Greta Gerwig's adaptation of Little Women has been in theaters since Christmas Day, and if you haven't seen it yet then I'd recommend going immediately. Based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott, Little Women follows the lives of the March sisters (Jo, Amy, Meg and Beth) as they navigate life, love and family as young women in 19th century America. Led by Jo (Saoirse Ronan), the story jumps between her childhood with her sisters and her adult life as a writer in New York. This novel made the daily lives of women a topic to be read about and discussed, which was highly unheard of at the time it was published. When I saw Little Women in the theater, there were so many moments when I caught myself holding my breath or not blinking because the story resonated with me so strongly and I was hanging on to every word. This is a coming-of-age story from over 100 years ago, yet Greta Gerwig was able to capture it in a way that felt completely contemporary and still relatable for women today. Creating authentic stories about women in their daily lives made Louisa May Alcott a trailblazer for her time, and the fact that Greta Gerwig (among other women in film, television and literature) are still fighting to create space for such stories proves that there's still progress to be made. When the Oscar nominations were announced, I was disappointed but not surprised that there weren't any women honored in the Best Director category. With so many amazing films made by women in the last year (including Little Women), it still sent a clear message that there wasn't room for them at the table. Please don't try the, "Maybe these five men just did the best work as directors last year" argument with me because I'll tell you that you're lost. While this film clearly stuck with me, it's upsetting to see how people (like this male member of the Academy who couldn't think of a better criticism than "I hated it") can wave it off for something as simple as not wanting to follow a non-linear narrative (which sounds like a personal problem) or not being able to relate to it (tell me how you can relate to space robots turning into cars and superheroes fighting crime and get back to me.) Even if you're not a woman, stories about women are still important (what a concept), and it's not fair for anyone to dismiss that. The themes intertwined in the story of Little Women, from family and marriage to work and women's rights, are all still being discussed in the lives of young women today - and that's why films like this one are so important. Little Women is a representation of so many young women who still must fight for themselves to be taken seriously, who must balance family responsibility with personal independence, who must work twice as hard to get half the credit given to their male counterparts, who must deal with double standards every day of their life. The fact that people are so quick to dismiss this film is enough to show how women and stories about their daily lives are still often belittled or ignored altogether. Some of the most pivotal scenes in Little Women include impassioned speeches from the March sisters about such issues, and how helpless it can feel at times to be a woman. In one emotional scene, Jo tells her mother how women are so much more than just someone to love - that women have minds, ambitions, and talents that they deserve to be recognized for. It's so common for films to portray women as the love interest, or as someone whose life isn't complete until they find someone to love; but in Little Women, Greta Gerwig wanted Jo's main romance to be with her writing. For any young woman today whose priority is to build a successful career and an independent life, seeing Jo's commitment and refusal to settle for what everyone else wanted for her is a big deal (and if you can't relate to it personally, that doesn't make it any less so - just a reminder.) In another powerful scene, Amy (Florence Pugh) tells Laurie (Timothée Chalamet) that he has no right to judge her for pursuing marriage as an economic proposition. Despite the fact that Amy wants to be a painter, she knows that she if she can't be a great artist then she must rely on a husband to take care of her. It would be impossible for her to make a living and support a family on her own, and Amy represents many women at that time who had no choice but to abandon their dreams in order to survive in a society set against them. Yet, even when Amy pursued what was expected of her, she was still criticized for it. Today, whether a woman decides to pursue a career ("don't you want a family?") or she decides to raise a family ("why don't you work?") or she decides to do both ("how do you do both?), standards like this still exist and it's important for women to see stories like theirs portrayed on-screen. Above all, films like Little Women that show young women finding their place in the world and refusing to accept societal norms are valid and important. These stories should be uplifted and respected, instead of being minimized and pushed aside. Women matter, and our stories matter - and we all deserve to have our moment of crying in a dark movie theater while films like Little Women prove to us exactly that.
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