Amazon Prime recently released the freshman season of “Good Girls Revolt,” a series that tracks a group of women in 1969 who decide to take legal action against a magazine after learning that the gender discrimination taking place in their newsroom is illegal, according to the Civil Rights Act. The women, deemed “researchers,” tirelessly perform the dirty work for the male reporters who publish pieces without crediting the women’s efforts. The magazine bans female reporters, instilling an impenetrable glass ceiling that prevents female workers from becoming the journalists they so desperately dream to be. In the wake of the women’s rights movement, the researchers are inspired to take a stand and fight for their right to write. Amazon announced this past Friday that the original series will be cancelled. “Good Girls Revolt” is rumored to potentially be renewed on a different platform, but Amazon’s decision threatens to end the show permanently.
The series presents itself as a soapier, sillier version of “Mad Men” that has a more compelling subject yet lacks the sophistication to pull it off. After binging the first season, I found myself thinking that a show about feminism deserves something bolder than what “Good Girls Revolt” offers. The three leading ladies, Jane (Anna Camp), Patti (Genevieve Angelson) and Cindy (Erin Darke) have the charisma to elevate the series to a higher level, but they are trapped within a narrative that restricts them from doing so. I enjoyed watching the show solely as a fun escape to the world of the 70s. It was exciting to be immersed within the counterculture journalism scene. The historic sets and costumes, including Patti’s on-point bohemian outfits, were enough reason to keep me watching. However, just as the fictional magazine News of the Week refuses to treat women equally, the series limits its own characters from branching beyond the frivolous narrative norms of subpar television shows. At times, the characters are as two-dimensional as the paper they scribble on and the plot as dull as an unsharpened pencil. This creates a bizarre contradiction to the message the show tries to evoke. Too much of the plot revolves around the women’s relationships with the men, all of whom were contributing to their oppression. The show would have benefitted if the showrunners focused more on the relationships between the women and less on their romantic interests. In short, a show on feminism should put sisters before misters.
Feminism deserves more complexity than “Good Girls Revolt” depicts because feminism is a complex issue. The characters are fighting for feminist rights yet they are still so ingrained in misogynistic 1960s culture and, most of the time, go right along with it. This may be because they are still living in a time that has a heavy influence on their lives subliminally. Even though they have one goal for feminism in mind, they are still socially stuck below men in other ways. The show preaches not to trivialize women, but its narrative seems to be doing just that. The plot ironically involves silly, soap opera plots about workplace crushes and losing their virginity, presenting a strangely anti-climactic narrative that clashes against their mission to file a legal complaint combatting unequal treatment of women. On the one hand, the women are feminist fighters passionate about kicking misogynistic ass, but on the other, their mindsets remain completely subservient to men. I was hoping that, as the women gain more confidence and their legal actions start taking their course, the women will see the other injustices in their lives as well. With the last couple episodes building up to the lawsuit, there are finally a few moments where the show shines. The women begin to mentally unchain themselves from the tyrannical social structure for which they subconsciously conditioned themselves to settle. Unfortunately, the narrative prevented this epiphany from happening for a little too long, losing the needed momentum.
It is clear that “Good Girls Revolt” is a show that deserves to exist, but needs improvement in order to thrive. The show touches on compelling issues that could create more depth to a show about feminism, but unfortunately opts for a simple workplace dramedy rather than a captivating feminist narrative. The nature of “Good Girls Revolt” manifests a constricted plot that straps the viewers into the unenlightened blinders the women are trapped within. The grin-and-bear-it workplace dynamic is uncomfortably at a standstill throughout the season and the fiery rebellion only emerges once the show has lost its credibility. Only when the women finally realize how truly unhappy they are in their inferior roles do they lose their patience and quench their thirst for revolt. Sadly, the audience loses their patience along the way and the message comes too little too late. Just as Nina Simone’s song, featured in the last episode, sings out, “I’m just a soul whose intentions are good. Oh Lord please don’t let me be misunderstood,” “Good Girls Revolt” tries to accomplish an inspiring commentary on feminism but squanders its intentions and is, indeed, misunderstood.
