Iron Jawed Angels- American Suffragettes

Every woman in the world should see Iron Jawed Angels. Heck, every man in the world should see this fabulous film, while sitting beside the women in their lives. Although this is the story of women in the United States of America fighting for their right to vote in the early years of the 20th Century there is a lesson for all of us in 2013 and beyond. We are ALL equal in this world. No matter your sex, your colour, your religion or sexuality. We are ALL equal. Full stop.

You will also never skip voting again, even in a minor municipal election EVER, EVER, again if you see this film. When you see how hard these women worked a century ago to win the right for us to vote, you will never squander that chance again. You will walk through the rain, in the dark for an hour to get to the polling station if you have to.

But beyond the amazing and empowering message, this is an awesome flick!!!! Hilary Swank plays Alice Paul, an American Quaker who traveled to England to attend the University of Birmingham and brought back the more militant ideas of the Pankhurst women but without the violence. She was a Quaker after all!

Frances O'Connor plays Lucy Burns (Alma Mater- Columbia, Vassar, Yale and Oxford) who met Alice Paul in a London police station after they had both been arrested for demonstrating alongside the British Suffragettes. They bonded immediately and decided to continue their fight for women's voting rights back in America in 1912.

Alice Paul and Lucy Burns start off working within the National American Women Suffrage Association (NAWSA) headed by Carrie Chapman Catt, played by Anjelica Huston. By 1916 they broke away and formed their own political party the National Women's Party (NWP) and organized a daily picket outside the White House during Woodrow Wilson's presidency.

A real Iron Jawed Angel demonstrating against President Wilson

They ran into trouble after the US joined WWI in 1917 and picketing a wartime president was considered by some to be treasonous, however the women were breaking no laws. They were arrested instead on charges of "obstructing traffic".

The real Lucy Burns incarcerated in Occoquan  Workhouse

While incarcerated at Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia, the women asked to be treated as political prisoners and went on hunger strikes in protest. I had previously read about the force feeding of women hunger striking suffragettes in England but when you see it on film it is horrific. Again, you will never take your right to vote lightly after seeing this film.

But this is not a downer movie. It has a rockin' modern musical score and sometimes feels more like a music video than a period drama. And this works to it's advantage. It could easily be shown in high schools to both boys and girls who will be riveted by the great story. German director Katja von Garnier (who is a dead ringer for Kate Middleton) did a fab job with this film. And the supporting cast of Julia Ormond, Laura Fraser (the blacksmith from Knight's Tale), Vera Farmiga and Patrick Dempsey are a few other good reasons to see it.

So what are you waiting for? Run, don't walk to see Iron Jawed Angels right now.

By the way, the best comment ever posted on my blog was left by Bridget on my post Suffragettes in Film- "Deeds, not words!" Bridget says it way better than I ever could!

Cheers!

Suffragettes in film- "Deeds, not Words!"

When I decided to write a post on suffragettes in film, I thought there would be more material on which to draw. There are surprisingly few films (or television programs) which have dealt even peripherally with Women's Suffrage.

I have to give Walt Disney some credit for making the story of the suffragettes so key to Mary Poppins, however the underlying message was really that Mrs. Banks should have been at home, paying more attention to her kids rather than getting "Votes for Women". We'll let that pass as they also skewered Mr. Banks being emotionally absent to the children. That was about as equal as you got in 1964 I suppose.

And truly, I think this is the only exposure to the story of the suffragettes that many citizens of the world have ever had!

We'll have to see whether the issue comes up in the new film Saving Mr. Banks starring Tom Hanks as Walt Disney and Emma Thompson as P.L. Travers (the author of Mary Poppins). Apparently Disney only put the suffragette story in to explain why Mrs. Banks would have needed a nanny. The majority of the American audience didn't know what a nanny was at the time the film was released.

Apparently the best film about Women's Suffrage is Iron Jawed Angels which was made as an HBO film in 2004. Starring Hilary Swank, Frances O'Connor, Angelica Huston, Vera Farmiga and Julia Ormond it even has Patrick Dempsey as a love interest. How did I never hear about this before???

I have requested this for Mother's Day (OK, who am I kidding? I ordered it myself from Amazon and tossed it to my husband today to be wrapped for Sunday). So I will review it when I have seen it. Stay tuned but it sounds amazing.

Just a brief history lesson here. The women's suffrage movement was active mainly in England, America and the colonies in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The purple white and green stood for dignity, purity and hope respectively. It is a popular myth that the colours were green white and violet for "Give Women Votes".

Posters like this one were a common sight in England and the USA. Emmeline Pankhurst coined the phrase "Deeds, not Words" as the male politicians kept telling women to be patient and that the topic would be debated...sometime soon! Women demonstrated in the streets and were often arrested and force fed if they went on hunger strikes. If thrown in gaol, they considered themselves political prisoners.

Valentine Wannop (Adelaide Clemens) from Parade's End gave a little demonstration on a golf course (with her friend Gertie) whose escape was aided by Christopher Tietjens played by Benedict Cumberbatch.

I was thrilled to see that Mr. Selfridge included the suffragettes right from the first episode, making it clear that Harry Selfridge's fictitious female financial backer Lady Mae Loxley was also a quiet funder of the women's suffrage movement and held her meetings at the restaurant in Selfridge's.

Edwardian suffragette pendant 

Of course you just know that the real Harry Selfridge would have been marketing all kinds of merchandise to the suffragettes at the time. Indeed he would likely have wanted women to wield more power in England so they could have more influence over how the money was spent. Shrewd man that little Jeremy Piven!

On a more serious note, New Zealand was the first country to grant women full voting rights in 1893 and Switzerland was the last western country to do so in 1971! And just so you know, there are still places in the world where women still cannot vote such as Saudi Arabia and The Vatican. So please vote in every election you are able to. Our ancestors (who were denied the right) won it for us, ladies!

Let me end with a link to a YouTube music video that you may want to show your daughters, granddaughters, sisters and girlfriends. It won an Emmy and you will have Lady Gaga stuck in your head for days!

YouTube Bad Romance: Women's Suffrage