We’re celebrating Women’s History Month with programs that feature great women who have made their mark on the world. Join us throughout March to learn more about these leading ladies and how they shaped history.
Below is a list of programs airing on KLRU, but we also have a wealth of documentaries online. You can find out more from PBS. We highly recommend watching all 9 episodes of Makers: Women Who Make America online
American Masters Margaret Mitchell — Monday, March 16 at 9 pm
No ordinary writer and no ordinary woman — “Gone with the Wind” created two of the world’s greatest lovers, Scarlett and Rhett, won a Pulitzer Prize in 1937 and has sold more than 30 million copies. Born into Atlanta’s upper crust in 1900, Margaret Mitchell challenged stifling social restrictions at every turn. A charismatic force to be reckoned with, she had a great sense of humor, was one of Georgia’s first newspaper women and was extremely generous with the money she made from “Gone with the Wind.” She struggled with the changing role of women and the liberation of African Americans but also suffered from lifelong bouts of depression, until a tragic accident lead to her death in 1949. This film examines the amazing endurance of “Gone with the Wind” and reveals the seminal events of Mitchell’s life through dramatic re-enactments based on her letters, as scenes from the movie weave together her life and her work.
Independent Lens Wonder Women! –Monday, March 16 at 10 pm
This program traces the evolution and legacy of Wonder Woman. From the birth of the comic book superheroine in the 1940s to the blockbusters of today, this film looks at how popular representations of powerful women often reflect society’s anxieties about women’s liberation.
We Served Too — Tuesday, March 17, at 10 pm
This is a story of a group of young, determined and courageous women during World War II who broke through barriers and shattered stereotypes … the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs).
American Masters Judy Garland: By Myself — Friday, March 20 at 8 pm
Judy Garland had one of the most photographed faces ever to come out of Hollywood – it is stamped as a virtual imprint on our imaginations,a celluloid image frozen in time. She also had one of the most frequently recorded voices of the last century. She was magic, almost mythical. She is as iconic as she is misunderstood. There were her problems, to be sure, but the proof is in the performances, from The Wizard of Oz to the Palladium, from the Oscars to the Grammies. With singular entree to the MGM library, including vaulted screen tests and rehearsal footage, the film is wrapped in Judy’s voice, actually telling her story in her own words. So many outsiders have tried to tell this story and so many friends and family have weighed in – now Judy gets center stage, all to herself. This is her ultimate comeback.
American Masters Harper Lee: Hey Boo — Monday, March 23 at 10 pm
Reading “To Kill a Mockingbird” has been a national pastime for five decades — it is still selling nearly a million copies a year, its classic popularity and power are a common reference. And the courtroom image of Gregory Peck, as the passionate Atticus Finch, gave us an enduring picture for the novel’s message. Behind it all was a young Southern girl named Nelle Harper Lee, who once said she wanted to be Alabama’s Jane Austen. This program explores her life and unravels its mysteries, particularly why she never published again. Illuminated with family photos, revealing personal letters and an exclusive interview with her sister, Alice Finch Lee (100 years old), the film is steeped in the texture of the novel’s Deep South and the social changes it inspired. Tom Brokaw, Rosanne Cash, Anna Quindlen, Scott Turow, Oprah Winfrey and Andrew Young reflect on how “Mockingbird” shaped their lives.