RBG not so notorious!
A moving and entertaining film co-directed by Julie Cohen and Betsy West, RBG portrays the remarkable life of 85-year old Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
For the past 70 years, Ginsburg has pushed the envelope of equal opportunity and rights for both sexes, and played an integral role in the passing of many historic US State and Federal laws.
Labelled by many US Conservatives as ‘the Notorious RBG’, after seeing this movie I believe RBG actually deserves the opposite ‘verdict’.
Indeed to me, and I am sure, many other moviegoers, Ginsburg comes across as a firm yet fair member of the judiciary: someone who in the end evokes strong feelings of warmth and admiration.
It is also interesting in the film to witness the huge public support and respect Ginsburg now receives from the younger generation.
Much is made of her ‘Notorious RBG’ moniker – which is a blatant rip-off from the well-known rapper ‘Notorious BIG’ – and has inspired a raft of ‘memes’ and Tumbler posts on social media about the much-respected Supreme Court Justice.
Of course, Ginsburg’s road to success is long and not without its tragedy and dramatic tableaux.
She was married for more than 60 years to the funny and unpredictable Marty – a successful tax lawyer – and, as she says herself: ‘The best thing that ever happened to me.’
Her family and unstinting dedication to the job form the real substance of this film – together with a detailed portrayal of some of Ginsburg’s most revolutionary cases.
Her long life has been spent championing women’s (and men’s) rights in many spheres, and she has worked tirelessly to establish legal precedent for gender equality.
Over the past 50 years, this has resulted in several groundbreaking cases, including: Frontiero v Richardson, which was her first case before the Supreme Court.
In those early cases, Ginsburg was not only able to plead for her clients, but also to teach the existing Supreme Court justices that inequality was (and is) very real in the United States.
Some of the history she has made – and is still making in her mid to late 80s – is awe-inspiring, and probably unequalled by anyone, man or woman, over the past 100 years.
Some of the stories are heart-warming and others confronting, but whichever way you look at it, RBG leaves the viewer moved and deeply affected by the sheer strength and spirit of this remarkable lady.
RBG is showing at Luna Leederville and LunaSX from July 26, 2018.
By Mike Peeters
