In a piece about the historically low number of women DPs in Hollywood, The Washington Post notes that membership in the American Society of Cinematographers has grown “painfully slow,” with only 18 women out of roughly 375 members.
Friday, March 09, 2018
Hollywood Desperately Needs More Women Cinematographers
In a piece about the historically low number of women DPs in Hollywood, The Washington Post notes that membership in the American Society of Cinematographers has grown “painfully slow,” with only 18 women out of roughly 375 members.
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Women have been disadvantaged because of their sex in the entertainment world for such a long time. It started in theatre where women are even today pretty much only in stage management and costume design. Two things they were allowed to do as house wives when that stereotype began. They took their housewife skills and brought it to theatre. This is the case today and although we are making progress in theatre as women become more involved in technical direction, for instance, we still have some ways to go. The film and television industry are even further behind, Cinematography is one of those fields like technical direction that has been telling women “NO” to becoming. It’s exciting to see them come to the light but we still have the challenge of overriding those old beliefs and ideas so many hold. And this doesn’t apply to just women but to race as well. Making strives there is important and happening. But like women it is happening slowly and only been picking up more recently. These industries have been around for a long time and theatre has been around for much, much longer yet the changes are only occurring now. We still have a long way to go, but at least we are getting somewhere right now.
It's heartening to see such an increase in calls for diversity not only onscreen but backstage as well. The movement for recognition and representation in the entertainment industry is vitally important for us as students looking to go into this industry, and it's not going to be successful until there is equality across all departments, not just performers. I always felt that the movement should move backstage, so it is encouraging to see articles like this one highlighting the issue. If the movement for backstage representation picks up, it could also lead to a generally increased consciousness and recognition of the pivotal role DPs play in the creation of movies and theater as well. I am also glad that Rachel Morrison is being highlighted, as her work on Mudbound and Black Panther this year cannot be understated, and has helped make two of the most engaging and important films of the year.
The stats in this article are extremely sad. The fact that there are only 18 womxn aligned people in the American Society of Cinematographers out of 375 members is very disheartening. Cinematography is the equivalent to what lighting is for theatre and the fact that these are both male dominated is very ridiculous in my opinion.
Upon reading Rachel Morrison's name again, I looked her up and remembered that she was also the cinematographer for Dope and Fruitvale Station. Her work really does create a mood. In Dope, the shots she takes and the dramatic whip arounds increase the feeling of living in the hood. I hope that as she breaks into the industry more womxn can follow in her footsteps. We need to add more womxn into these industries and I'm incredibly glad she received the nomination.
I always thought being a cinematographer would be super fun and interesting job. I think it'd be great to have non binary femmes in the field as well and this article motivated me.
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