Film Review: Getty Abortions
by Marinell Haegelin

Franzis Kabisch, Germany, Austria 2023

Franzis Kabisch’s intelligent, multi-tiered documentary’s theme is thought provoking and timely. There’s the personal: “My story actually goes like this…” The history: Researching how abortions are portrayed in public media, i.e., the women, images as representations, and power. The public perception: Confusion, appropriation, and hysteria. Naturally, stock photos star in Kabisch’s desktop video essay, GETTY ABORTIONS.

“Getty Images Holdings, Inc. is a visual media company and supplier of stock images, editorial photography, video, and music for business and consumers, with a library of over 477 million assets. It targets three markets—creative professionals, the media, and corporate.” -Wikipedia. Getty Images is the parent company of Canada’s iStock.

Outside the clinic Franzis went to in Vienna, people flaunted fetus photos in her face. “Anti-abortionists have appropriated the fetus;” they’ve put it under the spotlight for any type of public discourse. Thus, by detaching the fetus from the body, it becomes the main image, i.e., a means to the “Invention of Hysteria.” In 1988, abortion regulations—made by men for the most part—tightened; their more naïve presentations are to shame women. The “emotional script” followed a “grief, shame and guilt” pattern. Magazine articles and advertisements posed women, young and old, turned away from the camera, the message clear—shame on you. It worked, too, until the feminist movement shifted focus back to women and context.

GETTY ABORTIONS is an eye-opener; how man-made “one size fits all” decisions not only affect, but also the effect these decisions have on women whose situation and medical issues differ significantly per individual. Why then, in general, are men so afraid of women? How would they respond/react if it were women deciding what’s best for them, their bodies, their future? Kabisch’s storyline, although complex, is concise, well covered, and production values are good. GETTY ABORTIONS is the recipient of the Hamburg 2024 Audience Award (€1,500).