Salon.com: Sexual harassment and assault in the workplace has been front and center in the news cycle since at least October. Now, after listening to stories ranging from the infuriating to the horrific offered by women and men from Hollywood and beyond, some are finally addressing the systematic problem in systematic ways.
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It is truly heartening to see the entertainment industry touting such guidelines as a 'standard', and not as if it's some radical new paradrigm! The PGA's standards which include direction on identifying sexual harassment and require anti-sexual harassment training to all cast and crew members prior to production, ensuring that each production has multiple and effective avenues to report sexual harassment, and making sure that such reports of "harassment are listened to with attention and empathy" are amazing first steps towards creating gender equity in the entertainment industry, and I hope to see more widespread adoption of these guidelines in the future. I love the Wonder Woman film, it was amazing from the ground up, with solid costume and scenic design alongside incredible cinmetography and acting! Wonder Woman 2 is a very public, large-scale example of the PGA guidelines in use, one that will no doubt inspire other productions and studios to follow in its footsteps begin the process of building an environment safe from sexual misconduct. I think that it's very fitting for Wonder Woman 2 to break barriers, given that the legacy of the first Wonder Woman movie is one of progressiveness in the industry.
Sexual harassment is the biggest issue the entertainment industry is facing right now. It seems late to the game as the city of LA has already put into place education/training about harassment. Although it may not be top notch it has been around for a long time already and is required to be taken by every city position before they can be officially hired or start working. Being that the film industry is heavily present in LA with Warner Brothers, Universal, and even Disney all just outside the downtown area; this should have been brought up long ago. But nevertheless, I am glad that strides are being made and especially so starting with Wonder Woman 2. It is very exciting that now a franchise about an empowered woman is finally receiving power in the industry. The article even explained that it was directed by a woman and the woman lead even has the power to say she wont work with someone and not be replaced but to replace the man she wont work with. This is astonishing and monumental and even more so as it is attached to such a great film.
I love the steps that the Wonder Woman franchise has made as a whole. Along with the storyline following a strong, independent female character, you also see the strong, female centered team that is putting it together. I also have an immense amount of respect for Gal Gadot. In many of the recent stories of sexual harassment, you see the females in power talk negatively about the oppressor but still work for the franchise and continue on with their daily lives. While I understand the point of doing that and still wanting to keep a career in tact, Gal Gadot did something that few have done in the past. She used the leverage she had as the face of the franchise and used it to get Ratner off of his powerful position in the show. They could not have continued on the franchise without serious backlash if they left Gal Gadot behind in their pursuit of Wonder Woman 2 and she knew that and was able to use that leverage for good. I can’t wait to see the outcome of Wonder Woman 2 and how all the new things the are implementing in regards to creating a equal, safe work environment impact the show.
This article makes me extremely excited for multiple reasons. First I really loved Wonder Woman as a movie that portrayed a strong independent woman character that was also directed by a strong independent female. Knowing that Patty Jenkins is coming back to work on the second movie makes me optimistic that Wonder Woman 2 will be very inspiring, accurate, and successful. I also absolutely love Gal Gadot, she is such an inspiration and amazing role model for younger generations of girls, which is a huge step in the feminist movement. All I can think about is how differently my generation and those before us would have been if they had been raised on this Wonder Woman movie instead of Barbie, and Betty Boop, and thousands of other stereotypical, beautiful female roles. The most exciting part of this new movie is the Anti-sexual harassment program that is being implemented during the filming process among cast and crew. I have waited to hear what the response and solution is to all of the sexual harassment stories and it is so exciting to finally see one being implemented and influence how filming will be set up in the future.
It’s wonderful that Wonder Woman 2 is making arrangements to comply with these new standards. Hopefully, this will inspire other Warner Brothers movies to also follow the guidelines. In regards to the guidelines themselves, I think offering that offering Anti-Sexual Harassment Training is a great idea. Not only are they giving people the resources in case there is a problem, but they are trying to prevent problems from occurring. Also, the people working on the production can take the skill they have learned into their next job, so that even if the next movie is not following the new guidelines. In addition, they recommend having multiple points of contact in case of a problem, and specifically people of different genders. Having different genders allows people to have more options if they feel unsafe. Its sad that the guidelines have to say that we should treat reports of sexual harassment with empathy. This seems like a basic thing, but obviously this is not. Overall, hopefully these guidelines will prevent sexual harassment and become industry standards.
I am extremely happy to see that women of power are using that power to make a change in the world that we live in today. Gal Gadot’s move to say that she would leave the production if Ratner was to stay on the film speaks such volumes about what is becoming increasingly important in the public eye (the end of sexism and sexual harassment and assault) and it speaks volumes about her personality. Wonder Woman is a hit, and she would give up the fame and money in protest against evil. She, as well as Patty Jenkins, are role models, not only for aspiring directors and actresses/actors, but for people who love entertainment and girls and women everywhere. I hope men will also see them as role models to imitate. Human beings need to recognize the powerful women who are generously and heroically attempting to help other women up as well.
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