The Mary Sue: How amazing is it that women are still expected to be delighted with scraps from under the table in mainstream movies? Despite the fact that the extremely belated Wonder Woman movie has no female writers on staff, we are expected to be ecstatic (and to be honest, we are) that at least a woman, Patty Jenkins, has been chosen to direct. And we even get a Barbie doll!
12 comments:
Often times when I watch action movies, not just superhero movies but spy movies also, I am disappointed in the lack of female characters. Most of the time, there is one girl and a good portion of her story line involves being attractive. Usually either she gets the spy/superhero to notice her because of her looks or she seduces people. Women should not have to be seductive to be empowered. I’m not saying that women in movies should not be attractive, because I understand that most people hired for superhero movies are very good looking, but there should be more the character than her looks. Also, I think female superheroes and spies could be powerful and strong while being more clothed. They usually wear a skin tight suit of a extremely revealing outfit, which I believe is not necessary and objectifies women. I believe that if the roles were reversed and the male character used his sex appeal for everything people would be disappointed with the story line. Like the article said, though it is great that Patty Jenkins is directing the Wonder Woman movie, women in actions movies still have a long way to go.
Even thought there is an increasing number of movies featuring women character, be them superheroes or not, the objectification of female body never ends. It seems they just can't be "simply" powerful or intelligent. They need to have certain body shape. They almost always need to use their sexuality, not their power, as a tool to get their way up or to resolve an emergency, so much so that I think the female audiences are all sick of these cliche scenes.
Women can absolutely be both powerful AND sexy, both intelligent AND seductive. But the problem with all these movies is that they usually only present one type of body shape and one kind of personality that men usually prefer. There are hundreds of different types of hero roles for men, some of them are strong like a bull, some of them are skinny but have other mysterious superpower, some of them are good with computers, some of them look like this, others look like that. Portraying heroines with super low v-neck tops and tights is totally okay, but it is important for movie creators and screen writers and casting directors to show the variety of girl power.
YES. There is a serious dearth of women in mainstream writing and directing. And yes, there’s a ridiculous lack of substantive female stories in Hollywood that don't revolve around romance. This article (http://fusion.net/story/320598/2016-movies-bechdel-test) claims that 1/3rd of the movies Hollywood produced this year failed the Bechdel test (the requirement that two named female characters have a conversation with each other about something other than a man.)
BUT… and I say this despite the horrific betrayal of my childhood that was Jurassic World last year (Ellie Satler would have rolled her eyes at BDH running from dinos in heels)… I am hopeful that things maybe, just maybe are improving. I think the impact of Ghostbusters has been a little blown out of proportion, but I have to admit that seeing four female leads being strange, being badasses, not telling stories revolving around men, and doing it all without having to show their cleavage is pretty heartening. Let’s do our part by voting with out wallets and supporting female-driven stories in Hollywood and everywhere else.
Also, referencing the authors’ focus on superhero movies: maybe mainstream movie reboots of already problematic female characters isn’t the best place to seek good female stories? Perhaps we should be producing movies based on already feminist comics?
I love action movies, and I appreciate that there has been an emphasis on trying to make more super heros women. I get that we are trying, and I think that its good and a step in the right direction, but this article is completely correct in saying that female characters will never be real people until they are written by women. The Black Widow not a real woman. Scarlett Johansson is not real looking. She has a flawless body and she is beautiful and exactly what men want her to be, but not necessarily what women want her to be. Pretty much every woman I've ever spoken to about this issue has said that their favorite female characters are the ones that flawed, because it makes them feel more normal, and relatable. I can't say for sure, but I think men don't feel that way. They want to see perfect huge beautiful men hitting things that they can aspire to be for a minute. But women have aspired to be who they aren't for all time, so I think it's time we start letting them be themselves. We can't all be ScarJo and we shouldn't have to be.
This is a very hard comment to write.
