What happens when a feminist filmmaker walks into a men’s rights meeting…and stays?
In Australia, a petition to ban the film gained over 2,370 signatures.
We ranked this The 15 Best Feminist Documentaries (Ranked in 2025).
Trailer for “The Red Pill”
You Can’t Make This Sh!t Up
- Paul Elam is one of the most outspoken men’s rights activists in the film. He has publicly stated that he believes men accused of rape should be “automatically presumed innocent”. Also, false accusations are weaponized more often than people think.
- The film shows that men make up 93% of workplace fatalities and 78% of suicides. But most public funding and attention still go to female-oriented services.
Watch “The Red Pill”
You can watch “The Red Pill” on Fubo, and Amazon.
Ratings:
- My Rating: 90/100
- IMDb Rating: 7.9/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: Not rated by critics; user ratings vary heavily depending on political leaning
Director’s Note: This is Cassie Jaye’s most controversial project. She’s front and center in it. She documents her year-long immersion into the men’s rights movement (MRM). She starts from a place of skepticism and slowly becomes sympathetic as she uncovers personal stories and neglected statistics that don’t make headlines.
Jaye includes her own video diaries throughout the doc to show how her thinking changes.
Release Date
October 7, 2016 (New York premiere) | Released on DVD/Blu-ray in 2017 by Gravitas Ventures
My Review of “The Red Pill”
The Setup
What starts as an investigation into what Cassie Jaye believes is a hate group turns into a deep dive into men’s rights issues that rarely get airtime. She interviews leaders of the MRM—including Paul Elam of “A Voice for Men” and Warren Farrell, author of The Myth of Male Power. She includes critics like sociologist Michael Kimmel and Ms. Magazine editor Katherine Spillar.
The doc touches on male suicide, workplace deaths, domestic violence against men, child custody inequality, paternity fraud, educational gaps, military conscription, and how society tends to downplay or dismiss male suffering.
More Highlights from the Doc
- Cassie Jaye launched a Kickstarter campaign after being rejected by traditional funders due to the film’s subject. She raised over $211,000 amid fierce backlash.
- The men’s rights movement hijacked the term “Red Pill” from The Matrix. Now it means waking up to what they claim is a world secretly stacked against men.
- Erin Pizzey, who opened the first domestic violence shelter in modern history, claims her life was threatened when she tried to offer support for male victims, too.
- In one interview, a divorced dad says he pays child support but hasn’t been allowed to see his kids in years—he breaks down on camera.
- Jaye grapples with how simply acknowledging these issues makes people accuse her of being anti-woman.
- The backlash around the doc became part of the story. Feminist critics tried to shut down screenings and campaigns to deplatform. In Australia, a petition to ban the film gained over 2,370 signatures. the film. They called it “dangerous” even before watching it.
Lesser-Known Details from the Doc
- Cassie Jaye doesn’t include a narrator—her own journey becomes the spine of the story. She wrestles with what it means to be a “good feminist” and whether listening to men’s concerns inherently undermines women’s progress.
- The doc includes behind-the-scenes footage of Jaye debating with her own crew and editor about how much to include and whether she’s being “too sympathetic.”
- Jaye’s prior work (“Daddy I Do”, “The Right to Love”) was praised by feminist circles—until this doc caused many to label her a “traitor.”
- Jaye self-funded the project in the end, largely from men’s rights forums and libertarian-leaning backers who supported her desire for fairness in journalism, not because they agreed with her previous films.
Wrap Up:
Whether you love or hate the Men’s Rights Movement, “The Red Pill” will challenge your assumptions. If you’re open to hearing uncomfortable perspectives, this one’s worth the watch.
Thanks for reading!
Heather Fenty, Guest Writer, Daily Doc