Photo: 2018 Reuters/Jim Young

Why should you watch “RBG”- the documentary?

I was travelling last year and the in-flight entertainment suggested a documentary on RBG. I thought to myself that this was digital personalization at work, as we had just finished a conference on digital technologies. I had heard about Ruth Bader Ginsburg and wanted to know more about her. This documentary is now available on Netflix and I will suggest you to watch it. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s recent demise is a loss but her life is worth celebrating. She has left a legacy for the future, and a legal landscape built on tenets of equality. Here are some of her qualities shown in the documentary that make her inspiring.

1. Ambition — Back in the first half of the 20th century when women weren’t seen as equals, Ruth was taught by her mother to be independent. Her friends described her as a quiet thinker who never indulged in small talk. She met her husband Martin Ginsburg in Cornell and got married at the age of 21. Martin was a great partner who took pride in her brains. She literally followed her husband to Harvard Law school by enrolling there to study with a 14 month old child. Women were not allowed in Harvard Law School until 1950’s.She talks about her days at Harvard, where questions were not posed to women in classes, even when they raised their hands, making them feel non-existent. If at all one of them did get a chance to answer, their answer would be generalized as if it were coming from “women”. There was even a question from the then dean who asked female students what would they do with their education, occupying seats which otherwise would have gone to a male candidate? Ruth recalls how she was once denied entry inside the Harvard library, as women never went there. Yet she made it to the Harvard Law Review which allowed only the top 25 out of the 540 students to be empanelled. She later had to switch to Columbia Law school as her husband was working in NY. After graduating as a top law student, when it came to finding a job in NY there were firms shutting doors at her. They simply stated the reason that she could not be hired was because she was a woman. That’s when Ruth became a law professor.
2. Equal rights champion — During her early years, America had laws where women in regular jobs were fired from jobs during pregnancy and had limited property ownership rights. Even banks didn’t loan out to woman until the husband stood next to her. It was in 1970s during the equal rights movement when Ruth started teaching a course on Gender Law and started participating in legal arguments. Her first argument in Supreme Court was in a case where a Lady Air Force officer was denied housing allowance because as per the law it was only for men. Ruth’s forceful argument on women being treated inferiorly, not giving them equal opportunities, made the plaintiff win the case. In her next case she fought for a primary caregiver Mr. Weisenfeld, who was raising a child, in this case a widower who had lost his wife during childbirth. At that time the social security rules allowed benefits only to mothers. However in this case the father won and was allowed his share of care giving allowance as he was the primary caregiver. Ruth won 5 out of 6 cases she argued before US Supreme Court. She put forth a strong case for women’s decision on abortion and reproductive rights. She says how she would often think of herself as a kindergarten teacher presenting an explanation to the judges. The judges were mostly white men from privileged backgrounds who thought that sexual and racial discrimination did not exist. Later when Justice Ginsburg joined the Supreme Court, she gave landmark judgements like allowing women’s entry to the Virginia Military Institute which had been a male bastion for 150 years. Her opinion on the lines of equal pay for equal work was loud enough to make the US Congress pass the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act in 2009, one of the first under Obama administration.
3. Relationship Goals — Ruth’s husband Martin was very supportive. When they were studying at Harvard Law school, he was suffering from cancer and Ruth would help him out by typing his class notes and then finished her assignments catching only 2 hours of sleep. Her husband recovered and went on to become a very successful tax attorney in NY. It was the same time that Ruth was doing well in the legal circles. He later moved to Washington DC so that his wife could have a career that she deserved. A move that was not heard of, in those days. While Ruth had been recognized in the DC circuit for her litigation skills she was too humble to blow her own trumpet. Her husband used his network and ensured that her talent be channelized to the highest order. Ruth was interviewed by President Clinton, who was initially a bit hesitant but was struck by her intelligence after 15 minutes of speaking with her and in 1993 she was nominated as a US Supreme Court Justice. Her family and husband accepted her dedication to her work and would funnily not let her enter the kitchen as she was not considered a good cook. After her husband died Justice Ruth kept herself busy with work and spent time with family.
4. Tenacity — Justice Ginsburg was always soft spoken. She would never yell and nor could she be described as a firebrand. She asserted her point of view with a steely presence. It was always her solid argument that stood out. She was driven by a sense of purpose that of creating a legal landscape for women and minorities. Her liberal views always made her build consensus with her revered colleagues. However she was also known to dissent in her own style. Her workout videos in which she can be seen doing those push ups, weights and planks while in her 80s were quite a sensation in media.
5. Wisdom — Justice RBG was extremely self aware and wise. Of course, this is expected from someone like her with so many years of experience in jurisprudence. While on many occasions she and her co-judges were not always in agreement, they agreed to disagree. Her views clashed with the other judges who held a conservative view, yet she enjoyed great respect and friendship. She once even starred in an opera with her Supreme court colleague Justice Scalia. Justice Ruth got herself into a bit of a controversy when she couldn’t hide her contempt for Donald Trump and made scathing remarks in public while Trump was a presidential candidate. Later she realised that by the virtue of the post held by her, she shouldn’t have commented and issued a public apology. While her age and health were not getting better, she would often be asked about her plans of stepping down from the office. She maintained that she would continue till she could do her job to the fullest.

Towards the end of her life, Justice Ginsburg had become a pop culture icon for her outspokenness and dissent. She was immortalized in raps, memes, merchandise and shows as Notorious RBG. The name was given by a law student who admired Ginsburg’s dissent in a case on civil rights law. It was derived as a pun on Notorious BIG who was a rapper from Brooklyn NY, her birthplace. This hardly affected her, rather she felt it was awesome. Tiny and frail is how someone would describe her physical attributes but tall and powerful she was in her stature and personality. She made her rules in personal and professional capacity and paved way for generations to come.