It often brings me to tears when I think of the disparity between the female characters I see on screen and the men who write them. Men who will never know what it is like to be given extra speaking time because they wore a low cut top to work that day, men who will never be complimented on their looks as though it should make up for some other inexcusable offense, men who will never have to abstain from asking coworkers for help for fear they might have to fend off unwanted advances as a price. I know so many men - friends, family, teachers, and more - who truly do try to understand what it's like. Wonderful men, who break my heart with their kindness as I watch them struggle to see things from my side. It hurts because I know that, try as they might, they will never know the daily struggle of walking in public alone, of seeing every passerby with his hood up as a threat. What I have tried and continue to try to make them understand is that they cannot save me. They think recognition is the first step, and heroism is the second. They have been taught that this is their role, but they have been taught wrong. Only women can save ourselves, because only we can see through our eyes. What men can do, what they must do, is listen. Listen when we complain about the boys who stand in our way just to stare down our shirts. Listen when we shakily recount being followed down the street in broad daylight. Listen when we say that we are tired of a gender with too much power writing the stories of those of us who could write it so much better. Male writers, brilliant though they may be, do women no service by attempting to write us what they believe are "strong roles." They make things no better when they just barely manage to produce something that can be technically labeled as "feminist". The most talented male writer in the world doing his absolute best to write a strong female role will never be as good as a woman in that same position. Only a woman can save women, because only she can see the kind of hero we need. I love Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, I love Supergirl, I love Scorpion and BrainDead and Arrow and The Flash - but my love for them is circumstantial. It depends on whether or not they show that they can hear my plea. In the moments that they do I feel overjoyed - not because they give me someone to look up to, but because they show me how to look up to myself. When women are written by women, they show just how powerful it is to be female. I hope that this power will only grow. Until then, I will take what I can get. But - like this article has proven - I can only wait so long.
Reading this article, one line in particular stood out to me. Elizabeth Allen, as she speaks of Joss Whedon's heavy-handed treatment of Marvel Character Black Widow's infertility, states: "The point is the insane pressure women undergo to win that one spot on the team they are afforded." As I read that line, I could not help but to see the faces of my female classmates and sorority sisters, who all vie for the same show assignments and research positions. While the women of Carnegie Mellon don't have to fight to the death on a daily basis as training for our future careers, the amount of opportunities for advancement that women have on this campus reflects the real world in the worst possible way. Friends of mine in the CIT tell me stories of being the only women in some of their ECE (electrical and computer engineering) classes, or discovering the hard way that the world they will go out and work in is an even harsher judge of their actions. Women in most areas of Design and Production (there are a few exceptions) as well as engineering must not only learn the subject matter being taught in their classes but also how to walk and talk in male-dominated workplaces, where they are expected to represent their entire gender. I wish that there were fewer similarities between the plights of oft-objectified female superheroes and the dazzlingly educated women that go to institutions like this one, but as Elizabeth Allen points out "the longer we wait [for change], the hungrier we get." Stay hungry, chicas.
It's funny reading this article now, given where I am in life. It relates to me personally, and how I feel as a woman. Yes, things are getting better, yet we are still thriving off of those "scraps" mentioned by the Author. In my Foundations of Drama class a few days ago, we were analyzing Aristotle and his key elements of drama, as well as what he believes makes a good play. His stance on the female counterpart, isn't pretty, but actually rather degrading. Yes, this was a long time ago, and we've built from that. The fact is, in the beginning, performance was reserved solely for the Men. They were viewed as the only ones who were fit enough to perform in those roles. Alright, fine. That's bad enough. What rubbed me the wrong way was the nerve of those men in the fact that they would only cast MEN as Women. Now, if we sit back and think about it, what does that mean? It means that Men actually thought they could pretend to be a woman better than, say, an actual woman. The logic behind this STILL boggles my mind. Flashforward to present day, Men have the leading roles, and women are objectified, and even when they do get a little spotlight, the mastermind being the process is still male. The latest Wonderwoman film is an accomplishment, yes, but we still have a ways to go.
