It is October 7, 2018, and we are returning to Atlanta from a weekend away in Denver. There is a mannerly, well-dressed man in the window seat in our row. On the day before, Brett Kavanaugh, arguably the worst supreme court nominee in a generation, had been confirmed. As we were leaving the plane, many people came to meet the window-seat man, who, it turns out, was Colorado Senator Cory Gardner. He had just voted to confirm Kavanaugh. It’s probably for the best that we did not know who he was during the flight, as the conversation might have become somewhat tense. Crim captures the protest of Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing. Sitting on the plane with Gardner reminded us that evil is often well-dressed and polite.
Resisterhood is meant to highlight the power of women, hope, and resistance in American politics. It succeeds at these goals but also serves as a chronicle of the grinding nonstop gut-punches we’ve endured for four years, each day bringing another outrage, until our senses are overloaded, and our capacity for outrage dulled. This is, of course, by design. A design not of the current sitting president, who is by far not clever enough to have architected such a plan, but by the Wormtongue-esque advisors that have shaped the administration.
“…moments of power and joy that transcend the hatred and division…”
At the time of this writing, the towering figure of women’s rights and justice for all, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, has been dead for two days. John Lewis died two months ago. The candles that curse the darkness seem to be going out all around. But Ginsburg was indefatigable, as was Lewis. So must we be.
The stories in the film are optimistic and look to the future. Mimi Hassanein made baklava as a friendly gesture to put people at ease. Joanna Lohman loves it when children ask about her hair, cut in her trademark “Jo-Hawk.” Margaret Morrison, an elderly African-American woman, went to the Klan rally in Charlottesville and stood up against the khaki-clad, tiki torch parade of big-mouthed, small-minded men. These are moments of power and joy that transcend the hatred and division that are dragging us down.
Crim reminds us that good people are still out there, swinging for the fences. The intended impact of Resisterhood is spelled out in the companion website: To use the power of film to tell uplifting stories of resistance to reenergize the movement and inspire people to VOTE! And this we must do. Vote. In numbers. Swing the pendulum and rage against the dying of the light.
"…reminds us that good people are still out, there swinging for the fences."
