Lizzie Borden hash &amp; rehash

Lizzie Borden hash & rehash

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Lizzie Borden took an ax And gave her mother forty whacks.When she saw what she had done,She gave her father forty-one.Anon., Fall River, 1892. Why has the image of Lizzie Borden captured the imaginations of so many generations of women? Each generation remakes the myth, fitting it to the changing anxieties and awareness of the times. Today s women cast Lizzie as a feminist heroine, overthrowing patriarchy with her forty whacks.In this sardonic and original film an assortment of people, from a forensic scientist to a rock star, find vastly different meaning in the infamous case. Was Lizzie perhaps an incest victim fighting back? Was she a lesbian? What does the case tell us about class, gender and family in industrial America?As well as providing a lively retelling of the ever-popular story of Lizzie Borden, this film also raises complex deeper issues relating to social history, women s studies, and popular culture.