If you’ve never seen a drama in theaters, you haven’t lived. Watching unexpected dramatic events unfold before your eyes on the big screen and hearing the hundreds of gasps around you is an indescribable experience.
It’s pretty funny because there are so many subgenres under the umbrella of drama including realistic drama, romance drama, crime drama and historical epic drama. And yet all of these subgenres are guilty of depicting women in the same manner: emotionally unstable and unable to make logical decisions.
The dramas that forgo this dated stereotype prove women can be simultaneously sharp and passionate. The female characters have a drive and face adversity with strength and grace. But the most astounding feminist dramas are those based on real women in history, and you can find a number of them in the following list.
1. Belle (2013)
Inspired by the 1779 painting of Dido Elizabeth Belle and her cousin, Lady Elizabeth Murray, this historical drama shows us the world of mixed-race British women in the late 18th century. You also get a lesson about the Zong massacre, in case you missed that in history class.
2. Erin Brockovich (2000)
You’ve probably heard of the real Erin Brockovich, an unemployed single mother who successfully fought against Pacific Gas and Electric Company for cancer-causing groundwater contamination. This biographical dramatization is phenomenal, and we’re not just talking about Julia Roberts’ performance.
3. Suffragette (2015)
Follow the interwoven stories of several British women involved in the fight for a woman’s right to vote in this raw, heart-stopping historical film. You won’t be able to take your eyes of the screen. Trust me.
4. Mona Lisa Smile (2003)
They say it only takes one person to open another’s eyes, and that’s exactly what Julia Roberts’ character does when she instructs her students at Wellesley College in 1953 to achieve more than just marriage.
5. The Help (2011)
This Oscar-nominated film starring Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer and Emma Stone can be summed up by one of the last spoken lines: “You is smart. You is kind. You is important.” You’re guaranteed to cry multiple times, so make sure to bring a full tissue box.
6. North Country (2005)
Mad Max: Fury Road’s Charlize Theron takes stars in another feminist movie, only this time she plays a iron mine worker facing constant sexual harassment. While Theron’s character isn’t the only one to be harassed, the sad reality present in both 1989 and 2018 is the fear of losing one’s job.
7. Wild (2014)
Going on a 1,100-mile hike isn’t something you do every day, and it certainly took Reese Witherspoon’s character multiple traumatic life events to decide to go on one. Wild is the true story of a woman who uses the hike to cope with depression, addiction and more.
8. Hidden Figures (2016)
Is there anything more badass than a black female mathematician working at NASA during the Space Race with the Soviet Union? How about three of them? Octavia Spencer, Taraji P. Henson and Janelle Monáe embody three strong, intelligent women who face discrimination two times over only to repeatedly prevail.
9. Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)
There’s nothing stronger than a bond between two women who find support in one another, especially when dealing with difficult life situations. Watch Fried Green Tomatoes if you’re ready to feel emotions you didn’t know even existed.