By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Freida Lee Mock
Country: united_states
Year: 2014
Running time: 95
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2481202/combined
Bruce says: “As a former co-worker of Clarence Thomas, Anita Hill was sent a questionnaire regarding her experience working with Clarence Thomas. She answered the questions truthfully, documenting what we now call sexual harassment. Unexpectedly, Hill was summoned to Washington to testify in person. On October 11, 1991, Anita Hill appeared before a Senate committee hearing and testified about her relationship and experiences as Clarence Thomas’ assistant at the U.S. Department of Education and the Equal employment Opportunity Commission. The all-male Senate panel turned the tables on her by questioning her motives and veracity rather than attempting to determine the relevance of her statements or calling other witnesses to collaborate her testimony.
“Shocking best describes the behavior of the Senate panel. Democrats and Republicans alike were condescending and patronizing. They did their best to humiliate her by making her repeat her testimony over and over. Joe Biden, the chair, was leading the charge displaying a dismissive attitude; Arlen Specter, the Pennsylvania Senator, was hostile. Howell Heflin asked, ‘Are you a scorned woman or do you have a martyr complex?’ Orrin Hatch pushed Hill on the subject of race. Ted Kennedy, quiet for most of the hearing, feebly supported Hill at the end of the interrogation.
“ANITA HILL: SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER opens with the close-up of a speakerphone with an answering machine. We hear Ginny Thomas’ voice suggesting that Anita owes her husband an apology. Much of Hill’s testimony is intercut with various talking heads recalling the general atmosphere of the hearings and the unflinching composure with which Hill answered the most preposterous questions andinsinuating remarks.
“Hill, an Oklahoma native, was the youngest of thirteen children. After leaving Washington, she thought that she could go back to her tenured position and concentrate on teaching law. Gradually, the message became clear: once she became a national icon, returning to a private, simple life was no longer an option. Hill received death and bomb threats. In spite of her tenured position, Oklahoma legislators attempted to bar her from teaching. She subsequently left Oklahoma and now is a professor at Brandeis University. The turning point of the film is when Hill admits that even she had not seen the forest for the trees. The true subject was not harassment in the workplace but that of gender equality. Hill claims, ‘Once I found my voice in 1991, I never lost it.’ Indeed, she has secured her place in American history. While this documentary gains high marks in terms of subject matter, it is not as riveting as it should be. An attempt is made to show how Anita Hill has impacted young women today. Perhaps director
Mock was lacking funds to delve deeper into Hill’s legacy; maybe she was shortsighted or just plain lazy. I did very much like the
film; I should have loved it. 4 cats”