2009 has provided a lot of opportunities for female filmmakers and has brought some breakout female performances in unlikely places. A variety of films addressed women’s issues with depth, clarity, and honesty this year. After watching marathons of movies, both poignant and compelling, a compilation of the best was born.

10. The Burning Plain

Director: Guillermo Arriaga

Sylvia (Charlize Theron) is a successful Portland restaurant owner, plagued by trauma from her past and suicidal thoughts. She abandoned her daughter, until a reunion is thrust upon them years later. Gina (Kim Basinger), was a mother of four who betrayed her family in an affair with another married man, before they both were killed in a fire. Both stories are deeply connected, gradually pieced together through the film’s non-linear style. These women, flawed as they may be, nevertheless show depth, intelligence, and vulnerability. The story addresses the profound repercussions of adultery or promiscuity as a means of escape, and the complex bond that mothers and daughters share.

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“She’s a kid. I wouldn’t know what to do with her. I can barely look her in the eyes. … I can’t run away anymore.” – Sylvia, to the father of her child, when forced to face her daughter after years of absence.

9. The Hurt Locker

Director: Kathryn Bigelow

One of the biggest strengths of The Hurt Locker is the fact that it’s a film by a woman about men at war. Bigelow tells the unexaggerated story of soldiers doing one of the most dangerous jobs in combat: defusing explosive devices. She not only tackles adrenaline junkies who spar with testosterone-fueled roughhousing, she also delves into the fears and pressures of fatherhood, and the complexity of a person who falls in love with near-death experiences. Many Hollywood-funded war films exploit the institution, pumping as much horsepower as they can into a two-hour time frame. Bigelow instead opts for restraint and honesty, exposing her characters not as bad ass men with guns, but as people just struggling to survive. The film is pertinent to men and women alike, because it touches the core of our commonalities as human beings.

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“The rush of battle is a potent and often lethal addiction, for war is a drug.” - Journalist Chris Hedges, the opening quote of the film

8. Whip It

Director: Drew Barrymore

In spite of it’s occasionally cheesy overtones, Whip It is an otherwise warm story about a small-town pageant dropout, trying to figure out where she fits in. Bliss Cavendar (Ellen Page) is inspired by the rowdy women’s roller derby team, The Hurl Scouts. She defies her family and spends as much time as she can with them, hoping to one day join the team. The sport not only offers her camaraderie and acceptance, it also teaches her how to be straightforward and aggressive – traits that would really benefit her in other areas of her life. It’s a film about sisterhood, stamina, and developing self worth.

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“Well, put some skates on and be your own hero.” – Maggie Mayhem, to Bliss, after she tells the Hurl Scouts they are her new heroes.

7. Skin

Director: Anthony Fabian

This is the true story of Sandra Laing, born to two white Afrikaaners during apartheid in South Africa. As a result of unknown African ancestry, Sandra appears black. Even before the government classifies her as “coloured”, the white community persecutes and abuses her. Sandra’s father fights to legally define her as white, and wins. When she falls in love with a black man, however, the fight begins to redefine her as coloured – even if it means losing everything, including her family. Sandra maintains strength and dignity, despite her meek demeanor, and perseveres through abusive situations. Her story has also been told in the book When She Was White: The True Story of a Family Divided by Race and in the short documentary Sandra Laing: A Spiritual Journey.

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“Look at me. I’m not white. Those boys want a white girl to marry!” -Sandra, to her father, after a series of painful dates with white men

6. Phoebe in Wonderland

Director: Daniel Barnz

Phoebe Lichten (Elle Fanning) is witty and outspoken, just like every woman in her family. She wants to be a child prodigy, and longs to live in a world “where everything isn’t so fixed.” She also has apparent obsessive compulsive disorder, maybe even Tourettes syndrome. She acts out at school, and only feels at home living in her own personal Wonderland – a dream that gets realized when she wins the part of Alice in her school’s production of Alice in Wonderland. Her parents (Bill Pullman & Felicity Huffman) struggle to understand their daughter’s bizarre tics, and try to refrain from labeling Phoebe or medicating her. It’s a story about childhood imagination, and the social constructs that progressively destroy it. It’s also about a mother raising her daughters, doing the best she can to help them openly express themselves, without putting them in harm’s way.