I'm going to rant a little bit. So a director she mentions in the article, Paul Feig, directed the newest Ghostbusters film that came out this summer. The movie was written by 4 men and one woman. The movie was surrounded by constant and incredibly vocal hate about how "unfunny" it was, and blamed it primarily on the women in the film. Human angel Leslie Jones was disgustingly harassed immediately after it came out, with men on the internet calling her racial slurs, and remarking about how terrible the movie was. But did these sexists and overall haters of the film not see what the real problem was? When I went to see it, I had no idea what to think, since the reviews were completely polarized, with some people loving it, and others really vocally despising it. So, I went in with a blank slate and came out thinking, "Wow that was written really poorly, and the director really made some scenes awkward that shouldn't have been, and cut the movies at strange times that led to off comedic timing." I never thought, "Wow women ruined this movie." Because, really, they didn't. They were funny, but given such poor material to work with. And who created that material- men.
Popular movies that star mostly women that did well and are generally regarded as good- Bridesmaids and Mean Girls. Both of which, though still directed by men, were written in their entirety by women. Why is so hard to let women write movies about women. Women are funny and I know that Ghostbusters could have infinitely benefitted from the writing of Kristen Wiig, or other former SNL cast members, since Jesus that's what the franchise is really about. Former SNL cast members catching ghosts.
Sometimes I hear people object to women being overly involved in or "helming" a superhero movie because in their mind it is a little too harsh, or gritty, or simply not typical fare for females. But what they see as an outcome of differing tastes between men and women at large is actually the product of a lack of opportunity. It is hard to claim influence or power in an industry where one has little to none.
When conversations like this come up I always think of Kathryn Bigelow and her film "The Hurt Locker". A gritty film in the extreme, with a heavily male cast, and plenty of content not typically associated with women. And yet she was clearly able to handle the content as it won the Best Picture Academy Award in 2009. Interestingly enough, it won over "Avatar" a film directed by her ex-husband, James Cameron. Clearly we are capable of handling these hard stories. Being a woman today inevitably yields many "hard stories".
The issue of gender quality in the entertainment industry and also in general society is a very important topic. As a man, this is not my struggle, but as a man of color I can relate. I think it's extremely interesting though that pretty much every comment made before me on this post came from a woman. That could just be a coincidence, but there's no doubt that men often feel as though that have no place in this discussion. That could not be farther from the truth. Men should be just as active in this discussion as women. If men aren't listening and actively engaging in this conversation how can we ever achieve equality. I believe it is my responsibility as a man to acknowledge my privelege and to not sit back when I believe something is unjust just because it does not directly effect me. I urge guys who feel strongly about these types of issues to speak with other guys about our responsibility to ensure that the women in our society are able to feel just as comfortable and valued as men do.
I was just scrolling through these comments and noticing they were all women until I saw Antonio's, and reading it gave me a little bit of hope. I wish the gender split in this comments section was more 50-50, but it's a start. One of the things that stood out to me the most in this article was the idea that gender equality in the industry will "allow for more personal, profound stories that feel real because of that lived experience". Men repeatedly create idealized women that are nothing more than caricatures that look good in spandex. Personally I'm a huge fan of Jessica Jones, and it's because the women in that show are so real. Jones is far from a perfect character, but she's powerful, funny, and courageous. She's much more interesting to me than Black Widow ever could be. I'm not saying that it's impossible for men to write relatable female characters, but I do believe they need to draw inspiration from real women rather than dreaming up fantasies.
I'm saddened to read more about the gender disparities in Hollywood once again, and wonder what steps need to be taken to correct the imbalance. I've heard how over some 80 percent of feature films are directed by men and how it's a rarity for a film to have an all female cast, let alone a female production team. But simply dropping the facts in conversation or going to see the new Ghostbusters isn't going to bring about the change we need. As Antonio mentioned, I believe everyone needs to become part of the conversation and realize one new movie or another article rant isn't doing the issue justice. The presence of women in the industry isn't the only issue. How women are portrayed in film and TV is not changing quickly enough. As Rebecca eloquently mentioned, when women are on screen they are sexualized and romanticized beyond reality. The data on the age of the average actress versus the average actor is also severely disappointing. I'm beginning to rant, but I believe not only do we need more women on screen and behind the scenes, we need realistic representations. All the comments on this thread were really interesting and noteworthy, and I hope we in the art community take time to learn more about inequality across all minorities in Hollywood.
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