Liberal feminist icons are apparently the trend in the upcoming election cycle. First, “Madam Secretary,” a TV series inspired by Hillary Clinton came out last fall, and now a movie about liberal Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is in the works.
Deadline [1] reports that Israeli-born American actress Natalie Portman is cast to portray the Jewish Supreme Court Justice in a biopic about Ginsburg’s fight for “equal rights,” titled “On The Basis of Sex.” The film is directed by Marielle Heller, who’s coming-of-age tale about a teenage girl losing her virginity to her mother’s boyfriend was a Sundance and media favorite [2].
Ginsburg has become a cultural icon for the left, especially among the younger crowd, earning the nickname “Notorious R.B.G.” Ginsburg has long been a media favorite as well, receiving fawning questions from reporters like Katie Couric [3] and being praised for her chummy relationship with President Obama [4].
Portman is also slated to play former First Lady Jackie Kennedy Onassis in an upcoming film titled, “Jackie.” [5]
According to a press release, the film takes place after the assassination of President Kennedy and “shows Jackie at both her most vulnerable and her most graceful.” It’s directed by Pablo Larrain, who recently produced a Catholic Church bashing film called “The Club.”
Hollywood really doesn’t hide its bias well, when no producer or director seems to have any interest in making a film about a conservative First Lady or Supreme Court Justice.
In fact, anytime Hollywood does try to portray conservatives, they can’t help but either twist the truth to make the person more liberal, or completely denigrate the person’s legacy. Just think about how the Reagans were portrayed in the 2003 miniseries [6] or when Harvey Weinstein admitted to making Margaret Thatcher more liberal [7] in 2011’s “The Iron Lady.”
Hollywood loves to make fluffy films which flatter their heroes though. Recently, the Obamas’ “love story” called “Southside with You [8]” was announced as an upcoming film to hit theatres. Compare that soft take with a film and a play about assassinating George H.W. Bush, while he was still in office [9].
— Kristine Marsh is Staff Writer for MRC Culture at the Media Research Center. Follow Kristine Marsh on Twitter. [10]