Doc Talk Podcast: ‘Seeking Mavis Beacon’ Filmmakers On Searching For The Woman Who Became The Face Of A “Servile Fembot”
Young filmmaker Jazmin Jones and her collaborator Olivia McKayla Ross put on their detective caps – possibly with tinfoil lining underneath – in the award-winning new film Seeking Mavis Beacon.
The “Mavis” they are seeking became a beacon of hope for people wanting to learn to type back in the day. The Mavis Beacon software – a CD-ROM kind of thing first released in the late 1980s – came in a box emblazoned with the captivating face of a businesslike Black woman, a model hired to represent the fictitious typing “helper.” Jones and Ross learned the model’s name was Renée L’Espérance, a Haitian-born woman who had seemingly vanished long ago. They wanted to figure out whatever became of her.
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The cinematic sleuths join the latest edition of Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast to share why they were so intrigued by L’Espérance, and the larger truths they believe are revealed in the story of Mavis Beacon. They see her as one of the first “servile fembots” — the precursor to Siri and Alexa – and with remarkable sophistication, pick apart the cultural tropes embedded in the marketing of the software.
Jones jokingly suggests she had to strike a balance in the film between veering into conspiracy theory territory (hence the reference above to the tinfoil hat) and adhering to a journalistic/investigative approach. A big part of the pleasure of the film is engaging with the delightful and insightful duo, who ripple with wit and keen intelligence. That’s on full display in the new episode of Doc Talk, hosted by Oscar winner John Ridley (12 Years a Slave, Shirley) and Deadline’s documentary editor Matt Carey.
The conversation comes as Neon distributes Seeking Mavis Beacon theatrically (it opened in Los Angeles on September 6 and will expand to select additional cities this Friday).
Doc Talk, a 2024 Webby Awards honoree, is a production of Deadline and Ridley’s Nō Studios. Listen to the new episode above or on major podcast platforms including Spotify, iHeart and Apple.
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