Phyllis Schlafly was a Catholic mother of six children who campaigned against the American Equal Rights Amendment back in the 1970s. So it was a racing certainty that she would be portrayed, in a TV mini-series, as a smarmy hypocrite. And that’s how Cate Blanchett plays her, in Mrs America, currently showing on BBC Two (and available on iPlayer.) Against the redoubtable Phyllis and her fusty housewives is an array of mostly young, hip, attractive “Women’s Libbers”, led by Rose Byrne as the lovely Gloria Steinem. You can get the picture even without viewing the mini-series – although, admittedly, it does feature some excellent performances. The most striking is Tracey Ullman as the feminist Betty Friedan. I have met La Friedan, and she was, as they say in Brooklyn, one tough broad. Ullman “gets” her exactly. I have also interviewed Gloria Steinem – twice – and there is one gaping failure in Rose Byrne’s performance. Steinem had (she’s still alive) a soft, Cordelia-like speaking voice and a tinkling, musical laugh. Rose Byrne has that hard, nasal twang sometimes heard in American women. Grating. Phyllis Schlafly – who was academically very bright – opposed the Equal Rights Amendment because she believed it overlooked homemakers, would facilitate more abortion, and would lead to male/female shared public toilets. She wasn’t wrong about some of her predictions – although in the 1970s, I’d probably have dismissed her case. Friedan called her a “witch”, who she’d like to burn at the stake – Betty didn’t hold back! (There was also a strong rivalry between Friedan and Steinem.) The producers’ slant is obvious, but according to Maria Steen in the Irish Times, the script falsifies history and distorts the record. In Episode 5, Schlafly is shown inventing case law in a debate, and is exposed. Ms Stein, who watched the historical debate, found it was the exact opposite: it was Phyllis’s opponent who was exposed for inventing case law. Hollywood was never going to give Phyllis Schlafly a fair portrayal. Still, Cate’s costumes are perfection!