Brendon Marotta

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Carter Steinhoff and His Mother Discuss Circumcision – Emotional Relationship Conversation

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In this episode, a mother and son discuss circumcision.

Carter Steinhoff feels harmed by circumcision, reached out to me to facilitate a discussion between him and his mom, Tiphani. His mother recognizes the harm of circumcision and wants to find a way to create a safe relationship with her son.

This is an emotionally challenging discussion, but an important one.

In This Episode:

  • [00:44] Brendon thanks Carter and Mom for their bravery to have this conversation.
  • [01:56] Carter shares his initial feelings.
  • [05:50] Tiphani shares her initial feelings.
  • [09:00] Tiphani shares how she became confident to have this conversation with people.
  • [13:20] Regret parents and the need for healing resources for parents.
  • [15:05] Carter shares his feelings toward his parents and the series of events that led him to have those emotions.
  • [18:20] Carter on the impact circumcision has had on his life.
  • [26:19] Tiphani responds, validates Carter’s feelings, and shares her own.
  • [30:25] Carter on wanting others to acknowledge his experience and the impact of circumcision on sexuality.
  • [35:45] Carter and Tiphani on what they need from each other, and the only way to go forward.
  • [41:50] Tiphani and Carter clarify their needs.
  • [47:40] Carter on wanting his mom to work with him.
  • [52:17] The challenge of acknowledging love even when we feel suffering or harm.
  • [54:10] Carter on the changes he wants on the issue of circumcision and reasons he wants his mother involved in activism.
  • [01:01:20]  Carter thanks his mother for her willingness to have the conversation. Tiphani says she is proud of him.

Download this one show.

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The Brendon Marotta Show is Now on Major Podcast Platforms

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The Brendon Marotta Show is now on major podcast platforms.

Make sure you are subscribed.

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Enjoy the show.

Become a member of the show here.

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John Adkison on Fatherhood, Activism, and Genital Autonomy

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In this episode, John Adkinson shares his journey from learning about the issue of circumcision to becoming an activist against it. We also discuss the challenges of being a parent and an activist, the impact of this issue on men, and the biggest challenges facing activists.

Topics Discussed in This Episode

  • [00:40] How John became interested in the issue of circumcision and his desire to be an activist.
  • [1:44] The information that made John rethink his stand on circumcision.
  • [2:20] Reasons why circumcision is practiced
  • [3:13] How people go from discovering an issue and taking action against it
  • [6:42] Gaps in circumcision activism and how John found out
  • [8:39] Why and how John decided to create a connection between different organizations
  • [9:13]  John’s work to support organizations
  • [10:26] John’s website and its role
  • [11:35] The desire to practice activism
  • [15:50] Opportunity to bring more people in
  • [16:30] Managing activism and parenting
  • [18:59] Psychological effect of a world that glorifies circumcision on intact kids
  • [20:46] The intent of activism
  • [22:26] The effect of cultural stress
  • [24:30] Focus of the activism
  • [27:10] Most common ways that the issue of circumcision impacts men
  • [32:00] The most significant need for men facing these issues and how they can be helped overcome them
  • [35:00] The most crucial issue touching on circumcision
  • [35:50] The biggest challenge facing circumcision and general cutting
  • [36:43] Growing and facing the challenges to overcome them
  • [37:20] The biggest opportunity to further address the issue around circumcision
  • [39:10] Actions to be taken on the issue
  • [40:00] Opportunity of connection that arises around issues of circumcision such as pain
  • [44:24] Parenting advice
  • [50:00] Identifying the difference between conflict and harassment or abuse

Resources:

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Landmark Circumcision Legal Action Explored in First Episode of The Brendon Marotta Show

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The Brendon Marotta Show is live. Subscribe here.

In the first episode of The Brendon Marotta Show, we break news about a landmark circumcision lawsuit against the American Academy of Pediatrics with Peter Adler one of the legal experts involved in the case.

You can listen to the full episode here:

A major lawsuit was filed on February 5th, 2021 against the American Academy of Pediatrics and Princeton Medical Group alleging constructive and intentional fraud around a botched circumcision.

  • The AAP had a number of undisclosed biases, including a financial bias, and made false claims in their 1989 Report of the Task Force on Circumcision Guidance.
  • This Guidance induced the Plaintiffs to provide consent for circumcisions without all of the necessary medical facts and information to make an informed decision, which the AAP has a fiduciary obligation to provide.
  • The AAP owes a duty to the general public, including the Plaintiffs, to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth when issuing reports, policy statements, and guidelines for medical care and procedures.

During the show, Peter announced they had filed this case the day we were recording! You can hear my surprise during the episode when he says it. I’d planned on launching this show at the end of the month, but given the timely nature of this content, we had to launch early.

To subscribe to the show, cut and paste this link into your podcast player of choice: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/1674781.rss

We are working on submitting to major podcasting platforms like iTunes, Spotify, and Google Podcasts, and should be on most of them by the end of the month.

To support the show directly, go here:
https://brendonmarotta.com/show/

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Peter Adler on Why Circumcision is a Fraud and Landmark Legal Action

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Listen to the first episode:

In the first episode, we break major news about a landmark circumcision lawsuit with legal expert Peter Adler, whose work explores whether or not circumcision is legal or a fraud.

