RBG: Supremely Courting My Affection

Ruth Bader Ginsburg has unexpectedly become perhaps the most iconic Supreme Court justice in American history. Much of the awareness around her has been codified in the past decade as she has issued scathing dissent after dissent in court decisions that have been predictably divided across party lines, something with which internet culture has gone off to the races. Justice Ginsburg is now a meme, the “Notorious RBG”, both for the left and the right. But as such, her personal history has been largely obfuscated by photoshops and stencils.

Enter filmmakers Betsy West and Julie Cohen to set everyone straight. Though their film RBG consistently delights in the justice’s modern day notoriety, it also lays out an historical tapestry that offers a satisfying context for the modern day 85-year-old that previously might have been known only amongst legal devotees. But this is no paint by numbers biographical documentary; using Ginsburg‘s 1993 senate confirmation hearing as a backbone, RBG eschews straight chronology, opting instead to present the justice’s story thematically. The result is an engaging and enlightening look into the court’s eldest justice.

From the Courts to the Gym

The film opens with an auditory montage of fiery indictments of its subject from right wing pundits, using such incendiary language as “witch” and “monster”, played over statues in Washington D.C., representing the stubborn entrenchment of the old guard. In doing so West and Cohen are putting front and center the true monster against which she has rallied her entire career.

If Ginsburg had never been nominated to the court, her place in history would already have been solidified as a tireless crusader for women’s rights and a shrewd legal strategist in how she went about achieving gender equality as an attorney before the court on which she would eventually come to serve. RBG relishes in describing these cases and the reasonings behind them in great detailing, even interviewing some of the plaintiffs involved. The film really shines during these sequences, as it was, as clichéd as the phrase is, truly inspiring to see a young Ginsburg rally so effectively against the male dominated structures that had defined America up until her intervention.

But the film is also sure to include quieter moments that help illuminate Ginsburg‘s character beyond her professional achievements. For instance I’m sure many will be relieved to witness her workout regimen, which far surpasses anything I do on a consistent basis.  I might have even preferred more moments like this, but for the stature of their subject, the amount of access given to Cohen and West is pretty remarkable.

In trying to cover 85 years, RBG has no wasted moments, carefully curating Ginsburg’s life so as to create the fullest portrait possible. For a biography that spans nearly nine decades, perhaps the film’s most significant achievement is to present it all in a way that seems like it all takes place in the present day.

RBG: Thanks

The film makes clear how the shift in discourse has changed the perception of RBG as one of the court’s more radical judges, even though when she was appointed she was considered to be center-left. But now we’ve somehow regressed to a point where civil rights are not just taken for granted but are being actively rolled back. Supreme Court justices are probably the least known about relative to their immense significance, and I was grateful to RBG for helping to humanize one of the nine most powerful people in America.

The progress of society is always the result of the impassioned work of individuals, and it’s a special comfort that someone so qualified and thoughtful is now presiding over the highest court in the land. One of the cases Ginsburg argued before the court on which she would come to serve, Weinberger v. Wiesenfeld, affected me directly, allowing my dad to receive federal benefits to help raise me and my sister after the death of our mother. This really imparted upon me how the fabric of our country is built up of so many of these kinds decisions, thread by thread, and how important the court is and how vital it is that Ginsburg remain a part of it for as long as possible.

RBG starts its theatrical run today, May 4th. Find a screening near you here.