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Taking on Margaret Thatcher: Biography, Feminism and The Iron Lady

2016; Edinburgh University Press; Volume: 13; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.3366/jbctv.2016.0343

1755-1714

Christine Geraghty,

Cinema and Media Studies

This article looks at The Iron Lady (2011) as a biopic in which discourses of history and feminism might appear to clash but are reconciled in the figure of Meryl Streep as the star. It considers the divisive figure of Mrs Thatcher, in the context of a film which was directed, written and edited by women, and uses this to consider the approach to history in this biopic and to contribute to debates about how far the makers of biopics are free to create their own version of a historical figure. Drawing largely on contemporary accounts of Thatcher as a political figure in the 1980s, I argue that the film offers a reading of her which can claim to be both feminist and historically plausible. Finally, the article examines the discourses of characterisation, stardom and performance which allowed Meryl Streep to be so successful in taking on the role of a politician who was herself a consummate performer.