaigns, as well as the evolution of the “pink ribbon.” The documentary contends that some companies use pink ribbon-related marketing to increase sales, while donating only a small fraction of earnings to the cause, or use “pinkwashing” to create a more favorable image of themselves. From the millions raised yearly for breast cancer research, the film argues (rightly, in my opinion) that not enough money goes to prevention of, or research regarding possible environmental factors contributing to, the disease.
“We are proud to be selected as the exclusive organization to present the film in Tampa Bay,” said Bobbie Shay Lee, Center for Transparency founder and national spokesperson. “Each year, we see more merchandise and events surrounding Breast Cancer Awareness Month without asking the important questions of how much was raised, where is it going and how is it used.”
Also, on a related note, the film IV League, which follows a support group whose members have all been diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer, and are left looking in from the outside of the pink ribbon movement because, in the words of one member, “They're learning to live and you’re learning to die,” will also be playing tonight. Author Samantha King refers to the situation, appropriately, as: “the tyranny of cheerfulness.”
Pink Ribbons Inc. is playing tonight, at The Palladium in St. Petersburg, at 7:30 p.m. For more information on both films, showtimes and more, visit the Center for Transparency.