RBG
is an inspirational, educational, and surprisingly entertaining movie. It is about gender discrimination and the struggle for equal rights. It is about justice and the law. It is a story about grand themes and noble causes. But it is also about friendships and love and family.
Ruth Bader met Martin Ginsburg in college; they married as soon as she graduated and celebrated their 56th anniversary shortly before his death. By all accounts, it was a deeply loving relationship. Together, they raised two children and nursed each other through bouts with cancer. Martin Ginsburg, a respected attorney himself, fully supported Ruth's career. In the movie, she tells how, after her appointment to the federal court in Washington, D.C., someone sympathized with her about how hard it must be for her to have to commute from New York City where Marty had his law practice - not realizing that both had moved to Washington, and Marty was the one who commuted back and forth to New York!
There are several scenes showing Justice Ginsburg with a granddaughter; the affection of the young woman for her grandmother is obvious. When Ginsburg's children were interviewed, they recalled a loving home, despite their parents' busy careers. (Although they vociferously confirmed all the rumors about Ruth's shortcomings as a cook! Lucky for them, Marty was the regular cook in the household.)
And then, of course, there was the remarkable friendship of Justice Ginsburg with fellow Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Starkly opposed in their judicial points of view, they often found themselves writing dissenting opinions to what the other had argued. Still, they remained good friends until his death, enjoying the opera and meals together. In a clip from a joint interview shown in the film, Scalia says of Ginsburg, with a broad smile, "What's not to like about her? Other than the fact that she's so often wrong!" while Ginsburg bursts out laughing in response. What a wondrous reminder, given our current political climate, that it is possible to disagree - even vigorously - without being disagreeable.
I learned much from the film, especially about Ginsburg's early, precedent-setting work as head of the Women's Rights Project of the ACLU. But my lasting impression is of the rich, supportive, loving relationships that helped shape a remarkable life.
- Bill
