A Film by Margaret Wescott
This two part film explores the history of women's roles in the Catholic Church,
and the need for reform of sexist standards. Part 1 contrasts the experiences
of contemporary, active nuns who live in and work amidst poverty, and a nun
who lives in the isolation of monastery life. Part 2 reviews the few exceptional
periods in history when women have yeilded power in religous life. It explores
strong female influence in pre-Christian Celtic religions, the scholarly women
of the Middle Ages who furthered science, medicine, and education, and how their
achievements were soon dismissed with the revival of misogynous theories by
male philosophers.
At the heart of the film is the evaluation of the paternalistic attitutes of
the Catholic Church and the male hierarchy that has resulted.
"Revealing... gets to the nitty-gritty." - The Montreal Gazette
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