Elsie MacGill - Forgotten Historical Figure in need of a Netflix miniseries

You may have heard of the Bechdel Test. Essentially, if a work features at least two female characters who have a conversation that doesn't mention a man, it passes the test. Sounds simple enough, but the fact that such a test is necessary gives you a pretty good indication that not many works pass it. So let's talk about Elsie MacGill.

Being a pioneer of aircraft design is a pretty good claim to fame. Being the first female aircraft designer on the planet is even better. Elsie's mother was a prominent justice and suffragette in British Columbia, who somehow found time to homeschool her daughter when the prestigious boys' schools wouldn't take her. Her troubles in the male-dominated world of education didn't stop there; she was asked to leave the University of British Columbia after just one term, and when she was finally admitted to study engineering at the University of Toronto she promptly contracted polio.

The "Queen of the Hurricanes" even had a comic book written about her

You probably know where this is going. Elsie drop-kicked polio, refused to be confined to a wheelchair, and graduated as an electrical engineer. She then went on to get her master's degree in aeronautical engineering in 1929-- the first woman to ever do so. Around the time the Second World War broke out, she had earned her doctorate from MIT, served as the chair of the Engineering Institute of Canada, and was at the forefront of global aviation design. She risked life and limb personally accompanying every pilot on test flights, and by the time the war ended you'd think she would have been ready for some peace and quiet-- but no. Elsie served in key roles in both the fledgling United Nations and the International Civil Aviation Organization, took up her mother's torch of women's rights, and made a name for herself around the world.

Reasons why her story would make a great Netflix miniseries:

1. The story of her childhood

I see this as two stories, separated in time but running in parallel to each other. While TV Tropes has a listing which details how strong female characters in fiction often owe their success to a man, here is a real-life example of a pioneering woman who draws her success from another pioneering woman-- her own mother. To watch Helen MacGill and Elsie MacGill fight the patriarchal system and become wildly successful professionals, separated by only a few decades, would certainly make for compelling viewing.

2. The alternative take on the Second World War

We're accustomed to seeing media about the Second World War; the D-Day landings, the trenches, the siege of Stalingrad. Any glimpses we're shown of the home front are usually of the girl who was left behind, but by telling Elsie MacGill's story we can see into the lives of those brilliant individuals who made victory possible. Think The Imitation Game and the significance of Alan Turing's wartime contributions.


And hey, if Netflix isn't the right fit, there's always the CBC #cancon