‘Suffragette’ star Carey Mulligan talks about film on women’s fight for vote
– By Cate Marquis, Staff Writer for The Current –
The film “Suffragette” tells the story of the nearly-forgotten fight women fought for the vote in Britain in the early 20th century, just before World War I. While that fight was led by a member of the upper class, Emmeline Pankhurst (played by Meryl Streep), the film focuses on an ordinary working woman who risked all for this right, a role played by Carey Mulligan. Mulligan recently spoke by phone with a group of college journalists about the film, her role and women’s rights nearly a century on. All interview questions have been pooled and the interview has been edited for length and clarity.
The Current: “ In some textbooks, the women’s suffrage movement has been reduced to a single paragraph. However, you had the opportunity to delve into the inspirational and raw story and just basically embody the movement. (Inaudible) a larger than life role, especially when it’s something that’s not truly talked about on a day-today basis?”
Carey Mulligan: “I think that was part of the excitement for me was that I got to really dive into the research for this role. My character was based on lots of accounts of real women. And to get to read these letters and prison diaries written by these women and to read accounts of what their working lives were like and the testimonies they gave in Parliament it’s just amazing. All of this stuff, as you said, has been… written out. And I did have literally a paragraph in my book at school about the suffragette movement. So it felt really kind of exciting to delve in and discover all of that stuff and bring it into the story and bring it into my character. And she’s just a very real representation of what it was like for women back then and how lots of people were inspired by the movement. So I wanted to get that right. And I felt like I had just a huge wealth of research and information to pull into it.
It was almost frustrating to not be able to get more in there because there was so much that we found so inspiring and brilliant quotes by suffragettes. And things that people had said and experiences that women had had. And we just wanted to pour all of it into the film. But there obviously is a limit to how much you can do [in a two-hour] film. But, yes; it was kind of amazing, a privilege to get to read all of that stuff.”
TC: “Yes. And thank you so much for doing this role. It is very much needed.”
TC: “In what specific ways do you think telling the story of this political movement through Maude’s experiences impacted how the film portrayed the suffragette movement overall?”
CM: “Well, I think you’re seeing a very, very specific story line within the suffragette movement. We’re talking about the militant suffragettes. There were other factions of the suffragette movement that were actually anti-Emmeline Pankhurst and her techniques. And so we’re portraying a two-and-a-half mile radius of Betmore Green) in a very specific time. And so I think you’re seeing a snapshot of history. But I think it’s a really important snapshot. And I think there are so many other stories around the women’s movement to tell of the 40 years that proceeded this where women petitioned very futilely for the vote and were denied. And then there’s other movements and other factions around the WSPU, which is the union that Emmeline Pankhurst was in charge of. And there’s lots of other factions around there that were very heavily involved in. And we’re just showing one specific side of it. And the side that’s probably the least discussed, especially in England, of [the] acts of civil disobedience and the bombings and the imprisonments and…, all the stuff that we kind of wanted to write out of our history books in England. That’s the side that we really wanted to show.
And I think it’s important that people read around and read about all the actions of the women around that time. And read about the impact that the war has on women’s suffrage because that definitely was a contributing factor. So many women in England got behind the war effort, were so heavily involved that that was another contributing factor to women getting the vote.
So we are showing a very a very specific storyline that gives you an idea of what happened in this movement. But the great thing is that there are so many other stories to tell in terms of women’s suffrage and all of the campaigning that happened before that.”
TC: “As an actress, what was it like being able to shoot inside the actual houses of Parliament, being a part of that kind of exclusive, very small group of people who’ve ever been able to say that they could do that?”
CM: “It was amazing. It was a massive, massive privilege. And we were really recreating… history. So to get to the riot that happened outside the House of Parliament was a real event called Black Friday. And the suffragettes marched to the House of Parliament to petition for the vote. And they came under attack, really, from the police. And they were beaten and battered. And there’s lots of accounts of women being abused. And so to recreate that outside of the House of Parliament next to Big Ben, that was really amazing. And everything that we shot inside, we walked past the statue that they famously chained themselves to. And actually at the time that they were shooting, they had in frame inside the House of Parliament the scarf that Emily Wilding Davison was using at the derby when she was killed. And they have that. And it’s framed behind closed doors. And we were taken to go and see it. And that was really, really special and very moving to get to see that in real life. So the whole experience is just so wonderful. And we were there.”
TC: “What do you think it is about this movie makes it so relevant for today’s culture? And what do you think about it – what do you think about the movie is so relevant to so many people?”
CM: “I think there are lots of things that make it relevant today. I think it’s really great. We’re a kind of generation of apathetic voters and it’s exciting. But this film is a reminder to people for when they use their votes what was done for them to have it. And I think certainly for me it made me think about what my vote really meant. So I think in that respect, it’s really relevant. But I think also there’s lots of issues in the film that are relevant and issues that are facing women still today 100 years later that really haven’t been resolved in lots of ways. And I think we’ve been talking with the film a lot about where women are today. And I think we still have 62 million girls who are denied an education. And that’s so very Edwardian and very outdated. And it’s a really sad fact of today. And one in three women in the world will experience sexual violence.
And all of these themes are in the film. But it’s a reminder that we’re looking at a historical drama, something that seems like it was very long ago. But a lot of these things we still have to work on. So that’s been a really great part to making the film. And also the idea that this film can inspire people to take action.
