Meryl Streep's "Fight Song" and Female Biopics
Wednesday, July 27, 2016 at 11:45AM
NATHANIEL R in Amelia Earhart, Eleanor Roosevelt, Elizabeth Banks, Harriet Tubman, John Michael Higgins, Meryl Streep, Pitch Perfect, biopics, gender politics, music videos, politics

Meryl Streep for President in 2024! We're with her. 

In case you missed Meryl Streep's "Grit & Grace" speech at the DNC last night, please enjoy the reappearance of her tacky but adorable American Flag dress and catch up. I thought I'd share it with a little movie angle since it's all about Trailblazing Women...

We've often bemoaned Hollywood's lack of biopics that don't fall under the "Great Man" umbrella. So let's consider how many of Meryl's name-checked women have had their own biopics.

Here we go...

What does it take to be the first female anything? It takes grit and it takes grace.

Deborah Samson - No biopic. Served in George Washington's army in disguise as a man. Movie-ready plot right there!
Hillary Clinton -No biopic. But played by Emma Thompson in Primary Colors (sort of) and played often on SNL but blonde funnywomen. 
Sandra Day O'Connor -No biopic. First woman apppointed to the US Supreme Court
Rosa Parks -TV biopic starring Angela Bassett (Emmy nomination). "The first lady of Civil Rights"
Amelia Earhart -Multiple Films. The first female transatlantic aviator. In addition to her own biopics she's appeared as a character in random movies and has been played by Hilary Swank, Amy Adams, Rosalind Russell (sort of), and more
Harriet Tubman - No biopic. Yet. But competing projects are in the works including one from Viola Davis. Born a slave, became a brave legendary conductor on the Underground Railroad of the Civil War. About to be on the $20 bill.
Sally Ride - No biopic. The first woman and the youngest person ever to travel into space. No biopic.
Shirley Chisholm - No biopic. The first black Congresswoman and the first black person to run for President. No biopic.
Madeleine Albright -No biopic. The first woman to be Secretary of State. The TV series "Madame Secretary" starring Tea Leoni shares the title of her memoirs.
Geraldine Ferraro -No biopic. The first female vice presidential candidate. 
Eleanor Roosevelt -Multiple Films. TV biopic starring Jean Stapleton (Emmy nomination) and Feature biopic (of sorts) Sunrise at Campobello starring Greer Garson (Oscar nomination). No other biopics but she has been played in various projects by Streep herself, Cynthia Nixon, Elizabeth Hoffman, Cherry Jones, and more. 

It's really not hard at all to find worthy female subjects for biopic treatment. These are like prominent grains of sands on a beach full of them. Since Hollywood is so obsessed with biopics we hope they'll eventually branch out beyond male politicians and male artists.  

Meryl's Speech if you missed it...

Did you catch that brief cutaway to the Gummer girls watching her? 

And the "FIGHT SONG" which also played the DN
Singing Celebrities - You know how we love them! I watched this like 7 times last night. Key members of the casts of Pitch Perfect, Nashville, Modern Family and a whole bunch of other rando celebrities pop up to sing "Fight Song" for the Democratic National Convention. I mean, I'm gagging. Aisha Tyler, Connie Britton, Mandy Moore, Elizabeth Banks, Kathy Najimy, Ellen Greene, Kristin Chenoweth, America Ferrera, Billy Porter, Alan Cumming, Sia, Jane Fonda? I love everyone today. 

Article originally appeared on The Film Experience (http://thefilmexperience.net/).
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