Topics Discussed in This Episode

  • [0:59]  Major papers published by Peter that talk about circumcision being a fraud and illegal
  • [3:26]  How Peter began writing papers and the case he makes in articles regarding circumcision
  • [4:00]  The sales and persuasion tactics that doctors use to pitch the idea of circumcision to parents
  • [12:56]  Role of the American Academy of Pediatrics in making doctors pitch the idea of circumcision
  • [14:00]  Is circumcision legal or not?
  • [21:36]  How to change the conversation about circumcision from an intellectual view to a legal one and the challenges involved in change
  • [28:40] The degree of a botched circumcision that could be considered for prosecution
  • [30:57]  Reaction of people towards the papers published by Peter about circumcision
  • [32:13] Reaction of fellow legal scholars towards the papers
  • [35:40] Plans to bring more suits and botched cases
  • [37:55] Success in proving circumcision and guidelines offered by the American Academy of Pediatrics as a fraud
  • [42:30] Chances of the success of the case and how people could support it
  • [45:20] Expected response from the American Academy of Pediatrics

Resources:

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Can You Make Money On Short Films

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Short films have historically been a filmmaker’s calling card for larger projects. Can you make money on a short film in and of itself?

To find out, I did some research and listed all the ways you could possibly make money on just short films.

Product Placement / Sponsor

Get a brand to sponsor the film.

There are many ways to do this. You could do what YouTubers do, by naming the sponsor of the video at the end or giving a promo code from which you get a commission. However, ideally, you would get the brand to pay for the entire film. With this, you’re basically making an ad disguised as a short film, but if sticking a vodka bottle or cool car in your film gets it made, why not. Most big films have product placement anyway. The challenge here is getting a brand to sponsor you.

Examples: BMW short film series, Casey Neistat Make It Count Nike video.

While these examples are big brands, you could do the same for a smaller one. Which creates more attention for a supplement brand? A “buy my supplements” video or an action film where the hero takes pre-workout or uses nootropics in place of coffee to crack the code of a difficult intellectual task. Get creative.

Ancillary Content / Merch

Sell ancillary products for your film. Merch, t-shirts, props from the film, etc.

Sell Your Products

Make yourself the sponsor.

Release the short film for free, but use it as an ad for something you are selling.

Product place your own products.

Cinematic Universe

You could even use the short as an ad for your larger films.

Marvel, Star Trek, and Pixar all do short films in the world of their larger films to build buzz for their features.

Why not do a short film in the world of your feature(s), and give the short film away for free as an ad for your other movies?

In this case, the short film is ancillary content for your feature.

Streaming Platform

Sell the film to a big streaming platform like Netflix, Hulu, HBO, etc. You could also sell to a niche streaming platform (Gaia, Nebula, etc.), or sell per-stream on Amazon Prime. Selling to a bigger platform takes work, Amazon is free, but pays very little a (1 cent per stream). Still, it’s something. Shorts.tv is also one of the biggest distributors for shorts. Some TV networks will buy and produce short films, such as Adult Swim or IFC.

Crowdfunding

Get people to pay for the film directly. The best way to do this is crowdfunding. I created a course teaching people how to crowdfund. Short films are perfect for this model. You could do a single crowdfunding campaign for your short, or have an ongoing crowdfunding campaign for a series of short films. My course will help with either model.

Bundle Short Films

You can sell short films directly if you bundle them or produce them as a series.

For example, you could sell a DVD or VOD for a series of short films linked by theme, genre, or shared element.

You could also produce your film as an ongoing web series. In this case, on-going crowdfunding models would still apply.

Live Event

Make the short film part of a live event. A short cannot fill a whole evening, but if paired with food, comedy, live music, public speaking, a non-profit fundraiser, or the opportunity to connect with other interesting people you can make an event out of it and sell tickets.

Short Film Contests

There are lots of short film contests. Some offer cash prizes. Read the fine print with these, as many have terrible rules or are basically scams. However, if you spend less than the prize you win, you can make money. I know at least one filmmaker who repeatedly does this.

Win An Oscar

The Oscar-winning shorts are almost always released in theaters. In an interview, the founder of Shorts.tv says they make usually make 30k per film just on theatrical. However, I’m not sure this repays the production budget of some of those films, and the festival expenses of promoting yourself to Oscar status. Still, if you can win an Oscar, win that Oscar.

Sales-Funnel

Give the film away to get people to sign-up for your email list.

Most email lists and sales funnels have a piece of free content they give away to get you to sign-up. Email marketers usually use an “ebook” that is basically a glorified pdf. Why not a short film?

If everyone else is giving serious print content, a cool short film will stand out.

I use a short scene from my documentary American Circumcision as a free give-away for the email list for the film.

If an Amazon view is worth 1 cent, a new email list subscriber is worth at least that, especially if you can later sell them on giving $25 to your Kickstarter project.

Wealthy Patron

Just get someone to pay for it, or do it for free.

This is the most common option.

It’s not a business model, but it gets the film made.

What other ways do you think you could make money on a short film?

Follow me on social media and let me know here.

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Capturing Dickens Tone In The Haunting Of Bob Cratchit

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This recent article from YesWeekly exploring the “forgotten holiday tradition of telling scary stories at Christmastime” made me think we really got the tone right for The Haunting of Bob Cratchit. Here is what they said:

“Re-reading it [Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol] this season, I found myself vividly reminded of how genuinely scary it is at times, but also how funny (sometimes in a very dark way), and how concerned it is with social justice.”

Compare that to what I said in an interview on our Christmas ghost story, The Haunting of Bob Cratchit:

Tone-wise, The Haunting of Bob Cratchit is a horror-comedy. I know that might sound odd, but it is a haunting, complete with creepy ghost children and characters being shown their future deaths. People forget these elements, because of the Christmas cheer that bookends the film.

Our book closely follows the tone and style of Charles Dicken’s original A Christmas Carol, while expanding the world, characters, and ideas.

We are keeping the Christmas tradition of ghost stories alive with our own haunting.

Read it for yourself here.

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