I know you’ve seen the statistics from This Changes Everything about the percentage of women in front of and behind the camera before. But This Changes Everything takes you inside the story. It lets in you in on the struggle to count the data, check the boxes, and fight the fight.
The history of sex discrimination in Hollywood is taken back to the beginning in this documentary. You hear from many, many women directors, showrunners, producers and actors.
The film describes the long process and various methods used to try to move Hollywood in a more equal direction. Not only for women but for people of color. There are many heroines (and heroes) in the battle as people do data collection, mount legal challenges, and write publicity. Getting the EEOC and the ACLU into the fight helped.
The documentary takes you beyond the big names you may know about like Geena Davis to bring in other efforts, other people, and their part of the fight.
By the end of the film, which takes you up to the #MeToo era and the Women’s March on Trump’s inauguration day, you know much more about Hollywood’s history of sexism and racism than you learn from articles full of statistics once a year when a new study comes out.
Some of the people who took part in the film are Jessica Chastain, Natalie Portman, Cate Blanchett, Zoe Saldana, Reese Witherspoon, Rashida Jones, Rosario Dawson, Amandla Stenberg, Jackie Cruz, Ellen Pompeo, Tracee Ellis Ross, Patty Jenkins, Shonda Rhimes, Maria Giese, Jill Soloway, writer Maureen Ryan, and many others.
When studios change, when networks change (FX being a prime example), the results are always positive.
The film is currently available on Prime Video. It shouldn’t be confused with another film by the same name about climate change.