Helen Stickler (born 1968) is an American designer and filmmaker, who wrote, directed and produced '' Stoked: The Rise and Fall of Gator'' (2003) and '' Andre the Giant Has a Posse'' (1995). In 2019, she helped to found a progressive news aggregator, ''Front Page Live'', where she serves as Art Director. Wemple, Erik
"Ex-Fox Newser Carl Cameron takes his 'unfinished business' to progressive startup"
''The Washington Post'', June 24, 2019; an
"Masthead"
''Front Page Live'', accessed June 25, 2019

Life and career

Stickler graduated from the

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase the ...

in 1991 and is known for her midcentury home interior design. She is also known for creating political memes. Stickler's early independent films include the shorts ''Queen Mercy'' and the documentary '' Andre the Giant has a Posse'', the first documentary to discover graphic artist

Shepard Fairey Frank Shepard Fairey (born February 15, 1970) is an American contemporary artist, activist and founder of OBEY Clothing who emerged from the skateboarding scene. In 1989 he designed the "Andre the Giant Has a Posse" (...OBEY...) sticker campai ...

. In 2003, ''

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...

'' film critic

Ed Halter Ed Halter is a film programmer, writer, and founder of Light Industry, a microcinema in Brooklyn, New York. He currently teaches at Bard College, where he is Critic in Residence. Criticism His writing has been featured in ''Artforum'', '' The ...

described the film as "legendary … a canonical study of Gen-X media manipulation. One of the keenest examinations of ‘90s

underground culture Underground culture, or simply underground, is a term to describe various alternative cultures which either consider themselves different from the mainstream of society and culture, or are considered so by others. The word "underground" is used ...

". Stickler is the producer, director, and writer of the feature film '' Stoked: The Rise and Fall of Gator'', a documentary about 80's professional skateboarding champion

Mark Rogowski Mark Anthony "Gator" Rogowski (born August 10, 1966) is an American former professional skateboarder who was convicted of murder. He was mainly prominent in the 1980s and early 1990s. Rogowski's career ended when he pled guilty for assaulting, ...

, who is serving 31 years to life in prison for rape and murder. ''Los Angeles Times'' critic Kenneth Turan described the film as "strongly directed and unexpectedly poignant. An excellent documentary about the compelling dark side of the American dream." In 1999 Stickler created the safe sex campaign "Roll On" for MTV and

Kaiser Family Foundation KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation), also known as The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, is an American non-profit organization, headquartered in San Francisco, California. It prefers KFF since its legal name can cause confusion as it is no longer a ...

, which earned a nomination for the Best National PSA Emmy Award. In June 2019, she helped to found a progressive news aggregator, ''Front Page Live'', together with

Joe Romm Joseph J. Romm (born June 27, 1960) is an American author, editor, physicist and climate expert, who advocates reducing greenhouse gas emissions to limit global warming and increasing energy security through energy efficiency, green energy techn ...

, its Editor-in-Chief, Carl Cameron, Laura Dawn, Sunny Hundal and others. She serves as Art Director at ''Front Page Live''. The same year she published the book ''Meme Queen''.Stickler, Helen
''Meme Queen''
Blurb.com (2019)

External links

*
NPR interview of Stickler
(2003)

(2003)

at Boing Boing

References

American film directors Rhode Island School of Design alumni 1968 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) {{US-film-director-1960s-stub