Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Danielle Solzman

The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was delete. Randykitty (talk) 17:58, 25 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Danielle Solzman[edit]

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Promotional content, and subject does not meet general notability guidelines.

It may be worth noting that User:SilvioPozatto and User:LisaSmithNY have contributed quite a bit of seemingly promotional content on pages associated with Flavio Alves, Alves' films, and Danielle Solzman (cf. [1], [2], [3], [4]): films Tom in America, The Garden Left Behind, Even in My Dreams, The Secret Friend, Odysseus' Gambit, First Date (film) ([5]), Jinn (2018 film) ([6]); actors João Silvério Trevisan, Alex Kruz, Sally Kirkland, Burt Young, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Daniel Flaherty, Viola Harris, Roy Gokay Wol, Alex Lora Cercos, Bernadette Quigley; reviewers Jackie K. Cooper ([7]), Claudia Puig ([8]), Jonita Davis ([9]); festivals A Celebration of Friends ([10]), Film Girl Film Festival ([11]); &c. A COI wouldn't be terribly surprising; this might be worthy of further investigation. –Kyuko (talk) 17:18, 16 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Comment The article uses bare references, so it's hard to see where they come from. Some are from SoundCloud or IMDb, I see two from the Boston Globe and one in the LA Times. Might be notable, might not be. Oaktree b (talk) 17:46, 16 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Kentucky-related deletion discussions. Spiderone^{(Talk to Spider)} 18:01, 16 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Women-related deletion discussions. Spiderone^{(Talk to Spider)} 18:01, 16 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Sexuality and gender-related deletion discussions. Spiderone^{(Talk to Spider)} 18:01, 16 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Journalism-related deletion discussions. Spiderone^{(Talk to Spider)} 18:02, 16 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Delete we get such lines in the article as "while she has yet to breakthrough as a filmmaker" that is an admission that she is not notable.John Pack Lambert (talk) 12:57, 17 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Comment Would it be possible to discuss how we can improve this article as opposed to delete it? The subject is a transgender person, and I am afraid that her page is facing extra scrutiny due to her gender identity. Yet, agree the page needs more work. SilvioPozatto talk 18:12, 17 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Comment Yes, it looks possible to improve her article, at minimum with The Advocate 2017, HuffPost 2017, Associated Press 2018, and Variety 2020. She appears to be an established film critic and advocate, and focusing on one aspect of her career that hasn't materialized without looking at what multiple independent and reliable sources are covering seems unfair when assessing notability. I haven't had a chance to look through all of the bare cites in the article, but revision and improvement seems likely to help establish notability. Beccaynr (talk) 23:45, 18 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Delete agree with Lambert - the article itself acknowledges lack of notaiblity. --Trödel 20:28, 17 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Keep per WP:BASIC ("If the depth of coverage in any given source is not substantial, then multiple independent sources may be combined to demonstrate notability"), and revisions made to the article, which includes the addition of multiple independent and reliable sources, citation fixes, and the removal of excess and unreliable sources. While there is still work that can be done to add additional independent and reliable sources and biographical information (e.g. per Solzman's website), it seems clear enough that there has been WP:SUSTAINED coverage of Solzman as a film and culture critic, including by Vice 2017, The Boston Globe 2018, The Los Angeles Times 2018, The Associated Press 2018, the CBC 2018, Entertainment Weekly, 2018, and Variety 2020, and some of this coverage includes biographical information. The unsourced POV about her short film has also been removed, so the article now more clearly focuses on her actual career and accomplishments. Beccaynr (talk) 17:11, 19 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

The sources you pasted above are merely examples of why the person is not notable. They're not about the individual exclusively, but rather contain one or two quotes, most often accompanied by "trans critic". Surely you can understand that's not extensive coverage? Of course they would be quoted here and there: that's their job. But what makes them notable as opposed to other individuals? This hasn't been established either in the present sourcing or otherwise. No quality independent source discusses them in the context of their achievements or life in general. PK650 (talk) 22:48, 23 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Comment Per WP:GNG, Significant coverage is more than a trivial mention, but it does not need to be the main topic of the source material, and the WP:SUSTAINED sources are not only referring to Solzman as a film critic, but also sometimes as a 'culture critic,' or 'cultural commentator,' and sometimes include biographical information when reporting her commentary. For example:

What Trans Folks Think About Trans Representation in Film and TV, Vice, 2017

[...] With a long history of cisgender actors playing transgender characters (Jared Leto in Dallas Buyers Club, Elle Fanning in 3 Generations, Jeffrey Tambor in Transparent), it doesn't seem like there are many opportunities for trans actors to succeed in film and television. And under the administration of President Trump, who's trying to ban transgender people from military service, representation should matter now more than ever.

So VICE spoke to trans actors, critics, and talent managers to find what the state of trans representation is right now. [...]

