Since we have lots of time at home and nowhere to go, it’s time we make a list of TV shows and movies to watch during our prolonged period of social distancing. I’m here to tell you that the show that should be at the top of your list is the newly-released 4-part docuseries called Hillary on Hulu. This series follows Hillary Rodham Clinton’s life from her childhood in the Chicago suburbs, to her law career, to her very public and scrutinized life in the present. I’ve always been a fan of HRC, but this docuseries made me appreciate her contributions to society on a whole other level.
If you’ve always wanted to learn more about Hillary’s college life, her work as a lawyer, her initiatives as First Lady, her relationship with Bill Clinton, her experience being the first former First Lady to run for public office, and her 2008 and 2016 Presidential campaigns, then this series has it all, and then some. More than just a retrospective on Hillary’s personal and professional life, this series documents how American society and norms have, and haven’t, changed over the past few decades.
A few things about American politics and society became very clear to me from this series. Most importantly, that women and men are absolutely held to different standards when it comes to running for and performing in public office. Of course, all us savvy collegiates already knew this, but Hillary’s qualifications, political prowess, and self-awareness as compared with her 2016 Presidential opponent made this all the more infuriating. Reliving the October surprises of the 2016 election from Hillary’s retrospective view shook me to my core, and I was disgusted and saddened with American voters all over again. Aside from the 2016 election, it is clear from Hillary’s political experiences that her headstrong, self-assured, knowledgeable nature were always going to be obstacles for her as long as the American public overtly, and covertly, maintained that women shouldn’t have power.
I also came to realize that, as I suspected, Hillary’s political involvement has meant that she has been unfairly judged throughout most of her life. The American media and public have always had strong opinions about Hillary: she should be less outspoken, she should stop running for office, she should be less feminist, she should be more feminist, she should have left him, she should be more liberal…the list goes on and on. But amidst this lifelong ridicule, Hillary has always been herself, she has always had integrity, and she has brushed off whatever it was that other people thought of her. She knows that she’s made mistakes, but she owns up to them, which is much more than I can say of pretty much every male politician in America. This series made it clear that Hillary’s confidence is the only thing that has gotten her through her heavily scrutinized public life, and I think that’s extremely inspiring.
It’s easy to become discouraged by this series. Even if the highest glass ceiling has millions of cracks in it, there’s no denying that it’s still present and effective at keeping women from reaching their full potential. Hillary deserved to be the first woman President, and America let her down. It’s easy to imagine that we, as young and tenacious women, will similarly be let down by a society that demands our submission when we try to achieve our goals. But if we follow in Hillary’s example, and remember that we are confident, capable, compassionate, and worthy women, then we can accomplish remarkable things.
This series really will get you energized to be your own champion for whatever issues mean most to you. Use this time at home to plan how you’re going to come back into the world better than ever, ready to tackle what’s been stopping you from doing it all. This series will also, hopefully, motivate you to get that disastrous excuse for a President out of the White House in November. Imagine how this COVID-19 scenario would have played out if we had Hillary’s competent leadership in charge? All I know is, Hillary is our modern-day batman: not the hero we deserved, but the hero we needed. Watch the series for yourself to get a glimpse into her truly remarkable life.