2013 Summer Movies: #15 Iron Jawed Angels

Iron Jawed Angels came out in 2004 and follows the story of Alice Paul and the NWP (National Woman's Party) after they broke off from the NAWSA (National American Women's Suffrage Association).  Paul's group picketed President Wilson and endured attacks from the public and politicians in their fight to get a Federal amendment giving women the right to vote.  They were arrested on false charges and send to Occoquan Workhouse where they were brutally treated.   The abuses they suffered in the workhouse led to newspaper stories about the abuses and the  suffrage cause.  The press helped the women's cause by revealing the abuses and garnering public sympathy and support for the amendment.

It's not the children's storybook version of the 19th Amendment but it's a powerful story of how hard and how long women from all classes worked for this right to have representation in American government.  The movie is not rated (NR) since it was made for tv but we estimate it would have received a PG-13 for the prison brutality and forced feeding scenes.  Ironically, we started watching this film (it took a few days to finish it) on the 93rd anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment back on August 18, 1920. 

Utah gave women the right to vote in 1870.

2013 Summer Movies: #14 Catch Me If You Can

Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio star in this PG-13 film (for sexual content and brief language).  Based loosely on the true story of a young "unsub" (unknown subject) who mastered check fraud, forgery, and impersonation and managed to pose as an airline pilot, doctor and lawyer all before being caught at the age of 21.  I did always wonder how he managed restitution....

Hedgehog and Daisy were amused by the French substitute teacher impersonation and Mica  noted that they do point out that he passed the Louisiana bar exam on his own. (Although some accounts claim he studied longer than the two weeks mentioned in the movie and that he may have had to take the exam more than once to pass.)  I  appreciated that he changed his life and started helping banks, companies and the government to counter fraud.  You can read an interview with Frank Agagnale from January 2008 with computer dealer news: http://www.computerdealernews.com/news/frank-abagnale-breaks-his-silence/5363

Sunday Randomness #23: The Simple Life

Just a sampling of June colors growing  in our backyard as taken by Daisy.

2013 Summer Movies: #13 Braveheart

Braveheart is rated R for brutal medieval warfare.  How much is freedom worth?  Daisy and Mica thought it was good and Hedgehog added it to her list of favorite movies.  If you wish to learn more then there are a number of sites that discuss the history of William Wallace and Robert the Bruce and other notable historical figures of the time.

2013 Summer Movies: #12 Independence Day

We've got to have a couple of popcorn, solely for entertainment, not really emotionally tense, or mind-bending flicks for the summer and here's one from 1996. Independence Day rated PG-13 for sci-fi destruction and violence.  There's a bunch of well-known names like Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, Adam Baldwin, and Brent Spiner just to name a few of the actors in this big budget summer blockbuster.  We thought it was suitably entertaining. And, I appreciated the nod to the old technology of morse code.   You can even get a morse code app for $.99 at: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/morse-it/id284942940?mt=8

2013 Summer Movies: #11 Schindler's List

Schindler's List, rated R, released in 1993.  Mica had seen Schindler's List before and said it was good.  Hedgehog echoed the good  but both agreed it's not the kind of film you want to see over and over again.  Daisy will have to wait to see it since she was away at camp when we watched it this time.  At 3 hours and 17 minutes, it is a long film and it is emotionally draining.  The film also shows the power of black and white in a day and age where many things are over-saturated.

You can read more about Oskar Schindler at: http://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/righteous/stories/schindler.asp