Local civic leaders and elected officials on Saturday joined an enthusiastic crowd of mostly women at a free screening of Makers: Women Who Make America, a 2013 three-part PBS documentary series presented at the Santa Barbara Central Library.
Attendees gathered inside the Faulkner Gallery to watch the film, which is divided into three segments focused on the struggle for women’s equality over the last half of the 20th century. The film, hosted by the Democratic Women of Santa Barbara County with the assistance of sponsors, friends and supporters aimed to educate and inspire women and girls of all ages.
“It’s important for young girls to look at all of the possibilities that are open to girls and women that were not there before,” said Gail Teton-Landis, president of the Democratic Women of Santa Barbara County.
“To see astronauts, senators or heads of large corporations being interviewed, and to hear their stories and their courage and their conviction or their struggle is really wonderful. These women are fabulous role models.”
Each 60-minute portion featured compelling stories of dynamic women from all walks of life, from flight attendants and coal miners to groundbreaking visionaries, such as feminist activist Gloria Steinem, media mogul Oprah Winfrey, fashion icon Donna Karan, comedian Ellen DeGeneres and politician Hillary Rodman Clinton.
“These women have made a difference in a big way and in a small way,” Santa Barbara County District Attorney Joyce Dudley said. “That’s one of the things I love about women because we truly feel that if we’ve made a difference in one person’s life, one single manifestation, then we’ve truly made a difference.”
The first part of the film, Awakenings, begins in the 1950s and ’60s, covering the social impact of the civil rights movement and that of Betty Friedan’s novel, The Feminine Mystique.
Part two, The Changing World, covers the challenges and triumphs women faced during the sexual revolution of the 1970s. The film ends with Charting a New Course, in the 1980s and ’90s, with topics ranging from the inequality of women in the workforce, sexual harassment and violence against women.
“I think this film is so amazing because women have gone before us and have made changes that some of us don’t even realize,” said Marsha Marcoe, associate executive director of Domestic Violence Solutions for Santa Barbara County. “And I want the next generation to understand the power that women have to change the universe.”
The women who share their personal stories of perseverance and triumph on film are among the hundreds of videos clips assembled on the Makers website, a digital platform that profiles the lives of iconic women who mobilized the women’s movement and a new generation of women who continue to reshape America.
“We have to know our history and we especially have to know women’s history so we can build from that,” Santa Barbara Mayor Helene Schneider said. “A documentary like this is so important for adults but also for young girls growing up to show what possibilities are out there for them.”
— Melissa Walker represents the First Supervisorial District as an appointed member of the Santa Barbara County Commission for Women.
