She's Beautiful When She's Angry

She's Beautiful When She's Angry is a 2014 American documentary film about some of the women involved in the second wave feminism movement in the United States. It was directed by Mary Dore and co-produced by Nancy Kennedy.[1][2][3] It was the first documentary film to cover feminism's second wave.[4]

She's Beautiful When She's Angry
Directed byMary Dore
Produced by
  • Mary Dore
  • Nancy Kennedy
  • Abigail Disney
  • Geralyn Dreyfous
  • Gini Reticker
CinematographySvetlana Cvetko
Edited by
  • Nancy Kennedy
  • Kate Taverna
Music byMark Degli Antoni
Release date
  • December 5, 2014 (2014-12-05)
Running time
92 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Overview

She's Beautiful When She's Angry documents the Women's Liberation Movement in the United States. It showcases the activist's key concerns during the years 1966-1971 including employment discrimination, affordable childcare, reproductive health, and sexuality, which collectively became known as "women's issues".[4][5] It also delves into the divisive sides of the movement, such as homophobia, race, and class.[4][6]

The documentary runs for 92 minutes and features a mixture of archival footage, press clippings, present day interview narration, and readings of contemporary works.[5][4] It begins by outlining the social climate of the 1960s and describes some of the first events of the women's liberation, including the publication of Betty Friedan's landmark text The Feminist Mystique and the founding of the National Organization for Women (NOW).[7][8] It describes how the women's movement linked to other movements in the United States such as the civil rights movement, the antiwar movement, and the New Left.[9] Also featured in the documentary are the authors of landmark feminist book Our Bodies, Ourselves and ex-members of the underground abortion organisation the Jane Collective.[10] The documentary ends with coverage of the 1970 Women's Strike for Equality and the lasting accomplishments of the movement.[7]

It features the following activists, shown here in alphabetical order:[11]

Production

She's Beautiful When She's Angry was directed and produced by first-time documentarian Mary Dore, who was herself active in the Women's Liberation Movement during the mid 70s.[1][10] It was co-produced by Nancy Kennedy. The filmmakers claimed that they made the documentary to inspire people to continue to advocate for gender equality.[7]

The rights to the film were bought by Music Box Films in 2016 who released it on DVD and iTunes. In 2018, the film was available on Netflix.[7]

Reception

The documentary debuted in New York City on December 5, 2014 and in Los Angeles on December 12, 2014.[12] It continued to screen across the United States and other countries including Canada, Australia, Turkey, South Korea, Ireland, and Spain.[7] As of May 2021, the film has a score of 80 on Metacritic based on 12 critic reviews.[13]

Critical reception

Jordan Hoffman of The Guardian gave the film three out of five stars calling it a "well-deserved appreciation of these women", but criticized the film's sometimes disjointed approach.[10] Alan Scherstuhl of The Village Voice described the documentary as the best filmed account of how the women's movement "changed the workplace, our sexual politics, our language."[2] Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post gave the documentary two and a half out of four stars, citing "awkward reenactments and other stylistic clunkers" but concluded that "it serves as a moving reminder of how crucial citizen action is in fomenting social change."[5]

References
  1. Scherker, Amanda (10 December 2014). "'She's Beautiful When She's Angry' Tells The Feminist History Left Out Of Your School Textbook". HuffPost. The Huffington Post. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  2. Scherstuhl, Alan (3 December 2014). "She's Beautiful When She's Angry Captures the Women Who Changed It All". The Village Voice. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  3. "The Team — She's Beautiful When She's Angry". Shesbeautifulwhenshesangry.com. Retrieved 2017-05-12.
  4. "Ride Feminism's Second Wave in New Documentary 'She's Beautiful When She's Angry'". Newsweek. December 7, 2014. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  5. Hornaday, Ann (11 February 2015). "'She's Beautiful When She's Angry' chronicles 1960s feminism". The Washington Post. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  6. Murray, Steve (20 February 2015). "Review: "She's Beautiful When She's Angry" a fascinating look at how feminism changed the world". Artsatl.org. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  7. Horwitz, Rainey (20 September 2019). "She's Beautiful When She's Angry (2014) by Mary Dore". Embryo Project Encyclopedia. ISSN 1940-5030. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  8. Blaisdell, Virginia (9 December 2014). "'She's Beautiful When She's Angry': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  9. Brody, Richard. "She's Beautiful When She's Angry". The New Yorker. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  10. Hoffman, Jordan (5 December 2014). "She's Beautiful When She's Angry review – scattered moments in feminist history". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  11. "The Women". shesbeautifulwhenshesangry.com.
  12. Harvey, Dennis (5 December 2014). "Film Review: 'She's Beautiful When She's Angry'". Variety. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  13. "She's Beautiful When She's Angry". Metacritic. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
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