‘Making the Case’ Reveals Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Handbag Collection

The late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was known for her collection of fancy lace collars that she wore with her black robes. But she also had an eclectic assortment of handbags, ranging from satchels and totes for everyday use to evening bags for special occasions like the opera.  In the short film “Making the Case,” filmmaker Jennifer Callahan sits down with Ginsburg for a show-and-tell session that reveals the purses’ provenance and contents—and fascinating details about Ginsburg herself.

“If I left the house without a bag, I’d go right back inside to get it,” Ginsburg tells the director, as she presents her collection. There’s a multi-pocketed beige satchel that holds her copy of the United States Constitution in addition to her cell phone, checkbook, dark glasses, and keys; an array of decorative evening bags including one made of fabric from opera costumes and another with silver-beaded embroidery made for her in China; and a large tote she carried the others in, carefully wrapped in plastic.

“I was thinking about the role and meaning of objects in everyday life,” Callahan said. “Thinking about accessories traditionally claimed by women, handbags, I saw that Justice Ginsburg in her public life often carried a handbag and/or a tote, with her. I thought that she, someone known for her love of art and her value of women’s lives, might be open to a discussion about such objects of her own. I was very lucky to have met Justice Ginsburg through someone we knew in common. When she agreed to sit down for this film, I felt she was acknowledging something she had in common with most women: even illustrious women carry work, practicalities, and personal attachments around everywhere in their deceptively simple, unexamined ‘cases.’”

“Making the Case” is now playing virtually at the 2020 DOC NYC film festival [DocNYC.net] as part of the Shorts: She Stories program, and begins streaming at the 2020 HollyShorts Film Festival [hollyshorts.com] Nov. 16.