Iron Jawed Angels Movie Review

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Iron Jawed Angels Movie Review The movie, Iron Jawed Angels, directed by Katja Von Garnier, depicted the women's suffragist movement during 1869-1914. On the brink of World War One, women all across America decided that their time to vote and participate in politics was now, and fought for their rights as citizens of the Unites States of America. The movie focuses on the life of Alice Paul (acted by Hillary Swank), as she separated herself from the National American Women Suffrage Association (NAWSA), and formed the National Women's Party (NWP) to help women gain the right to vote. The movie did a good job in depicting a lot of things, including how women suffragists were treated by the public, the differences in suffragists in the elite class and working middle class, as well as the treatment of women as political prisoners. But, the thing they depicted the best was the difference in tactics when it came to the older and younger generations of suffragists. As the film describes, NAWSA was generally made up of older women, possibly elite, and more seasoned in the art of political game play. Their …show more content…
They weren't worried about the future of the suffragist movement as the older generation was; they were worried about it in present time. With the war heading towards the doorstep of the capital, younger women who supported this movement saw a need for change in the moment. Instead of a more passive approach, women like Alice Paul tried more forward tactics, such as parades, protests, and direct lobbying. This approach clashed with the women of NAWSA, causing conflict within the party itself. Not wanting to cause any unnecessary trouble but wanting to finish the job she started, Alice Paul and a few others like her formed the NWP, which as a consequence was generally made up of younger, more combative women. The difference of the NWP's tactics, is explained in more detail by an article put out by the Library of

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