The first two Sundance 2025 offerings I watched turned out to have very similar themes, although focused on two very different people.
“Sally,” was a 103 minute documentary helmed by Cristina Costa, which screened at the Ray Theatre in Park City at Sundance 2025 on January 28th, 2025 and focusing on the first United States female astronaut in space. The second 97-minute documentary, directed by deaf director Shoshanna Stern, “Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore,” helped open the Sundance Festival and profiled Marlee Matlin, the first deaf actress to win an Academy Award and the youngest at 21 to win in the Best Actress category.
While the films seemed, on the surface, as though they would have little in common, they both highlighted extremely dedicated individuals rising to the top of their respective fields despite the hurdles of culture and society of the time (1986-1987). Matlin’s two tattoos that read “Perseverance” and “Warrior” seemed relevant to each.
Both documentaries were helmed by talented female directors and each was at the height of their fame as U.S. cultural icons 35 years ago, in 1986-1987.
“SALLY”
Sally Ride. (Photo from Wikipedia.org.)
“Sally” is the story of the first female astronaut in space, who spent 27 years concealing her relationship with another woman. Her love for Tam O’Shaughnessy, a fellow tennis player she met at age 13 when Tam was 12, was something that Sally Ride did not acknowledge until later in her life, after a brief marriage and after achieving her career goals.
MALE CHAUVINIST PIG
When women were first being allowed to become NASA astronauts, fellow astronaut, Mike Mullane, a West Point graduate who served in Viet Nam, articulated the same point-of-view of the newly-confirmed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth that women don’t belong in combat roles. When women were being introduced to the space program, Mullane thought, “I just couldn’t see what they were going to be bringing to the table.” By the end of the documentary, the very same Mike Mullane writes the most heartfelt sympathy note to Sally’s life partner Tam, apologizing for his earlier views and extolling Sally’s expertise and excellence as a role model for his granddaughters. He described the younger Mike Mullane as “a male sexist pig” and prayed for “a future in which women won’t be constrained from pursuing their own dreams.. They can do the job as well as anyone else.”
Billy Jean King, a gay icon who lost everything when her sexuality became public knowledge, was a good friend of Sally’s. She felt that what happened to her when she was “outed” served as an object lesson to Sally Ride. Billie Jean lost everything and had to start over. As for Sally Ride’s competence in her job, Billy Jean says, “I think it’s time that women in this country realized that they can do any job that they want to do.. Sally proved it. Done.”
SOCIETAL EXPECTATIONS in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s
Sally Ride appears in SALLY by Cristina Costantini, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by NASA.
As the documentary emphasizes through Tam’s words, “I just feel bad that someone the world respected and admired felt they had to hide themselves from the world.” Tam says, “Sally couldn’t share with the people closest to her, even her sister Bear. Sally never talked about it. I didn’t understand why Sally couldn’t or wouldn’t talk to her sister about being gay…Sally was afraid about how her colleagues and friends felt about her, and how it would affect her work…The fear factor of being gay, of being who you are affected our work and our company. The world is not always kind.”
TAM O’SHAUGHNESSY
Tam, said, “I wanted the relationship validated. It took more of a toll on me than it did on Sally. It just ate at me.” She was gratified to receive the nation’s highest civilian honor from President Obama on Sally’s behalf, posthumously, after Sally died of pancreatic cancer in 2012 at the age of 61. The two had filed and became certified domestic partners shortly before Ride’s death in 2012.
Following Sally’s death, Tam acknowledged their longstanding relationship, saying: “I’m just sick of hiding. I’m an honest person and Sally was an honest person. If somebody doesn’t like it, tough.” After Sally’s diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, the two shared 17 months during which “Every week she’d lose something…the ability to go up and down the stairs…In one second our lives totally changed. We were like zombies. It was such a shock.” Sally got the diagnosis one day after delivering a speech at the National Science Teachers Association Conference on March 11, 2011.
THE CHALLENGER EXPLOSION & INVESTIGATION
One of the areas in the film that was somewhat glossed over was the key role that Sally Ride played in discovering what caused the Challenger to explode on January 28, 1986. Wikipedia has this explanation of the Rogers Commission findings: “After her death in 2012, Major General Donald J. Kutyna revealed that she had discreetly provided him with key information about O-rings, namely that they become stiff at low temperatures. This led to discovery of the cause of the explosion.”
Sally Ride quit NASA in 1987, saying, “I am not ready to fly again now. I think there are very few astronauts who are ready to fly again now.” She commented on how astronauts must have a real trust in NASA.
Sally Ride spent the latter part of her life as a Professor of Physics at the University of California in San Diego when Stanford snubbed her. She remained a Director of Cal Space until 1996, retiring as a Professor Emeritus from San Diego in 2007. Ride and O’Shaughnessy formed a company that encouraged young girls to enter careers in math and science.
The backdrop for both the Sally Ride documentary and the Marlee Matlin documentary were the years 1986-1987. Two interesting looks at how society had improved and progressed in equality… until now.
