Figure 1: A picture of Hollywood actress Katharine Hepburn
The film industry is one of the most influential industries. The movie box office in 2018 was worth $41.7 billion [1], and the Theatrical Market Statistics research shows that cinema’s draw in more people than all amusement parks and all sporting events combined in America (See figure 1). Such a huge industry has a massive and understated impact on society; directors send messages and raise issues and implement themes that are important or lesser understood which deserve the viewers attention. Films can alter, change, and completely shape a viewers world-view on a given topic or era. Every age group that watch movies are impacted in one way or another, from children wanting to be like their favorite cartoon characters to adults being inspired to strive for greatness and to see the world differently.
Figure 2: The attendance of movies, compared to amusement parks and sports events.
The majority of film makers and production staff are men. Of the highest grossing 250 films of 2017, only 11% (27 films) were directed by women. Disappointingly, this is only a marginal improvement from 1998, where only 9% of movie directors were female. Given this, those important messages and issues the viewers are receiving are under-represented of what women want to say
"By shedding light on gender inequality in film, we hope to start a discussion about what can be done to increase women's exposure and power in big-budget films," New York Film Academy
It isn’t just in directing that women statistically muted. According to research from the New York Film Academy based on the Top 900 Films of 2007-2016, the role of women in film is often more derogatory and less significant to the plot than men. A feminist called Laura Mulvey coined the term “Male Gaze” to describe how the film industry tends to be shot from a male perspective, and as such, objectifies women and diminishes their importance.
Making a film without actors is impossible, although it seems remotely possible to make a film without hiring women. Why, you might ask? Because almost 4,900 roles are cast by men, compared to the just over 2,000 by women. As figure 2 shows, only 30.5% of dialogue in movies is said by female characters.
Figure 3: Gender role imbalance in film, compiled by the New York Film Academy.
"I soon realised that for the most part I was surrounded by men. As an actress in film, it is very easy to become isolated just due to the ratio of gender inequality that exists. Rarely do you have a scene with other women, very few women are on the crew, and what few female executives arrive tend to keep to themselves." Laura Linney
Statistically, only 9% of movies have a gender balanced cast [2], and there are certain circumstances where women are more valuable than men in the cast, and that’s partial nudity. 25.9% of women wear sparse clothing, in contrast to 5.7% of men, which means women are more than 4x more likely to be scantily clad than men. Similarly, 25.6% of women get partially naked, compared to 9.2% of actors (see figure 2).
These statistics show that in the film industry, women are objectified, and treated like objects. Male characters in movies are more likely to tell the story, whilst women are there to please the eye, and whilst there are obviously many exceptions, it is a statistically significant gender inequality. As stated prior, films shape our society and view on life, so this begs the question: How does this way of making films affect our society?
Feminists try to fight against inequality every day, but when one of the biggest industries keeps perpetuating stereotypes, fighting for equality is getting harder. According to Forbes Magazine, the highest paid actor of 2017 was Mark Wahlberg, earning $68 million [3], whilst Forbes Magazine’s highest paid actress of 2017 was Emma Stone, earning $26 million [4], and subsequently earning below the 15 highest paid actors. This gap in earnings proves that the film industry is unequal when it comes to gender. Although, as Dr. Martha Lauzen, the executive director for the Centre for the Study of Women in Television, states:
"Like in any big industry, change takes time […]. The film industry doesn't exist in a bubble. It's part of a larger society that tends to have biases and prejudices."
Although, rather paradoxically, there are aspects of film where women seem invincible. The largest amount of Academy Awards was won by Katharine Hepburn. She is the only person to have won 4 Academy Awards for Lead Acting Performance (also nominated for 12); she was one of the most important actresses in Hollywood for lover 60 years. The American Film Institute named her the greatest female star in Classic Hollywood Cinema.
Figure4: A picture of classic cinema marvel "His Girl Friday"
Another successful actress is Meryl Streep. She’s a 3-time winner of the Oscar for Actress in a Leading Role, being nominated an amazing 18 times, which makes her the actress with the most Oscar nominations for that category. Additionally, she holds the record for the most Golden Globe nominations, at 33, of which she won 8. All of this makes her an icon of contemporary cinema.
Whilst actresses are well-known and well-respected, female directors are nowhere near as famous. In the history of the Academy Awards, only 5 female directors have been nominated for Best Director, and only one has ever won. In 2010 Kathryn Bigelow won Best Director and claimed her Oscar for her movie, The Hurt Locker (2008). Whilst this was a big day for female directors around the world, it has had relatively little impact, as Dr. Martha Lauzen states:
"Kathryn Bigelow's success may have helped her, but it didn't change the world because attitudes about gender or race or age are held on a very deep level. Old habits die hard. One of the reasons we haven't seen much change is that it's not seen as a problem by people in positions of power – even by some women. Unless you perceive something as a problem you're not going to fix it."
As the film industry roll into a new decade, it’s about time to start seeing more gender equality, and to find the solution to the problem of gender inequality that’s been plaguing the film industry.
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