Seeing Allred is a documentary film which premiered on Netflix in 2018.
The topic is the life and career of Gloria Allred, a famous and controversial American lawyer, whose mission is to defend human rights, in particular women’s rights, and to defend women who are victims of sexual assault.
Here is some basic information about this film:
** Directors: Roberta Grossman and Sophie Sartain
** Run time: 93 minutes
Several persons (including Gloria and her only daughter Lisa) are interviewed in the film. Here are the names:
** Gloria Allred (born 1941) – lawyer – feminist – activist
** Lisa Bloom (born 1961) – Gloria’s daughter – lawyer
** Fern Caplan – a childhood friend
** Laurie Levenson (born 1956) – Loyola Law School
** Thane Rosenbaum (born 1960) – Professor of Law, Fordham Law School 1992-2014
** Mariann Meier Wang – a civil rights attorney
** Gloria Steinem (born 1934) - feminist – activist – writer - in 1972 co-founder of Ms. Magazine
** Michael Maroko – Gloria’s law partner
** Nathan Goldberg – Gloria’s law partner
Archive footage is used between the talking heads. Old photos and old clips. Archive footage is used to illustrate the life and times of Gloria Allred.
Over the years, Gloria has tried to use the media to promote her message and her point of view. She has been quite successful. She has often appeared on American television to take part in live discussions. There are many clips from television programs where she appeared.
Some footage is not old. It seems the directors and the film crew were following Gloria around and filming her movements for several months while they were preparing this film.
What do reviewers say about this film? Here are the results of three review aggregators:
68 percent = Meta
69 percent = IMDb
76 percent = Rotten Tomatoes (audience)
100 percent = Rotten Tomatoes (critics)
As you can see, the ratings are quite good. When you look at Rotten Tomatoes, you can see that there is a significant difference between the general audience and the professional critics. This fact is no surprise. It is quite common. Critics often go higher than the audience, when we are talking about documentary films.
However, not all reviews are positive. Some reviewers feel the directors are too fond of Gloria. Some reviewers claim the film is one-sided. Some reviewers feel the film is not balanced, because the opposition is not allowed to speak.
My response: two points
The first point: there is no law which says a documentary film must be balanced. Many documentary films are not balanced at all. They are created and produced, because directors have a specific message. And they have the right to do what they want, including the right to be one-sided.
Documentary films are often a response to what is being said over and over in the mainstream media. Documentary films often want to present an alternative point of view which is being ignored by the mainstream media.
The second point: Gloria is allowed to speak her mind in this film. This is not surprising. It is, after all, a film about her life and her career. It is only natural that she is allowed to speak. And speak a lot. But it is not true that critical voices are excluded.
Listen to the numerous clips of old television programs. Her opponents are allowed to speak and they often use very harsh words against her. The claim that there is no criticism of Gloria in this film is simply not true.
As stated above, there is on Rotten Tomatoes a significant difference between the professional critics and the general audience. The critics love this film much more than the audience. In this case I have to side with the critics.
I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of 100 percent (five stars).
REFERENCES
# 1. A book
Fight Back and Win: My Thirty-Year Fight Against Injustice – and How You Can Win Your Own Battles
by Gloria Allred and Deborah Caulfield Rybak
(2006, 2007)
# 2. An article
“Gloria Allred: A Career in Press Conferences,”
New York Magazine, 8 November 2011.
# 3. A review
Leslie Felperin,
“Seeing Allred review,”
The Guardian, 22 January 2018.
This review offers 3 of 5 stars.
If you ask me, this rating is too low.
*****
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