I'm not normally into made-for-TV movies, but while I was visiting a friend tonight "Iron Jawed Angels" came on the television and within the first 10 minutes I was hooked. I kept meaning to go back to writing a paper for school, but I couldn't quite pull myself away from the movie.
"Iron Jawed Angels" doesn't exactly qualify as one of the best movies of all time, but for what it is I think those who made it did a good job. Before seeing it I'd heard it was very modernized (rock music in the background, etc.) and I expected it to be pretty lame in that regard. As it is, by using a modern filming style and adding in lots of jokes that no one would ever think women of that time period would use (though I'm sure they DID say some pretty crazy things when men were out of hearing range), the writers and director managed to make a forgotten part of history rather hip. If it had been released in theaters, I would have been horrified, but as a TV movie it was very entertaining and enlightening.
Strange as it is, my friend and I realized these women were some of the most important and influential people in American political/civil rights history, and yet I would bet that very few people alive today can even name them, let alone talk about how they went on hunger strike while in prison and gave up comfortable lives for a cause greater than themselves.
There is some hokey stuff in this movie (as there is in most "liberty or death" flicks), but that is far outweighed by the fact that it has the ability to teach young people today about women's suffrage without making them fall asleep. Be sure to watch it if you're a newcomer to civil rights. If nothing else, watch it because it's entertaining and will make you feel good.
"Iron Jawed Angels" doesn't exactly qualify as one of the best movies of all time, but for what it is I think those who made it did a good job. Before seeing it I'd heard it was very modernized (rock music in the background, etc.) and I expected it to be pretty lame in that regard. As it is, by using a modern filming style and adding in lots of jokes that no one would ever think women of that time period would use (though I'm sure they DID say some pretty crazy things when men were out of hearing range), the writers and director managed to make a forgotten part of history rather hip. If it had been released in theaters, I would have been horrified, but as a TV movie it was very entertaining and enlightening.
Strange as it is, my friend and I realized these women were some of the most important and influential people in American political/civil rights history, and yet I would bet that very few people alive today can even name them, let alone talk about how they went on hunger strike while in prison and gave up comfortable lives for a cause greater than themselves.
There is some hokey stuff in this movie (as there is in most "liberty or death" flicks), but that is far outweighed by the fact that it has the ability to teach young people today about women's suffrage without making them fall asleep. Be sure to watch it if you're a newcomer to civil rights. If nothing else, watch it because it's entertaining and will make you feel good.