Good Girls Revolt
“Good Girls Revolt is inspiring in its historical victory—and especially timely as we brace ourselves for our own, modern battles against gender inequality.”
Title: Good Girls Revolt (2015)
Creator: Dana Calvo 👩🏼🇺🇸
Writers: Book by Lynn Povich 👩🏼🇺🇸, TV scripts by Dana Calvo 👩🏼🇺🇸 and various (3 👨🏼, 2 👩🏼, 1 👩🏽)
Reviewed by Li 👩🏻🇺🇸
Technical: 4/5
Likable characters who are easy to root for work towards a satisfying ending in this self-contained limited series. Period sets and costumes make for a groovy 1970s vibe that’s fun to disappear into for the 10 episodes that make up this rollicking feminist drama.
While the show’s overstuffed cast and predictability makes for an imperfect execution, its appeal is undeniable: Audience members on Rotten Tomatoes gave it a sky-high 97% at the time of this review. This is binge watching at its best.
Gender: 5/5
Does it pass the Bechdel Test? YES
The entire basis of this show is about uprooting misogyny from male-dominated industries. A plethora of female characters assume various shapes and forms and walks of life—although, to be sure, they are primarily white.
Race: 3.5/5
On that note, Good Girls Revolt does nothing revolutionary in the Race category. The only people of color on the show are a few Black characters with minimal storylines. Creator Dana Calvo does address the uniquely difficult position that Black women had in risking their jobs for what were largely white feminist causes, but the fact remains that they’re used as supporting elements for a series that focuses on white characters.
To note, Eleanor—the Black ACLU lawyer played by Joy Bryant—does have a pivotal role as she encourages female researchers to “revolt”. But this hardly counts as inclusive writing; Eleanor Holmes Norton was a real person, and it would have been offensive not to feature her, given her integral role in forming the lawsuit featured in this series.
LGBTQ: 1.5/5
No overt LGBTQ representation can be found in this series. But given its limited runtime—and lack of LGBTQ stereotypes or queerphobic depictions—this keeps Good Girls Revolt from a rock-bottom score.
Mediaversity Grade: B- 3.50/5
Good Girls Revolt is entertaining, illuminating, and pro-women, but racial and queer representations fall to secondary (or absent) themes. Still, I would highly recommend Good Girls Revolt to anyone looking for a weekend binge, especially if you’re in the mood to get fired up. After all, its historical victory over a patriarchal workplace remains an uplifting story, one that feels especially timely as we brace ourselves for our own modern battles against gender inequality.