Every March, the world celebrates Women’s History Month by recognizing women from both the past and the present while simultaneously raising awareness for feminist endeavors in the future. It’s a time to celebrate women’s stories, tales, trials, and tribulations. Whether such women are contemporary, historical, or entirely fictional, Women’s History Month provides the perfect opportunity to watch movies and shows celebrating women’s accomplishments through time. If you’ve got the time to spare in quarantine, here are three streaming movies that are perfect for honoring Women’s History Month this March. 

Hidden Figures

Directed by Theodore Melfi and produced by Fox 2000 Pictures, Chernin Entertainment, and Levantine Films, Hidden Figures tells the stories of the African American women who contributed to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) during the global conflict between the United States and Soviet Union known as the space race. Hidden Figures is a film focused on race, sexism, and intersectional feminism. Its protagonists—Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson—are all shown as facing prejudice due to being Black women. The film portrays the racial bias these women face, not only from their white male counterparts but from their white female coworkers, who ostensibly should understand, at least, the plight of sexism. Hidden Figures provides an interesting commentary on the overshadowed minds behind the first moon landing and an underlying commentary on intersectional feminism. 

Hidden Figures is available to rent on Amazon Prime. 

Knock Down the House

Directed by Rachel Lears and produced as a Netflix Original, Knock Down the House is a documentary focusing on the 2018 Congressional campaigns of four American women. Originally premiering at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, Knock Down the House finds its protagonists in Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Cori Bush, Amy Vilela, and Paula Jean Swearengin. Running for Congressional seats in New York, Missouri, Nevada, and West Virginia, respectively, each of these women ran grassroots Congress campaigns against long-standing incumbents. Knock Down the House is a fascinating depiction of four working-class women’s battles to one of the highest levels of government, portraying each of the steps and struggles these regular American women faced along the way. Whether it was following the four struggling to raise funds for a campaign or debating rank-and-file politicians, Knock Down the House is current, relevant, and a movie for our time. Although three out of the four focus candidates lost their primary elections, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez went on to win both the primary and general elections, making her the youngest Congresswoman in history. 

Knock Down the House is available for streaming on Netflix. 

Dolly Parton: Here I Am

Dolly Parton is one of those rare celebrities, who, to inject some personal bias, can be considered a true national treasure. Whether Parton is vocally supporting the rights of the oppressed or beginning a children’s reading program, when you think of a Southern country singer, you’ll usually think of her. Dolly Parton: Here I Am is a 2019 Netflix documentary that tells the story of a rural girl from the Appalachians who would go on to rule Nashville, Hollywood, and the hearts of many Americans. Dolly Parton: Here I Am is a testament to the singer’s talent, work ethic, and ability to rise through the fray to secure herself a place as an icon of American pop culture. 

Whether women are observing the inauguration of the first female vice president in America or marching against endemic femicide in Mexico, the fight for equality, as always, continues. It continues through the representation of women in media and government. It continues through their presence in culture. It continues through protest and legislation. It continues through the stories we tell. 

Graphic courtesy of ALLTOGETHER.SWE.ORG