The 'RBG' Movie: A Portrait Of A Supreme Court Justice Whose Commitment To Women's Rights Has Shaped The Nation

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's life has been dedicated to seeking justice for all, but for women especially.

What’s one word that you’d use to describe Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg? Some would call her a hero, and some would call her an icon, but in the past and still to this day, others refer to her in far more ineloquent terms, like “demon,” “devil,” “witch,” “evildoer,” and “monster.”

That’s exactly how the documentary “RBG” begins, with snippets of Justice Ginsburg’s critics calling her names, followed by a close-up of her looking directly into the camera and repeating the same words she uttered during her 1993 confirmation hearing when asked about her opinion on women’s rights: “I ask no favor for my sex; all I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet off our necks.” It’s a very powerful moment, and it sets the stage for the rest of the film, which captures the essence of a woman whose life has been dedicated to seeking justice for all, but for women especially.

The film, directed by Betsy West and Julie Cohen, follows Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg from her childhood to her 25th year on the Supreme Court, marking her inspirational accomplishments along the way. In the 1970s, long before she was appointed to the D.C. Circuit or the Supreme Court, Ginsburg litigated and won five of the six cases she argued before the high court, all in an effort to make sure the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection clause applied to women. As Arthur Miller notes in the film, “she was creating a legal landscape” to change the world for women.

I did see myself as kind of a kindergarten teacher in those days because the judges didn’t think sex discrimination existed. Well, one of the things I tried to plant in their minds was: think about how you would like the world to be for your daughters and granddaughters.

The film also poignantly chronicles Justice Ginsburg’s relationship with her late husband, Martin Ginsburg, who championed his wife every step of the way. He was a man who Ginsburg described as “the first boy I ever knew who cared that I had a brain”; a man who collected letters where the authors praised his wife and carefully arranged them in a book for her to later peruse; a man who as an elite tax lawyer was happy to stand back, cook, and crack jokes while his wife made history.

“RBG” highlights how Justice Ginsburg, who once found herself as more of a centrist on the Supreme Court, slowly but surely moved to the left as the high court began to become more conservative. It wasn’t until 2015 that Justice Ginsburg became a pop culture icon, earning herself the nickname “The Notorious R.B.G.” for her stunning dissents in the Shelby County and Hobby Lobby cases, inspiring young women across the country and ensuring that her legacy will endure for future generations to come.

Towards the end of the documentary, Justice Ginsburg is asked if she regrets not having stepped down from the bench while Barack Obama was president so he could appoint her successor. She seems to hesitate for an incredibly brief moment before asserting that she’ll continue to serve as a justice for as long as she’s able to fully perform her duties on the high court. Long may the liberal lioness roar.

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“RBG” opens in select theaters today.


Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky has been an editor at Above the Law since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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