The true legacy of 'Battle of the Sexes': A look at the lasting effects of the 1973 match and the film's framing of the issues
In a key scene late in "Battle of the Sexes," the new tennis movie about the landmark Billie Jean King-Bobby Riggs match, an icon is reminded of her power to influence.
"Times change," King, played by Emma Stone, is told by a confidante. "You should know - you just changed them."
The 1973 exhibition, which pitted tennis great King against the 55-year-old champion from an earlier time, certainly was a study in contrasts - the showman versus the trailblazer, the old guard versus the new world.
How much it altered the face of the game has a more ambiguous answer. Did the highly symbolic, intensely circus-like event really usher in a new era of gender equality and celebrity in sports?
With the Jonathan Dayton-Valerie Faris picture making an implicit case for the match's positive influence, we decided to explore the matter
