EXCITING NEWS about the Documentary Project!!

The long awaited documentary about the trailblazing Les Nickelettes has been launched! Eight interviews in two days are in the can. Still a lot of work to do, but stay tuned. (If you would like to become a part of this project you can donate using the button below.)

The Anarchy in High Heels documentary will narrate a historical telling of a truly outrageous feminist satirical musical-comedy troupe from 1970s San Francisco; Les Nickelettes. In the midst of the seriously earnest second-wave feminist movement of the time, Les Nickelettes irreverently turned the patriarchy inside out and upside down with uproarious female humor. Les Nickelettes reveled in busting the taboos they had grown up with in the conservative 1950s. They were buoyed by the iconoclastic underground scene of 1970s San Francisco and bound together by the liberating creative spirit of their performances. Their groundbreaking work unlocked a deeply hidden female humor, paving the way for women comedians of today such as Amy Schumer, Wanda Sykes and Kate McKinnon. But even these iconoclasts are mainly solo performers, whereas Les Nickelettes embodied a rare concept – a “troupe” of women coming together to create comedy in the same vein as all-male groups like Monty Python and The Kids in the Hall.  According to Ellin Stein, author of That’s Not Funny, That’s Sick: The National Lampoon and the Comedy Insurgents Who Captured the Mainstream, Les Nickelettes “served notice that women could be outspoken, raunchy, and above all, funny.” 

The documentary will be a snapshot of the 1970’s counterculture’s tumultuous and unique history in The Bay Area, California, and the country as a whole. The issues the documentary will address are the neglected topic of comedy’s role in feminism, and the power that arises when women bond together through a shared sense of humor. We seek to disrupt the narrative that feminism (and particularly second-wave feminism) is humorless. Instead, we’ll illustrate that feminism is funny, satirical, and ironic. This issue will be especially illuminating to the (females of the) Millennial and Gen Z generations.

“A meaningful, feminist joyride…” Kirkus Reviews

For more information and/or to donate to the project click here:

Anarchy in High Heels