Before she was the Notorious RBG, Ruth Bader was a kid from a Jewish family in Brooklyn, whose excellence in academics led her to Cornell, and then a successful law practice, representing those experiencing sexual inequality. Nominated to the appellate court by President Jimmy Carter in 1980, Ginsburg later accepted President Bill Clinton’s nomination to the Supreme Court in 1993.
While the documentary?RBG allows the audience to see elements of the work Ginsburg has done in defending those finding themselves in the minority (sometimes women, sometimes men), it shows the background to the way her experiences knit her together as an individual. Her marriage to fellow Cornell grad Martin Ginsburg, her children’s reflections about her, and her own upbringing are shown as informing who she became – in and out of our public consciousness of her role.
With deleted scenes and additional interviews, the documentary will provide those seeking more background on one of the Supreme Court justices they admire with more details. Primarily positive, the film allows us to see that there’s more to RBG – or any judge – than simply the rulings they make.
