Super cool review time: <i>The Shape of Water</i>

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Super cool review time: The Shape of Water

(Still from The Shape of Water)

One of the most disappointing things about the way that contemporary feminism is portrayed in the mainstream media, besides plain olâ€™ dead, is as a strictly American phenomenon. The truth is that there are all kinds of fierce, complex, and effective feminisms being enacted all over the world. But the gatekeepers of big corporate newsâ€”all, like, five of themâ€”donâ€™t think thatâ€™s news.

Thankfully UC-Santa Barbara sociology professor Kum-Kum Bhavani does. Her new documentaryâ€”The Shape of Waterâ€”tells the story of five feminist activists in diverse parts of the world, all dedicating their lives to diverse forms of uplift and preservation. A series of journeys through Brazil, India, Jerusalem, and Senegal feel winding to the point of wandering, at times, but all lead to profound epiphanies about social change work.

Bhavani had the wisdom to let the story ebb and flow in a way that mirrors contemporary activism in all its frustrating and sometimes fragmented glory. The viewer canâ€™t help but see that some of the most monumental moments are also smallâ€”women sprawled across a living room floor talking about female circumcision in Senegal, a communal prayer among another group of women in India.

The Shape of Water confirms what so many of us suspect is true based on our own livesâ€”that feminisms are happening, as often unseen as they are transformational, all the time, everywhere. It is enough to give a cynical feminist some faith.