Lights... Camera... What?!?!? The Sad Truth About Hollywood's Treatment Towards Women Directors & Producers

         America has been called the “land of opportunity”--opportunity for change and progress. The ideal of America is that everyone has a voice no matter what race, gender, or religious background they have. This ideal has not always been true. Many argue the country favors white males over everyone else (Ortner 530). African Americans were once slaves, those from the LGBTQ communities were not allowed to marry (Hull 629), and women were relegated to the role of housewives, who cooked, cleaned, sewed and took care of the home. Thanks to trailblazers like Susan B. Anthony and Martin Luther King Jr., African Americans, LGBTQ, and women now have bigger roles and more opportunities in America. Our current president, Barrack Obama is African American. In 2015 the Supreme Court declared same sex marriage legal in all fifty states and two women, one from the Republican and one from the Democrat parties are Presidential Candidates. It may appear that America is progressing towards a more inclusive future. One part of America, however, seems to be stuck in the past: Hollywood.

It has been said that Hollywood is the place where dreams come true. It should probably follow up with “… Unless you’re a woman.”

Female roles in Hollywood have been heavily discussed lately (Lang, 14). Actresses getting equal pay as actors, more female-led films that are not about romance, and more female characters that are not 1940’s tropes. Another topic is the number, or lack thereof, woman directors  and producers in Hollywood. A quick review of Fandango’s website would list times for movies currently playing. Most current movies (Fall 2015) are directed by men. Since 2002, male directors have outnumbered female directors by 23:1, and according to a report by the Geena Davis Institute, women directed only 7% of the highest grossing films of 2014. Every year, the number of female directors in Hollywood decreases (Smith 1).

Some might argue that there are not many women who want to be directors. However, around 50% of people who graduate from film school every year are female (Smith 3). So why is it then that over 90% of the directors and producers in Hollywood are male? What happens between the time a woman graduates and when she applies for the job? Lexi Alexander, director of films like Lifted, pointed out that women are not even given the meetings in Hollywood. Women in Hollywood rarely get offered the job to direct blockbusters like The Avengers. When they do get the job, it’s usually for “girl’s” films like Fifty Shades of Grey or Wonder Woman (Smith 3).

The number of women directors winning an Oscar, let alone getting nominated, is even shorter. The Academy Awards, which is said to be the highest honor in the film industry, was started in 1929, and only four women in 86 years have ever been nominated for Best Directing: Lina Wertmuller for Seven Beauties in 1976, Jane Campion for The Piano in 1993, Sofia Coppola for Lost In Translation in 2003, and Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker in 2009. Bigelow was the first, and so far only, female director to have won a Best Directing Oscar. Of course the Oscars’ lack of diversity in their nominees has been no secret, as demonstrated by their refusal to nominate Selma, a Martin Luther King Jr. biopic featuring an all African American cast and was also directed by a woman Ava Duvernay, for Best Director or Best Actor.

While some might argue that the Oscars should not be the final word on the quality of films, as art is subjective, the Oscars are still supposed to honor the best in film of the year. Selma was a powerfully acted, inspiringly directed film that was about an issue that’s still relevant today. The only Awards it was nominated for were Best Original Song and Best Picture. How can a film be nominated for Best Picture, but not be nominated for Best Director? The fact that members of the Academy are overwhelmingly white and overwhelmingly male only makes things more suspicious. It appears that the majority of producers and studio executives in Hollywood are overwhelmingly white and male, and are clearly showing bias against minorities and women. Why is the film industry so unfair in its treatment towards woman directors?

            It might have a lot to do with the fact that many of those producers are prejudice towards woman. “There is a sex fantasy that holds over Hollywood. There are even some men in this game for the sexual perks – and this is serious, I’m dead serious – and if they’re screwing around all the time, and they want to be on a set where they are the king and they can f*ck anything out there, they’re not gonna want women around who are like their mother or their sister or their principal. So they are not going to hire women in any important positions. They are going to hire cute women that are their prey and conquests. Even if it’s just for eye candy, they don’t want someone watching who might say something to their wife or their boss. And that is the truth” (Coolidge, Martha Coolidge: Blaming DGA For Lack of Female Directors Is “Dangerous Side-Path ). It’s common knowledge that the film industry is not always a pretty business. But these revelations make it seem downright disgusting.

            Women deserve more respect in Hollywood. No woman, in any business, should ever be treated as a sex object or as “expendable”. The fact that there is still sexism in any business, let alone the film business, in the 21st century is quite depressing. As America continues to evolve and adapt with the times, Hollywood is still clinging to the outdated, bigoted ideals of the 20s. Will it ever get better? Is there any hope? In this case, hope has two names: Kathleen Kennedy, the president of Lucasfilm.

In 2012, when George Lucas sold his company to Disney, he appointed his longtime friend, Kathleen Kennedy, as the new president. Lucas has made no secret of his disgust towards Hollywood’s hypocrisy and its lack of diversity. The fact that he trusted a smart, intelligent woman to be in charge of his film studio makes him more than a step ahead of the rest of Hollywood. All one has to do is look at Kathleen Kennedy’s producing filmography, which includes blockbusters such as E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, Jurassic Park, Back to the Future, and Indiana Jones to know that she is more than capable of being in charge of a major film studio. So far, male directors such J.J. Abrams, Rian Johnson, Collin Terravarrow, Gareth Edwards, Phil Lord and Chris Miller, have been hired bring their visions to the Star Wars Universe. However, Kennedy said recently in an interview with The Guardian that she hopes to hire woman directors for the franchise in the future.  Kennedy even revealed that 6 out of 8 of the people involved with the making of The Force Awakens were female. “Having a balance of men and women in the room changes the story, the dialogue, (and) the point of view.” (Kennedy) Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the first Star Wars movie to be produced under Kennedy, will be released this Christmas, and is set to break records, and will no doubt make Kennedy a powerful “Force” to be reckoned with in Hollywood. Hopefully she will use her powers to influence the rest of Hollywood and set it on the right track to a better future.

            The number of woman directors  and producers in Hollywood, or lack thereof, is a serious issue that needs to be solved. Film is essentially telling a story. Storytelling has been an important part of our culture since the dawn of time. Stories are meant to entertain us, but they can do so much more than that. They can help us to look at our world from a different perspective, and bring light to important issues that need to be discussed. These days, film and television have become a big source of storytelling. It is important to hear stories from all kinds of perspectives. With the state that the film industry is in, recycling old ideas and rebooting old franchises, it seems like it needs fresh perspectives more than ever. The next Stanley Kubrick or Martin Scorsese might be out there right now in the form of a young woman who just graduated film school. How can she be given the chance to prove herself when nobody in Hollywood today will give her that chance? Hopefully this won’t last. If America can learn to change, so can Hollywood. We can only hope.