Entertainment
5 Feminist Actors 'Suffragette' Should Cast Alongside Meryl Streep & Carey Mulligan
It was just leaked that Meryl Streep will probably be starring alongside Carey Mulligan in the upcoming film about the women's suffrage movement, Suffragette . Although Meryl hasn't officially signed a contract yet, the possibility of a Mulligan-Streep dynamic duo in a film originally titled The Fury has piqued our interest. The historical drama will feature Meryl as Emmeline Pankhurst, a mainstream suffragette who gave world-renowned stump speeches. Carey has been confirmed as a troubled low-level suffragette foot soldier whose frustration with ineffective peaceful methods eventually cause her to turn to radical violence.
Although these two leading heroines already sound like bonafide bluestockings, we would love to see even more Hollywood power-women join the bill. There were, after all thousands of women who participated in the suffrage movement, so why not add some more kick-ass feminist cameos? Here are 5 other actresses we'd love to see sign up to play these 5 famous suffragettes.
Toni Collette as Susan B. Anthony
As one of the founders of the women’s suffrage movement and the founder of National Woman Suffrage Association, Susan B. has to appear in a historical drama about women’s suffrage. When the voting movement finally got off the ground, Anthony had been arrested and harassed, so we think Toni Collette’s awareness about the standards placed on women in Hollywood would make her the perfect fit.
Kerry Washington as Ida B. Wells
Eventually, Suffragette will have to at least briefly address the fact that the “women’s vote” was primarily won by marginalizing women of color. So why not a cameo by Kerry Washington? She could easily play Ida B. Wells, who wrote about the injustices waged against African American women in the early 1900s, since Kerry has been very vocal about the problematic treatment of African American actresses in Hollywood.
Emma Thompson as Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Just like Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Emma Thompson has powerful friends, and is not afraid of the f-word. While Stanton wrote seminal works on women’s rights, Emma proudly carries her feminism card, and has since birth. Plus, how cute would it be to see Meryl and Emma in a feminist movie together, since they’re clearly best friends.
Ellen Page as Alice Paul
Alice Paul was one of the younger heroes of the suffrage movement, but her provocative tactics led to the passing of the 19th Amendment, which allows women to vote. Ellen Page has the same fire as Alice Paul, and her recent coming-out speech at a Human Rights Campaign conference shows that she also has the courage to boldly go public.
Evan Rachel Wood as Jeannette Rankin
Evan Rachel Wood doesn’t back down from a Twitter-fight, and her awesome rant on MPAA ratings and sexism has been well-documented. Jeannette Rankin also wasn’t one to back down, and her efforts won her the first U.S. Congress seat held by a woman. If only she’d had Twitter to rant about her journey to the Capitol.