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“I have angst. … Mozart was 6 when he wrote his first opera. I’m 7! You don’t understand.” – Phoebe, to her parents, during a dinner party

5. American Violet

Director: Tim Disney

A single mother of four is the victim of racial profiling in a small Texas town. This is the true story of Dee Roberts (Nicole Beharie), who was falsely accused of drug dealing in 2000. She’s given two options: to plead guilty to a felony for a more lenient sentence, or go to trial and risk 16-25 years in jail. The ACLU suspects racism at the root of this indictment, and helps Dee sue the county, the District Attorney, and the Drug Task Force that arrested her. During the lawsuit, she undergoes a custody battle with the father of two of her children. The custody battle is moderated by the very D.A. she’s suing. Dee’s story is one of a persistent mother who endures a lot of stress, fear and intimidation, in a county where discrimination is secretly institutionalized. She holds her ground, hoping to keep this from happening to anyone else.

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“If you want to hurt me because I’m suing you, go ahead. … I am not an unfit mother.” – Dee, to the D.A., at her custody hearings

4. La Teta Asustada

Director: Claudia Llosa

This Peruvian film, whose title translates to The Milk of Sorrow, takes place in a war-torn region of Peru in the 1980’s. The militant group called the Sendero Luminoso were known for employing mass rapes as a war strategy. Many women suffered, raped by as many as 30 men at a time. Women who were raped were thought to pass their trauma down to their children, through the milk of their breasts, the Milk of Sorrow. The film follows Fausta (Magaly Solier), who lives in constant fear that she will be victimized. Upon the sudden death of her mother, she works hard to ensure she doesn’t suffer the same fate. It’s not only a socially educational film, it’s a profoundly emotional film that confronts the aftermath of sexual abuse.

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“Anyone born that way [is] without a soul, because it hid underground out of fear.” – Tío Lúcido explaining The Milk of Sorrow

3. Precious

Director: Lee Daniels

Claireece Precious Jones (Gabourey Sidibe) is an overweight, illiterate, depressed teen girl in Harlem. She’s abused by her mother (Mo’Nique) and raped by her father. During the most painful times, she escapes into a fantasy of being rich and famous, with a handsome and loving boyfriend. After being expelled from public school, she gets a chance to go to an alternative school, a chance to finally stop feeling invisible. Powerful performances by Mo’Nique and Gaborey Sidibe bring us to the depths of despair in Precious’ life, as we try to overcome these traumatic situations with her. It’s a beautiful and brilliant film about a girl who keeps trudging forward, come what may.

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“I wanna be in one of them BET videos. Mama said I can’t dance. Plus she said who’d wanna see my big ass dancin’ anyhow?” – Precious, thinking to herself as she walks to class

2. An Education

Director: Lone Scherfig

Jenny (Carey Mulligan) is a witty high school student growing up in 1960’s London. She’s a bilingual cellist, prepping for Oxford. Then, an unlikely relationship with a man 20 years her senior (Peter Sarsgaard) leaves her wondering if she should invest time and money into an education of her own, when he can clearly provide everything she needs. Avoiding college seemed especially practical in the ’60s, since even women with a degree had limited career opportunities. Her family supports this decision as well, but her school teachers and administrators balk. Jenny soon realizes the gravity of sacrificing personal growth for spontaneous pleasure, and the terrible position a woman can put herself in when she chooses a life of dependence.

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“Oh you’re my father again, are you? Well what were you when you encouraged me to throw my life away?” -Jenny, to her father (Alfred Molina)

1. Coco Before Chanel

Director: Anne Fontaine

From orphan to seamstress to stage performer, Danielle “Coco” Chanel (Audrey Tatou) strategically worked her way up the social ladder. At first, she raised eyebrows by refusing to wear restrictive corsets or garish frills, and often cross-dressed in men’s clothing. As her sister pined away for an unlikely marriage, Coco earned respect among the Parisian elite by establishing a strong point of view and an independent sense of style. That’s not to say she didn’t love, or allow herself to be loved. She wanted marriage and convention too, if only for a fleeting moment. But overwhelming ambition drove her to start a business, which grew into the fashion empire that bears her name. This headstrong woman established herself in an otherwise male profession, creating opportunities for countless female designers who followed.

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“I want it tighter.” / “You’d prefer not to breathe?” – A customer’s complaint, and Chanel’s response, refusing to make the garment uncomfortable.

Note: Some films were completed in 2008, with a USA release dated in 2009.

