By the Bel: Girl Power Old School Style

Published March 12, 2014
Category: By the Bel, Columns

Belinda_kisses_tn I’ve been going back through some movies set in the early-to-mid-1900s, and noticed how women have really been trail blazing for their sisters since long before Germaine Greer popped her head onto the scene.

Here are five movies that leave me feeling empowered and make me proud to be a woman. These movies span the most formative 50 years of women’s liberation and all before we burned our bras and the word Feminist became a dirty word.

Fried Green Tomatoes – The earlier plot line is set in the 1920s. A mixture of self-discovery and storytelling, this one makes me bubble with pride. TO WANDA!!!

The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood

If you think you have nothing in common with your parents, think again. Set in the late 1930s, we follow the Ya-Ya’s on their journey into womanhood, while flipping into modern times and having a blast as relationships mend and grow. YA-YA!!!

A League of Their Own

While the men were fighting the war in the 1940s, women were called upon to keep up morale on home soil by creating a baseball league. Go PEACHES!!!

Mona Lisa Smile

The story of a teacher in the 1950s who changes her student’s lives by asking them to expect more from themselves than just being a housewife. Be yourselves.

The Help – This film is not only about women’s rights, but also shines a light on 1960s apartheid in living colour. This movie is fabulously entertaining and shows things from another point of view. (There’s a quote in here about poop…but you’ll have to watch the film or read the book to get it.)