A few nights ago I watched the documentary Miss Representation for the first time. I am a documentary buff, but I would recommend this film to anyone! In fact, I am http://film.missrepresentation.org/
While the whole documentary was interesting, a large portion was dedicated to the film industry. Interesting. Even though Miss Representation was made in 2009,most of the stats hold true. Only 16% of filmmakers in the United States are women (Women comprise 7% of directors and 10% of film writers in the top 250 grossing films of 2013, a decrease from the previous year). Wow, I knew I was in a male dominated industry, but not that dominated.
Now I would like to make it clear, I am not putting down male filmmakers. I love Scorsese gangster films as much as the next person! What I am saying, is that because the female perspective (a perspective that makes up 51% of the population of the United States) is not being used in making films, it gives the audience a less dynamic view of the potential that female characters hold.
Women are complex beings! We want more than to find our “Prince Charming.” Because we are not giving young women and girls strong female characters, independent of romance and/or not using their sex appeal to get what they want, these young minds are growing up not knowing how to have a dream that doesn’t involved a man or thinking less of themselves because they don’t meet the criteria of what the media considers to be attractive. This creates plummeting self-esteems and girls not wanting to take leadership positions. If we continue to only have a limited, not better or worse based on gender, but still a limited perspective in leadership positions, simply because women and men think differently, we will not progress as quickly as we could in this world.
Filmmakers, and other forms of media, need to step it up and give young girls characters that can truly inspire. More female leaders need to be shown in the media, and not because of their appearance, but because of their accomplishments. I hope to one day live in a world in which I can turn on the TV, see a female leader and not hear a single mention about her outfit or who her latest romance is with. That would be a world in which progress can truly be made.
http://womenintvfilm.sdsu.edu/files/2009_Celluloid_Ceiling.pdf
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