For more Sarah Haskins, see Current: Target Women.

Pregnant inmates have always faced incredible challenges in the American prison system. Some women claim they were neglected or denied basic health care, let alone prenatal care. There is the constant danger of miscarriage, either from neglect or from abuse by other inmates. There are several cases of inmates even being ignored during labor, left to give birth alone in the cell. And, until October 2009, these women were shackled and restrained to the same degree as other inmates, even during labor. [1]

Neglect & Miscarriage

Michelle McCollum was in the first trimester of her pregnancy when she was jailed for drug possession charges. In August of 2005, she was attacked by two other inmates, who punched her in the stomach repeatedly. After the attack, McCollum and another inmate cried to guards for help, but they refused to bring her to the infirmary.

She bled for three days until officers finally agreed to take her to the hospital, where doctors declared she had miscarried. They ordered that she return to the hospital later for a followup, but jail personnel never took her back. On September 17, she began bleeding again uncontrollably.

An ambulance finally rushed McCollum back to the hospital, where she received a transfusion because the blood loss was so great. Doctors then performed a procedure called a D&C, which removed the remains of the pregnancy. [2]

Related Stories:
Arpaio’s Jail Staff Cost Ambrett Spencer Her Baby, and She’s Not the Only One
Clamor: Barriers to Basic Care
Teen Mother Says Prison Neglected Her
Police Finish Investigation in Miscarriage Case

Solitary Cell Birth

Melissa Woten, an inmate at the Racine County Jail in Wisconsin, went into labor 18 weeks early. In March of 2009, she awoke in the middle of the night to find herself bleeding. Her cell mate pushed an emergency button for help, which was only answered by an intercom.

The 20-year-old spent the next four hours in labor, giving birth in her cell toilet around 5:15 a.m. Only then did jail staff respond, reaching her a few minutes later and calling for an ambulance. Her daughter was born alive, but stopped breathing, and didn’t respond to CPR. They were rushed to the hospital at 5:23 a.m., and the baby was pronounced dead at 5:58 a.m.

Woten’s grandfather, Ronald Kerner, was not allowed to visit her in the hospital. He was very concerned about her well-being, and frustrated by how the jail handled the situation. “I know she’s been in trouble of her own making,” he said. “That doesn’t make it wrong for the little one. The baby’s not at fault for what the parents do.” [3]

Related Stories:
$1.5M Suit Filed Over Birth in Jail
Woman Gives Birth Alone in Taylor County Jail Cell
Dubuquer Gives Birth Alone in Jail Cell

Nelson v. Norris

Shawanna Nelson was pregnant when she was incarcerated in Arkansas for credit card fraud and bad checks. When she went into labor, a corrections officer shackled her ankles to opposite sides of the hospital bed, even though Nelson was nonviolent and not considered a flight risk. After filing a law suit against the Arkansas Department of Corrections, she “produced evidence that the shackling caused her extreme mental anguish and pain, permanent hip injury, torn stomach muscles, and an umbilical hernia requiring surgical repair.” She has since been advised by medical professionals to never bear another child. [4]

With assistance from the ACLU National Prison Project, National Advocates for Pregnant Women, and the National Economic and Social Rights Initiative, Nelson continued the legal battle even after a district court sided with the defendants. In a narrow six-to-five en banc decision in the appellate court, the Eighth Circuit held that shackling women while in labor was, in fact, a constitutional violation. [1]

While the court’s verdict is a great step in securing female prisoners’ rights, the fight continues. Visit the ACLU and NAPW for more information.

Sources:

[1] “‘How Does Somebody Have a Baby in Jail Without Anyone Noticing?’ The Awful Plight of Pregnant Prisoners” (Rachel Roth, The Nation). Alternet Reproductive Justice. December 14, 2009

[2] “Arpaio’s Jail Staff Cost Ambrett Spencer Her Baby, and She’s Not the Only One” (John Dickerson) Phoenix New Times. October 28, 2008

[3] “Baby Dies After Jail Birth”(Marci Laehr Tenuta) The Journal Times Online. April 1, 2009

[4] Nelson v. Norris: Opinion 10/02/09. United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth District. No. 07-2481

[5] “PREGNANT WOMEN INMATES: EVALUATING THEIR RIGHTS AND IDENTIFYING OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENTS IN THEIR TREATMENT.” (Kelly Parker). Cleveland Marshall College of Law