In an effort to encourage women to vote in the forthcoming presidential election, feminist artist Marilyn Minter has released a new video starring actress Amber Heard.
Titled MY VOTE, the short film is an ad by the cultural Super PAC Downtown for Democracy, which supports Planned Parenthood.
“Just watching the news in recent years, it has become apparent that right-wing radicals are chipping away at Roe v. Wade, hoping to completely overturn it. I never expected this to happen in my lifetime,” Minter said in a statement. “It seems quite urgent right now for women to vote to protect their rights.”
MY VOTE opens with a quote from the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, reading “the greatest menace to freedom is an inert people.”
Marilyn Minter. Photo by Nadya Wasylko.
The rush to replace Ginsberg, who died just 46 days before the election, with conservative judge Amy Coney Barrett, has been seen as a threat to women’s reproductive freedoms.
The short film then cuts to the words “my body, my mind, my rights” being sprayed on a pane of glass. Heard, seen through the misty window, traces over the message, which concludes “my vote,” reminding viewers that their choices in November matter.
Marilyn Minter, MY VOTE (2020), starring Amber Heard, film still. Courtesy of Downtown for Democracy.
“I got an abortion at Planned Parenthood, and I don’t know what I would have done without them,” Minter told Artnet News. “I never in a million years thought I would have to fight this fight again.”
A longtime Planned Parenthood supporter, Minter previously designed buttons for the reproductive healthcare nonprofit, and released a pair of benefit prints featuring portraits of pop star Miley Cyrus, also shot through steamy glass.
Marilyn Minter, Miley Hearts Planned Parenthood (2016). This image will be available on a Marc Jacobs t-shirt.
Photo: courtesy Planned Parenthood.
The artist’s first commercial, MY VOTE features Minter’s signature palette of cool blues, purples, and pinks, set to a soundtrack by singer-songwriter Julia Holter.
The ad is also an extension of Heard’s work as an activist fighting sexual violence. The actress underwent a high-profile divorce from actor Johnny Depp, whom she accused of domestic violence, in 2017.
Heard donated her $7 million settlement to the American Civil Liberties Union, and became an organization ambassador for women’s rights.
Marilyn Minter, MY VOTE (2020), starring Amber Heard, film still. Courtesy of Downtown for Democracy.
“Amber’s bonafides are perfect. She has a messy life, like a lot of people, but she’s somebody who shows up” Minter said. “I admire her.”
Downtown for Democracy, which was founded in 2003 and reactivated in 2017 after a hiatus, hopes the campaign will galvanize women in swing states in the weeks leading up to the election.
“I’m feeling very hopeful,” Minter added.
See the advertisement below.