She's Beautiful When She's Angry

A documentary chronicles the Women's Liberation movement in the U.S in the late 1960s and the early 1970s.

There are many strengths in this film. The best include interviews with over twenty likeable women who were part of the movement in its heyday. The vintage photos and TV clips can leave one nostalgic for an era that had much fire in its heart compared to the long era of materialism that followed (and still lingers).

The film is well structured in its discussions of the many issues involved which include low wages, the lack of job opportunities, rape, abortion, health issues, sexuality, and childcare.

The fairness in this film is also admirable. It is honest about the movement's extremities in its later years. Also, after revealing the marginalization of women in the New Left, anti-war movement, it's also later revealed how black women, lesbians, and poor women also felt marginalized within the wider women's movement. More coverage could still have been given, however, regarding the poor and working-class. There is an interview with a woman of a working-class background but she talks of her experience at UCLA - a situation that would be very rare for most women in the working class.

While this film is a good chronicle of events in the U.S., it could have paid attention to feminist movements in other countries. A sore point is a reference to a recent protest movement that began in Toronto. If the event had begun in a U.S. city, there's little doubt the city would have been mentioned.

Despite the U.S-centric tone, this movie is a worthwhile experience especially with the reminder of what can happen when like-minded people get together and learn that they are not alone and that others share the same experience. It's much like the Margaret Mead quote: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." And as the film reiterates, "The personal is political."

This is a documentary of women's rights The story of feminisms, women's studies and social outrage The movement that started in the 60's -70's with an Echo in the past and the fight for a better future It re lives what has happened, what has been gained and lost- a reminder which is even more important today that no one can forget the importance of gender equality (specially for younger people who need to learn that generations before them have suffered and fought for justice)

In a way, it was frustrating for me to watch this documentary since as we all know, Roe v Wade got overturned, forced pregnancy is legal in some places, the gender pay gap still exist, so does the pink tax, everyday sexism and so much more awful things women have to deal with.

But at the same time i can appreciate how far we've come (for the most part), i also like that lesbians and women of color were included, and they did take account of the fact that the fight wasn't over by the end of it and how we still got ways to go.

It's a really good watch, while i didn't learn *that* much i still thought it was pretty educational ( if only anti-feminists were open minded enough to try watcing it ) and also i have to admit that i almost cried and it's not because it was extremely sad or dramatic or anything but... i don't know, it's not really fun to hear what women went through and still goes through in many parts of the world, but anyways, i love women and hope we can still make progress in the future.

She's Beautiful When She's Angry (2014) was directed by Mary Dore.

This is an important documentary movie, because it concerns itself with the feminist movement in the U.S. in the late 1960's and into the 1970's. I lived through this period, so I was familiar with much of the material portrayed. However, today, 40 years later, many people may not realize that what we take for granted had to be fought for meeting by meeting, petition by petition, publication by publication, and demonstration by demonstration. This is an important lesson, especially for people who take what the feminists accomplished for granted.

The film has several premises, and I agree with all of them. One is that women's rights were won by struggle, not given. Another is that you never "win" the battle for any civil rights, including rights for women. Everything you win can be taken away or pushed back, so the struggle has to continue today and, sadly, always.

Another important historical point is that feminists didn't speak with one unified voice. As within any movement, there were disagreements and hostilities. Many of the women who had high profiles in the feminist movement were White and relatively privileged. What about poor women? What about women of color? Women of color had to fight two battles--to be recognized as equal to men, and recognized as equal to White women.

Even in the discussion after the movie, some people felt that the comments made by other people denigrated their own work. It's hard to achieve your goals, and to keep a movement unified, or at least not totally fragmented.

It was interesting to hear interviews with high-profile feminists like Susan Brownmiller and Kate Millett, but the interviews with lesser-known feminists were fascinating as well.

The documentary footage was well chosen and illustrated the topics discussed by the women being interviewed. Production quality was high.

This movie is worth seeing, and I recommend it. We saw it on the large screen at the excellent Little Theatre in Rochester, NY. However, it will work very well on DVD.

This film is not only a comprehensive history of a powerful and multifaceted movement in the not-too-distant past, it is a call to action. For young people, in particular, who came of age in times when job postings are no longer segregated by gender, when woman-centric health information and health services are (slightly) more accessible, when women with careers were not (always) denounced, this film offers a peek at what life was like for women before the mid-1960's and helps us understand the origins of the concept of gender equality that many of us take for granted. We are also reminded that much of what was won decades ago is once again in jeopardy.

There are clips from mass marches, meetings, poetry readings, and consciousness-raising sessions. The filmmakers interviewed many women who became the face of feminism and these women's reflections upon how the movement developed, what issues and what actions galvanized the activism of the time, are passionate, often profound, and sometimes very funny.

The film does not shy away from the reality that the feminist movement was complicated and messy. The internal political divisions, the divisions of geography, race and class, and the almost casual homophobia, are all exposed and examined. The film is ultimately a celebration of the diversity, creativity, intelligence, and fortitude of these early feminists who continue to inspire us to take up struggle for women's rights in the Twenty-First Century.