Seen at the 4th annual Athena Film Festival at Barnard College.
In 2005, filmmaker Grace Lee released a terrific doc called The Grace Lee Project. Lee’s goal in this “project” was to seek out women named “Grace Lee” all around the USA (a huge number, especially in the Korean-American community) to see for herself if all Grace Lees–except herself, of course–were really “nice, dutiful, piano-playing bookworms.”
In the course of her quest, Lee met Detroit Social Justice Activist Grace Lee Boggs–a woman who didn’t fit the Grace Lee stereotype at all.
Once The Grace Lee Project was over (& the film was released to high acclaim), Lee continued her relationship with Grace Lee Boggs. The new chapter (released in 2013) is called American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs.
Grace Lee Boggs, is now 90+ & still going strong! As evident in her subtitle “The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs,” Lee takes a historical approach, telling the story of one amazing Chinese-American woman as well as the story urban life in the USA (especially Rust Belt Detroit).
In this course of this superb sequel, Grace Lee Boggs becomes a prism who breaks white light into the rainbow colors of every American city. BRAVA! (JLH: 4.5/5)
Highly recommended by both me & Rich. Click HERE for our FF2 Haiku. Click HERE for the American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs website.
Bottom Photo of Grace & Grace by Quyen Tran.
Q: Does American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs pass the Bechdel Test? Yes!
In addition to the many conversations Grace Lee has face-to-face with Grace Lee Boggs, there are also numerous scenes of Grace Lee Boggs in conversation with other female activists.
For decades, Grace Lee Boggs has been an uncompromising debate partner, ready to tangle with all comers. Several women tell Grace Lee how Grace Lee Boggs has often brought them to tears with her ferocity & forthrightness.
But her energy, erudition & commitment to common causes make it impossible for anyone to hold a grudge!
