Posted on 02/22/2015 6:30:50 AM PST by Kaslin
The grandest day of the year for Hollywood is upon us. Nominees are brushing up on their impromptu acceptance speeches, starlets are checking that they can still squeeze into their designer dresses, and limo drivers are hoping they are driving winners so they can receive extra-large tips. What we will not be on display is the dearth of women in key positions among the Hollywood elite. Is Hollywood sexist?
There were questions swirling because of some women not being included in the director category. In a particular year that may or may not be a question based on the merit of the individual and the movie she made. What is not in question is whether women are making advancements throughout Hollywood.
Even though women have advanced in most career roles, they have barely budged over the last 16 years in Hollywood. Of the major positions in Hollywood – directors, producers, executive producers, editors and cinematographers – women occupy only 17 percent of those positions in the 250 highest-grossing films despite more and more women working in Hollywood.
In reality, in most categories women have regressed since 1998. The percentage of female directors was down 2 percent to 7 percent overall, as well as the number of writers going down 2 percent to 11 percent and editors also down 2 percent to 18 percent. The only categories that went up in female representation were executive producers, up one percent to 19 percent and cinematographers increasing one percent to 5 percent overall. Women are so underrepresented that in 38 percent of the top 250 films of 2014, either no women or only one woman were in leadership roles. Can anyone say “old boys’ club”?
The disparity often begins with who writes the scripts. When there are no female writers on the movie, 39 percent of the characters are females. In movies where women are writers there are 7 percent more female characters (46 percent). There seems to be an inherent gender slant.
All of this information comes from a study done by the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University. Its director, Dr. Martha M. Lauzen, stated “The issue of women’s under-representation has been treated as a ‘women’s issue.’ As a result, when journalists speak with studio heads and executives, they tend to only ask women, such as Amy Pascal at Sony or Donna Langley at Universal, about the lack of women directors. Men comprise the majority of studio executives. If the status of women’s employment is ever going to change, the male majority will need to lead the way.”
Amy Pascal, the now former Co-Chairmen of Sony Pictures Entertainment, became world famous after the hacking of her studio by North Korean sources. She had an exchange of emails with Producer Scott Rudin about President Obama that were branded by many as racist. The real revelation from the hack was about her lonely position as a woman at the company. The hackers released the list of the top 30 executives and their pay. Ms. Pascal was the only woman on the list. Ms. Pascal has been a high-level executive in the entertainment business for at least 20 years and at the top of Sony since 2006. Yet, she could not find one woman to bring along to a top level executive position at the company? That in itself is suspect.
Somehow the representation of women in key positions is higher in television production than in these movies. In the recent television season of 2013-2014, women occupied 27 percent of the leadership positions in the production area. Could it be that this is forced upon the industry by advertisers which have a say on what they back versus major motion pictures? There is a perception that we are going through a second “Golden Age of Television,” where women are being more represented than in major movie releases. This is concurrent with many people thinking film has hit a critical low with an absence of creativity and big-budget films being based on inane franchises.
This is just another example of Hollywood talking out of both sides of their mouths. They will run to fundraisers for Hillary, but actually giving the best jobs in their industry to women – forget about it. They support and fund candidates who talk about taking care of the common man while they move their services to whichever state or country they can whore themselves to – let the union grips and gaffers be damned. They vote for politicians who want to raise tax rates, but make backroom deals with those politicians once elected to cut their own tax burdens. Now we can confirm they are just sexist pigs – shocking!
If women can get almost 50 percent of the degrees to become doctors and lawyers they certainly can run the junk Hollywood is putting out. Maybe they might even make a few better movies with real characters and real stories. Now, ladies, go squeeze into that dress and smile for the camera.
Hollywood Naval Gazing? What a surprise, LOL!
Selma was the best film of the year and its female director didn’t even get a nomination.
I find this hard to believe unless they are strictly measuring feature films. If you look at almost ALL dramas on TV, especially cop drams, they are now written by women.
Gay men are usually hostile towards heterosexual women. Hollywierd is run by gay men.
The difference in the number of male vs female characters in films is directly related to the gender of the scriptwriter.
Now I ask you - why is this a surprise? people write about things they are familiar with. Men are comfortable writing about male characters and the same is true for women. It is human nature, not a conspiracy.
What Hollywood needs is to encourage more women to write GOOD scripts; scripts that can be enjoyed by both genders.
“Gay men are usually hostile towards heterosexual women”.
The “male” partner is hostile; but the effeminate gay man seems to love women.
Do you know why a young man has difficulty leaving Hollywood?
Because he hates leaving his friends' behind.
“Hollywood” will shoot itself in the foot big time this evening. tonight....there will be a very large audience watching to see if “American Sniper” will win any Academy Awards. It won’t.......but it should have.
This movie...today has passed the $406,000,000.00 USD revenue mark, worldwide and, it has yet to open in some major foreign countries. This movie will most likely pass the “on theater screen” revenue mark of $500M USD,
It has blown away all of anything “Hollywood” has produced (”Fifty Shades of Grey” viewership is falling like a rock dropped into water, its had its fifteen minutes of fame)...not to mention the Academy award nominated films, with the exception of “American Sniper” have had fair to horrible revenue flows. At least the shyster producers of “Fifty” filled their pockets with the gold of idiots, who actually rated the flick “C-”....LMAO at how stupid and dumb some folks are!!! But...it’s their money to throw away!!!
As the Academy bypasses “American Sniper”.......Americans by a large majority will choose to bypass “Hollywood”!!! Why? Everyone in the “real” world knows that “American Sniper” is “The One” except the the Obamabot low life in “Hollywood”!!! Academy dummies....enjoy the large viewership you will have tonight, because you will not see that very often in the future!!!
I’m leaving Hollyweird behind.
“If women can get almost 50 percent of the degrees to become doctors and lawyers they certainly can run the junk...”
They didn’t do that until standards for admission were dumbed down A FULL 45 YEARS AGO.
It’s just that at least 90% of everything coming out of Hollywood is trash, so “what difference does it make?”
If its says 17%, then probably less than 10% are qualified due to the high PC nature of Hollywood.
If its says 17%, then probably less than 10% are qualified due to the high PC nature of Hollywood.
The actress’s are told to take their clothes off or they do not get the movie role. If you do this in the real world those men would be in jail or sued.
Women are routinely degraded in movie roles.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.