How GOOD GIRLS REVOLT Establishes Female Empowerment In Journalism

Circa 1969; the year of the groundbreaking moon landing, the infamous Woodstock festival, the Beatles’ last public performance, and a feminist rebellion in the male dominated workplace, Good Girls Revolt is a significant and powerfully expressive series about sexual discrimination and harassment.

The show features three main characters who work at a fictional news outlet by the name of News of the Week. A bustling newsroom of hardworking individuals segregated by two distinct groups. Men are employed as hotshot reporters while women are assigned to each one as their researcher, doing copious amounts of work with little pay off.

These three main characters offer a plethora of personality, sweetness and spark, starting with Patti Robinson, Jane Hollander and Cindy Reston. Patti (Genevieve Angelson) has a hot and cold relationship with her reporter, Doug Rhodes (Hunter Parrish), and they often quarrel due to their conflicting personalities. Patti takes the reigns of any pressing story or tip with her lean determination and confident mannerisms. She has high morals about fighting for what is right and a certain stubborn quality that makes her very like-able.

Cindy (Erin Darke) is shy but sweet and a little awkward. She struggles with intimacy with her irritable husband (who allegedly goes as far as making a tear in her contraceptive diaphragm) as she explores and comes to terms with being comfortable with her sexuality. Jane (played by Anna Camp) is a clever go-getter and is always trying to please others and work out problems. Her mother pressures her to maintain her figure using diet pills and other forms of extreme weight control. The vastness and range of these characters and their own unique arches offers strong female presence that can be understood and relatable, a value which adds to the power of the show.

Over the course of the years, feminism and female empowerment have swept the world in a fight for female equality. Good Girls Revolt shows an unflinching capability to enforce these concepts through the jarring plot and wonderfully crafted characters. Considering men still make up two-thirds of the newsroom today, it is not shocking that only 50 years ago women were working to break through the glass ceiling and fight for their right to report in a male dominated workplace filled with discrimination and harassment.

The Past and Present Collide

Good Girls Revolt is inspired by a non-fiction novel entitled The Good Girls Revolt by Lynn Povich, a female journalist who worked at Newsweek during the 1960’s. She was one of many women who sued the media outlet in 1970, the plot to Good Girls Revolt where a number of women file a lawsuit against their workplace, for sexual discrimination.

These women faced prejudice in the newsroom, forced to feel unsafe in an environment meant to solidify their livelihood. Men would become rather handsy and even comment on the bodies of women; the show even had one scene that depicted one reporter choosing a new researcher and being flocked by fellow colleagues bombarding him with tips, which included investigating his potential researcher’s waist size.

Despite this, Povich also wanted to highlight that the men she worked with were brilliant writers, she and the other women involved in the lawsuit had just wished there be a more equal workplace. This is granted by the fact that the women were often made to run errands such as picking up coffee or having their thoughts and ideas neglected.

With the show airing on Amazon Prime, it got quite a buzz, however, still seemed to be an underrated piece of important work. Good Girls Revolt aired around the time the #MeToo movement was at its peak which granted the show even more necessary hype. The show’s existence shed light on issues found in real life scenarios and were able to encourage a healthy discussion about gender equality and treatment of women in the workplace, as well as women on the paths to discovering more than what has limited their capabilities.

The revolt rages on

Former Amazon president of media development, Roy Price, was accused of sexual harassment, these accusations made by producer Isa Hackett approximately one year after Good Girls Revolt’s cancellation in 2016 after only streaming one season. After these allegations came to light, it was discovered how disinterested Price was in the show, not even bothering to view it, and how he appeared to actively avoid revamping the show in favour of other male-oriented programs (such as Transparent). Ironically enough, Price has been accredited to Good Girls Revolt’s downfall due to these allegations of what the show was created to battle against.

Dana Calvo, creator and executive producer of Good Girls Revolt expressed her confusion with the cancellation and her frustration with Price’s involvement. There was an importance in the work being done surrounding the show’s production and for it to have ended is an injustice. There is a strong need for programming of shows like this one, to encourage the discussion behind sexual discrimination and women’s rights in a positive light. Not only did Good Girls Revolt have relatable characters but also a strong withstanding plot line that has a meaningful existence and relevance in a time of need for workplace equality.

The show not only represented women in the 70’s hoping to get accredited for their research and hardwork in the journalism world, but in a current perspective, the show offered women in the film/television industry a fresh voice based on insightful real history. Unfortunately, the mistreatment of women in the industry is far from uncommon and is an issue that continues to gain traction and attention. These stories of empowered female minds should have the opportunity to be shared and that includes Good Girls Revolt, which, will hopefully gain enough recognition to be renewed for additional season(s).

Good Girls Revolt: Conclusion

Good Girls Revolt has been a contender for all elements of what makes a television show raw and provoking with an abundance of themes surrounding purposeful and intricate characters of multitude, all with their own quirks and dilemmas which makes the show all the more real and solid. It is a show that offers a vital atmosphere of the brink of 1969 in a whirlwind of important news and events that correlate to give an edge to the show’s overall appeal and a fun tone for moments of amusement or comical relief, all the requirements for a fulfilling series.

Have you seen Good Girls Revolt? Would you like to see a season 2? Let us know in the comments below!

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