By Ethlie Ann Vare
HOLLYWOOD (The Hollywood Times, January 29) – “It was getting to the science that made me realize I am important as a postmenopausal woman,” says Wise Women producer Dominique Debroux. “Probably more important than when I was fertile. It changed my life to realize that, to see the gaslighting I took on as my own ideas.”
“Women are completely gaslit by the patriarchy,” agrees writer/ director Christopher Henze. “The only way the world is going to change is if they can be relieved of that.”
Their new documentary, produced by Academy Award winner Jonathan Sanger (The Elephant Man), the Geena Davis Institute and Margaret Cho (yes, really) brings together physicians, anthropologists, and evolutionary biologists to make the case that the post-reproductive years of women may have been one of the most important forces shaping human survival, evolution, leadership, and culture. Almost no other species lives past their reproductive years. Can this be providing us an evolutionary advantage?
“The science kept pointing us toward human evolution, social structure, and leadership,”
Debroux explains. “Menopause isn’t a medical decline. It’s a powerful human transition.”
It all started when Henze asked Debroux, his wife, how her perimenopause was going. That prompted him to begin a research expedition that included everything from the prehistory of animal husbandry to a chat with my ob/gyn (yes, really.) We follow along and learn alongside him, so be warned that a lot of the visuals are just Henze on a Zoom call with some academic.
The central thread of the documentary is a body of research referred to as the “Wise Women Hypothesis.” Anthropologists suggest that older women likely became keepers of fire, food systems, medicine, and social knowledge. Their leadership may have stabilized early communities, supported long childhoods, and enabled the cooperation and cultural transmission that distinguish modern humans, rather than male-dominated exploits like hunting or warfare.
Does it all sound like a Gender Studies class from 1976? Yes, yes it does. Would a reread of Our Bodies Ourselves and a couple of consciousness-raising circles give you the same information? Pretty much. I personally found it somewhat simplistic, more the research notes for a documentary than an actual finished doc. But the preview audience at the Harmony Gold Theater on Thursday loudly cheered for each example of Patriarchy Bad, so maybe this stuff has to be dug out of the cracks and restated for every generation.
Besides, who doesn’t like to see Margaret Cho laughing at her own menopause? “This film isn’t about aging out,” Cho notes in the documentary. “It’s about aging into power.”
According to the filmmakers, early screenings have sparked discussion among scientists, educators, and healthcare professionals. They continue to spur activism and keep the conversation going through www.wisewomenforward.com
Wise Women: Humanity’s Untold Origins is available on VOD through the new Bingeable platform, which not only encourages viewers to recommend a movie to their friends but will reward them financially for it. bingeable.net/wisewomen
Additional information, including the trailer and background on the science featured in the film, can be found at www.WiseWomenMovie.com
