This Is Personal (2019) User Reviews

an "Identity Politics" tour de force that doesn't adequately challenge its premise

[spalatnick · 6/10 · 16 May 2020]

The crux of the film is the tension after Louis Farrakhan gave a shout-out to Tamika Mallory and apparently launched into one of his anti-Semitic screeds, and Mallory apparently took the resulting backlash as anti-black.

There is only one dialog in the movie, really. a meeting between Mallory and Rachel Timoner, senior rabbi at a synagogue in Brooklyn. Perhaps surprisingly they all give Farrakhan a pass on his anti-gay hate. Mallory clumsily deflects from her endorsement of Farrakhan, and antisemitism is relegated to it "can only be seen as linked to Islamophobia" and one white guy holding up a sign.

The irony is lost in the identities

This deserves stars.

[wren-larder · 8/10 · 28 September 2019]

Well produced and compiled, this documentary that starts off talking exclusively about the 2016 women's march, it branches off into other instersections of women, touching on different, uncomfortable topics throughout. There are many interviews and clips from real activists from many different backgrounds, reminding us of the dangers of extremism, the struggles of marginalized communities, and the power to fight hate with love.

As I write, the average rating for females is 9, and for males is 3. Do not let the frustration of men hiding behind screens deter you. They do not know better. If you are passionate about social issues at all, this is a good, empowering story for black, brown, old, young, mothers and daughters, undocumented citizens, etc. This is an intimate story about modern day activists that risk life and limb to save as many vulnerable persons as they can, and the tumultuous lives they lead in the age of social media.

This /is/ personal.