Controversial upon its release, the first feature-length film of the modern women’s movement looks at female socialization through a peek into the lives of six women, ages 4 to 35, and the forces that shape them: teachers, counselors, advertising, music, and marriage. The film was widely used by consciousness-raising groups to generate interest and help explain feminism to a skeptical society. Viewers now have a chance to see how much has changed and how much remains the same.
Followed by Union Maids (directed by Julia Reichert, Jim Klein, and Miles Mogulescu, USA, 1976, 48 min.) The fight to form industrial unions in the first half of the 20th century through is covered in the stories of three women who leave rural farms for job opportunities in Chicago. The women recount their experiences of working 14 hours a day in factories where management had all the power while workers—especially women and minorities—had none.
Digital preservation and the restored 16mm prints made possible by The Women’s Film Preservation Fund of New York Women in Film & Television.