Women on top

Mrs. America (2020) is a mini-series that loosely chronicles the early days of the gender struggle, and how feminists came together to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in the American Constitution in the 1960s and ’70s

The rest of the world saw how long it took for Americans to vote a woman to the second highest office, when Kamala Harris became Vice President in January this year. This was doubly significant due to her mixed heritage — black and Asian. Mrs. America (2020) is a mini-series that loosely chronicles the early days of the gender struggle, and how feminists came together to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in the American Constitution in the 1960s and ’70s. It shows how black women leaders like Shirley Chisholm broke new ground when she became the first black woman to be elected to the United States Congress in 1968, and in 1972, as the first black woman to run for President, despite massive opposition from conservative white America. Chisholm and her ilk’s travails are well showcased, but the protagonist here is Phyllis Schlafly, the torchbearer for the woman’s arm of the conservative movement.

Cate Blanchett in the lead is top-class as she attempts to negotiate a white male-dominant in the power corridors of Congress. Taking the anti-abortion, anti-LGBTQiA+, anti-feminist route, she and her band of like-minded women, soon grab headlines, and the attention of conservative Congressmen who find her as the ideal voice to garner votes. The personal conflict at home (her influential, insecure lawyer husband, her gay oldest son), are equally riveting. Some of the most memorable scenes are her exchanges with Jill Ruckelshaus, head of the White House office for Women’s Programs, and the pro-ERA voices — Betty Frieden, whose book triggered the second wave of feminism in America, Gloria Steinem, feminist editor and social activist, and feminist power couple, Brenda and Marc Feigan-Fasteau. Despite historical inaccuracies, the series is a commendable effort to highlight the polarised battle for equal rights in the US, and helps put things into perspective amidst Harris’ triumph in our times.

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