This Changes Everything (2018)
By Renee Schonfeld,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Compelling, entertaining docu about women in film and TV.
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This Changes Everything (2018)
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What's the Story?
In THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING, director Tom Donahue has assembled an enviable list of actors, filmmakers, academics, and journalists to enlighten audiences about gender inequity in movies and televisions. Donahue and his team (which includes Geena Davis) use popular and classic film clips, as well as interviews, to give evidence to their conclusions. Bolstered by facts and figures that took extraordinary commitment to collect, the movie makes its case, reviews the data, and sets out to prove that women in film have had a tough go, just as they have in many other industries and institutions.
Is It Any Good?
This documentary features an impressive company of female actors and directors who light up the screen with their stories and insights addressing gender discrimination. As affecting as it is informative, It isn't all new information, it's simply well documented with damning facts and stats (only 4.1% of top-grossing films from 2002 to 2014 were directed by women!) beautifully delivered by folks who have been and still are feeling the effects of a systemic imbalance in the entertainment industry. Of particular note are the stories of the earliest female directors trying to change the status quo: Maria Griese, whose diligence turned her into a change-maker; efforts by the Directors Guild of America and the American Civil Liberties Union to promote change; and John Landgraf, a network boss who was inspired by a journalist and refused to accept the existing situation.
This Changes Everything (an ironic title given how often certain movies over the years that were heralded as game changers fell flat) has an important point to make: "Hollywood is our storytelling machine; it creates our cultural narrative and informs as the voice of our civilization." One hopes that those who can make a difference hear that message.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the intent of documentaries: to entertain, inform, inspire, and persuade. Which of these categories best describes This Changes Everything? Why?
How clearly did the filmmakers justify their theory and ideas about the role of women in film and television? Which methods (interviews, film clips, historical information, statistics) did you find most effective in presenting the case?
An interviewee states that "Misogyny is an invisible sport." What does she mean? What examples have you seen or experienced that might back up that notion?
Were you surprised by the data that was revealed in the movie? Why or why not?
Movie Details
- In theaters: July 22, 2018
- On DVD or streaming: July 30, 2019
- Cast: Geena Davis , Reese Witherspoon
- Director: Tom Donahue
- Inclusion Information: Female actors
- Studio: Good Deed Entertainment
- Genre: Documentary
- Topics: Activism , History
- Character Strengths: Communication , Courage , Integrity , Perseverance , Teamwork
- Run time: 95 minutes
- MPAA rating: NR
- Last updated: August 26, 2023
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