Educational Media Reviews Online

Red Moon (also known as The Moon Within You) is a personal look at attitudes about menstruation in Western culture. Filmed in Slovakia, Spain, France and Brazil, we see similar reactions of discomfort from the men, women, and girls asked how they felt about menstruation.

The filmmaker's dissatisfaction with being told that her painful periods were "normal, nothing wrong," and to cure it by taking a pill, led to her exploration of this topic. She observes that on any given day, one-quarter of the female population of the world is menstruating, yet it is at generally considered a taboo subject in Western culture, and if discussed at all, it is in negative terms. Fabiánová interviews experts from medicine, psychology, philosophy, anthropology, and sociology in search of answers. Rejecting the use of the hormones for pain relief (a common benefit of oral contraceptives), Fabiánová attempts to achieve pain reduction through non-medical techniques, such as belly dancing, massage, and other stress-relieving procedures. Clever animated sequences are used both to illustrate the process of menstruation and to provide a welcome dose of humor to the narrative.

Red Moon is not a linear clinical examination of menstruation. It is, however, a personal story that will create many openings for discussion of attitudes and experiences regarding menstruation.

Recommended for a variety of courses in the health and behavioral sciences.