Danielle Solzman Film Critic

VICE: As a film critic, how do you react to films that have cisgender actors playing trans roles? Danielle Solzman: If it was me, I would have completely trashed the film just because of the casting. The Chicago International Film Festival recently selected a film with a cisgender person playing a transgender parent, and I pretty much wrote that I was skipping that film, because of the casting.

How should audiences react to films that cast cis actors in trans parts? I vote with my wallet, and I just don't see the film. They keep on casting cisgender people in trans roles, but the tide, I believe, is turning. The Casting Society of America did a major casting call for trans actors, and within a matter of days, FX announced that they were casting five trans [actors] as series regulars on shows. It's not the first time trans actors have been cast as series regulars. In Canada, a little show called The Switch had five trans and non-binary actors, but because it's not FX or one of these major networks, it didn't get much press.

What are your thoughts on Transparent and Jeffrey Tambor? I believe that Jill Soloway said knowing what they know now, they would have cast a trans person in the role. Jeffrey Tambor's speech hit close to home when he said—after winning an Emmy for best actor—that he wouldn't be terribly unhappy if he was the last cisgender actor to win an award for playing a transgender character.

Trans folk involved in the industry have created their own spaces, whether it's an actors' guild or on the internet. Can you talk about those? There are those spaces out there, and they're very important because it gives me and other trans actors the ability to network. But it's like, "Do I have to do everything myself?"

Why does representation matter? Representation is important for the one reason: so we don't get that common stereotype that trans women are just men in dresses, because we're not. And that's one of the things that hurts when you get Matt Bomer cast to play a trans woman. It'd be nice if there were more than 11 trans people on television. And it would definitely be nice if there were more films with trans characters played by trans actors who could find a larger audience. I only came out to myself two years ago, and it would have been a lot sooner if we had trans representation in the media. In the late 90s, when I was growing up, when I first started to have these feelings, I thought it was a phase and that it would go away, but those feelings never went away. It was only when Caitlyn Jenner, Laverne Cox, and Transparent came out—all that awareness in 2015—when everything made sense.

Following Toronto Film Festival’s media diversity initiative, critics say there is more work to be done, LA Times, 2018

[...] At the time, Sundance committed to granting 20% of top-level press badges to underrepresented journalists for its 2019 festival. TIFF pledged to increase its own accredited underrepresented media by 20%. Those under the “underrepresented” label included white women, critics of color, disabled critics, as well as those from LGBTQ communities.[...]

Danielle Solzman, a freelancer based in Chicago who self-publishes reviews on her own site, Solzy at the Movies, had reached out to the festival herself. Knowing that she couldn’t afford the trip on her own, and that the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah coincided with the festival, she was interested in ways to cover it remotely. But when her credential was approved in July, she mentioned to festival organizers that she may need assistance attending. As TIFF was securing funds to support, Solzman “wasn’t taking anything as guaranteed and started a GoFundMe,” she said.

(She notes that, based on her budget, having to buy a flight and wait for reimbursement from the festival would’ve prohibited her from attending.)

She raised $750 of a $700 goal, and AirBNB reached out with a $500 promo code to cover lodging. [...] On the ground, both Lashay and Solzman say they felt supported and welcomed, not like a fish out of water without direction.

[...] Both Lashay and Solzman were also generally pleased with the access they received to talent for off-carpet interviews at junkets. Still, they note that the fight for media inclusion is not yet won.

Simply put, “Larger outlets need to provide more opportunities for diverse writers,” Solzman said.

Elliot Page Disclosure Gives Trans Visibility ‘Huge’ Boost, Hollywood Insiders Say, Variety, 2020

[...] The conversation that Page has sparked about gender identity mirrors ones that are taking place all over. In turn, that gives families and communities a greater sense of the struggles that many trans people face when it comes to unveiling their true self.[...]

“It’s huge. He’s the highest-profile actor that I can think of that we didn’t know before the fact,” marveled trans film critic Danielle Solzman, adding that she wished a disclosure of this size was possible in the late ‘90s during her own journey.

Also, some of the coverage is more than 'one or two quotes,' but even in the sources that include briefer commentary, I think those also support her notability, because independent and reliable sources are finding her expertise worthy of notice, over time, and for a variety of issues. Beccaynr (talk) 03:14, 24 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Delete There is minor coverage but it is always in relation to the website, that she runs as a critic, asking for a comment, but there is nothing in-depth, nor independent of the subject. There aren't the secondary, in-depth sources, sufficient to verify the article per WP:V, WP:BIO, WP:SIGCOV for a BLP. scope_creep^Talk 21:16, 19 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Delete, per Johnpacklambert and the !vote just prior. There is simply no extensive independent coverage about this person that would support a notability claim. All sources provided are in the form of minor comments or similar. This discussion is about the person's notability, and so far it fails to prove so with reliable evidence. We are not doubting they are a trans film critic; we are simply stating the sources do not indicate she is a notable one, i.e. no reliable independent sources discuss them extensively. PK650 (talk) 22:48, 23 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Delete per nom. The sources just simply aren’t there to support WP:GNG.4meter4 (talk) 22:19, 24 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.