We had a really great protest in London by a group called Sisters Uncut, [they] were protesting cuts to domestic violence care in England. And they stormed the [film’s opening] red carpet, and lay down and threw smoke bombs in the suffragette colors [purple, green and white]. And [they] used the film as collateral to do about something that they believed in.
I think that just reminds us how relevant this film was and how much people could feel inspired by it today. So it’s always felt very current. We never wanted this to feel like a sort of old costume drama; we always wanted it to feel very present.”
TC: “How was the character of Maude different from other characters you’ve played? Have you been able to pull from other characters and other roles you’ve done to create Maude? Or was it actually different?”
CM: “She was pretty much unique from most of the other roles I’ve ever played. I don’t think there was anything – and that’s what I loved about her and what I was excited to play is that I like tackling new challenges. And she certainly didn’t remind me of any of the other characters so far I’ve played. So I was excited about that.
So, yes; she was a lot of – she was based on a lot of real women. And it was really reading about their lives that formed the character for me. And so she was based on those. And there was especially – there was one girl, Hannah Letstone, who I really focused in on who was a suffragette who had a very similar story to Maude’s. And you can look her up on line and read about her story. But she essentially started off life very poor and married very young. And had a lot of the similar background to Maude. And then she came across the suffragettes, and they sparked something in her. And she just took on this completely different life. And I always felt more … very close in her nature to this character. So that was a really helpful source to me.”
TC: “I believe every role that you have as an actress kind of molds you as a person. You carry a bit of all your characters with you. And I was wondering how this film in particular grew you as a person? Do you think there’s any bit of Maude that you’ll carry with you for the rest of your days?”
CM: “I think you’re right. I think that’s true, and you learn a lot from each character you play in one way or another, whether it’s just in terms of your work or something that the character makes you think about….First of all, working with this big group of women was really empowering and exciting. And I think it’s a really, really male-dominated industry and a lot of the times you feel like the only girl in a room of lots of men. And that can be wearing after a while. So getting to work with this many women was brilliant.
And in terms of, yes, taking on things. I definitely feel more proud than ever to be a feminist and to talk about women’s issues and more able to talk about women’s issues than I was before and to stand.
The intention of the film is to inspire people, ask people to take action for something that they believe in. And I feel the film really helped me to have the kind of confidence to be able to do that.
So, yes; I think that’s probably what the film gave me more than anything is that – this opportunity now to talk about women’s issues as it relates to the film, but also the confidence to be able to do that. Yes. I think that’s probably it.”
TC: “This film focuses on average working class women rather than a historical figure in the movement. Why do you think that is?”
CM: “Well there was – well, originally, I think when the conversation first started, Abi Morgan, the screenwriter, did have an idea to write a biopic of Emmeline Pankhurst (in which the character now plays). And I think through working on the film together, everyone felt that it was more accessible and perhaps more interesting to look at the movement through the eyes of a foot soldier and through someone who really was at the bottom of the ladder, and in a way had the most to lose. So I think that was the decision that was made.
And I think also sometimes the risk with costume dramas is that you look at characters up on the screen, you have very, very dutifully dressed and tight corsets and buttoned up with the usual hats. And you feel sort of distant from those characters and you find it harder to relate. And so by carrying the story through Maude who dressed much more shabbily and much more informally and lived a more recognizable lifestyle, albeit incredibly poor, but slightly more relatable in a modern sense, I suppose, than carriages and horses and bonnets. I think to tell the story through her eyes is the way to make the audience feel
more included in the story.”
TC: “Recently at Westchester University they had a controversy involving a blow-up doll being sold at one of the bookstores. It was an ‘Inflate-A-Date’ doll of a woman, with packaging that said ‘non-talking, disposable, reusable; you punch it to inflate.’ It was quickly taken from the store shelves, and soon after the bookstore issued a public apology. There were protest groups also demanding an apology from the university. It wasn’t often they wanted the school to take responsibility for funding misogyny and promoting violence against women. But all the protests sparked even more controversy to the point where they had people debating whether or not it was a real issue or just a tasteless joke that shouldn’t be taken seriously. So I kind of wanted to know what your stance might be regarding the campus store selling this? Or just maybe it’s the objectification of women on college campuses, especially in party culture in general?”
CM: “Yes. It’s a different question in that respect. And I haven’t experienced it. So I’m not really – I haven’t lived that, so it’s quite hard for me to have an opinion on it. I certainly think that doll sounds like a ridiculous thing. And it should be talked about. And I think these are good conversations to be had. I don’t know to what level these sort of things need to go necessarily. And I think it depends on what people’s reaction has been. But I think it’s definitely a conversation to have.
It’s an incredibly distasteful and stupid thing to do or to provide to people. I think these are no small things. I think these do have an impact. Even if you do take it as a distasteful joke, I think it has a wider impact. And I think the connotation of something like that is so negative and outdated and obsessing.
And I think it’s not a small thing. I wouldn’t see that as something trivial that should be swept under the carpet. I think that’s a big deal and it affects people. And so I think taking action on that is really good. And all the conversations that happen around that are really good and important, and there should be debate about that. But I guess in terms of the culture of the university that it’s really difficult for me to comment because I haven’t experienced it really.”
