Six Generations of Suffragettes

Reminding pre-teen and teen viewers that, as one interviewee points out, it's "important for young people to know that the women's movement existed," this fast-moving, MTV-style short documentary (with uncredited song clips from Tracy Chapman, Sheryl Crow, Sarah McLachlan, Beth Orton, and others) focuses on six generations of Stanton women, from legendary women's rights leader Elizabeth Cady Stanton, down to her great-great-great granddaughter, Elizabeth Jenkins-Sahlin. Combining coverage of historical highlights (such as the 1848 Seneca Falls, NY women's convention, in which Elizabeth Cady Stanton introduced the Declaration of Rights & Sentiments) and personal recollections (Rhoda Barney-Jenkins, 4th generation, recalls working in a dry-dock during WWII for decidedly unequal pay), this Channel One production is a slick, if somewhat scattershot, introduction to the women's rights movement, which is recommended primarily because of the historical bridge that students can see spanning from Stanton to the well-spoken 14-year-old Elizabeth Jenkins-Sahlin. Teachers should also consider the much less expensive Equality: A History of the Women's Movement in America (VL-3/96). Aud: J, H, P. (R. Pitman)