PBS POV: We Are The Radical Monarchs Documentary Review
By John Saeger
“Radical means just being yourself. What makes you unique, what makes you pretty, what makes you cool.” The first words spoken in the documentary We Are The Radical Monarchs are uttered by a young member of a scouting troop that is instilling ferocity and community in the next generation of leaders. The organization, The Radical Monarchs, is the subject of a new film on a group filled with members who possess social acumen beyond their years.
The Radical Monarchs are a scouting organization for young women of color that was created in 2014. Anayvette Martinez and Marilyn Hollinquest founded the group in Oakland, CA. Its members earn badges for completing courses on social justice. To date, their story has earned prizes at film festivals in Boston, Seatles, and Toronto.
We Are The Radical Monarchs debuted on the PBS series POV on July 20. POV is in its 33rd season and is the longest-running independent docuseries in America. This is not the first scouting organization profiled in the series. Broadway mainstay Tom Shepard directed Scout’s Honor, a 2001 film about the drive to overturn the Boy Scout’s anti-gay policy. The documented campaign was named “Scouting For All,” a mantra that would find a home with the Radical Monarchs.
The organization centers on a progressive scouting experience that regularly teaches social programs. This includes instruction on LGBTQ+, racial, and body image issues. One concern in the documentary highlights the maintenance of this carefully-chosen curriculum as the Radical Monarchs expand to more scouting troops.
We Are The Radical Monarchs was directed by Linda Goldstein Knowlton, who also helmed Radical Brownies. The 2017 21-minute short documentary also explored the Radical Monarchs. Her extended history with the troop reveals itself through moments surrounding the young women. The film shows the growth of the organization alongside news events (specifically the 2016 presidential election, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the Women’s March).
By including these issues, We Are The Radical Monarchs presents the long journey these women face before equality is realized in the United States. Regardless of where audience members sit on the sociopolitical spectrum, the organization creates advanced societal awareness amongst its members that we could all benefit from. There are times that the slate of programs seems overwhelming as a viewer, let alone for preteens. The film shows that the Monarchs are a start to a new type of social education and that the future may be in good hands.
We Are The Radical Monarchs – TRAILER from Ladylike Films on Vimeo.
About the Author: John Saeger is a music and film writer from Philadelphia. He has written the pop-culture blog Long After Dark, a site dedicated to the arts in the City of Brotherly Love and beyond, since 2017. Twitter Facebook Instagram
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