Tara Kirk

05 April 2017

UWRT 1104

Professor Meusing

Opinion Editorial Genre Piece

In her book Feminist Film Theory: A Reader, author Sharon Smith states that Women, in any

fully human form, have been left out of film. (Thornham). Many people will read this quote and think

This is wrong! I saw a movie yesterday that had a woman in it! To interpret this quote so literally

would definitely be a mistake. With this quote, Smith definitely did not mean that the entire gender has

been left out of the film medium as a whole, but instead means that they have been vastly

underrepresented. Not only this, but the women that are depicted regularly in Blockbuster hits are not

accurate depictions of real women. The women portrayed in most films of this decade are vast

misrepresentations and filled with stereotypes. This type of warped reality of women that these films

portray cannot be a coincidence. Not only are women vastly underrated and underrepresented in film,

but women behind the camera in popular movies are definitely few and far between.

The obvious dominance of the film industry by men cause male characters to outnumber female

characters by a vast amount. In the article Moving Beyond the Bechdel Test, Lauzen reports that

only 6% of the top grossing films of 2013 casted women and men in equal numbers. Of these women

that were casted, the Film of San Diego State University found that females accounted for only 30% of

all speaking characters, 29% of major characters, and only 15 percent of protagonists (Moving Beyond

the Bechdel Test). Out of the women that were shown in these movies, a vast majority were shown as
very shallow beings with no actual character depths. According to Smith, Women provide trouble or

sexual interludes for the male characters, or are not present at all (Thornham). It is a common

occurrence of both movies of recent and of older films to portray female characters who have

absolutely no defining characteristics apart from their sexuality. This, of course, does not represent

women in the real world and this trend in films has a very negative effect on women and little girls in

todays age.

At a young age, children are often told that they can be anything in the world. Astronaut,

president, rock star, and fire fighter are typically amongst the list of responses from children when

asked what they wanted to be when they got older. As they grow up, answers typically change into

something more realistic. It is incredibly important for children to be able to see an accurate

representation of themselves in every type of field. America in particular is still bad about gender bias

in the work field, but it is truly time for this to change. According to the San Diego State University

Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, only 9% of women directed movies that fell

into the category of the top 250 movies of 2013. This number actually declined from its 2015

standpoint of 12%. This, of course does not account for the number of movies that women directed that

werent in the 250 most popular, but its obvious that females often times arent given the opportunity

to direct films with large budgets, and thus do not reap a larger gross profit. This study also pointed out

that women make up only 17% of all roles behind the scenes on these particular movies, relatively

speaking, from director to cinematographer, from producers and editors. Women are often

outnumbered vastly by their male peers. In my opinion, this underrepresentation definitely needs to

change due to the fact that there are so many young girls who are interested in the film industry. When

they dont see themselves represented in the credits instead seeing just a vast list of males they start

to become vastly discouraged. We need to do all that we can for young people to believe that they are

allowed to become whatever they want regardless of gender, sex, or race.

 With all of this obvious inequality and bias going on in the film industry. it is clear that we

need change, and fast. One of the ideas that I had to rule out bias on camera is for screenwriters and

filmmakers to perform the Bechdel test with every single movie they are going to make before they

start filming it and especially before they cast the film. The Bechdel test is something that was created

by an American cartoonist named Alison Bechdel. This test asks whether a work of fiction features at

least two girls or women who have a conversation about something other than a boy or man. This

concept seems simple enough, but youd be surprised to know that many of the most popular movies

today do not pass this test. It would be incredibly easy for filmmakers to create female fictional

characters who have depth, personality, and do not exist merely to please the men in their lives. Men

only have to get on board with this concept, and this wont be an easy feat. It is a good idea for

screenwriters to think: is gender relevant to this characters storyline? Sometimes, that is the case.

Most of the time, though, this isnt relevant in the slightest. It would be incredibly easy to just swap the

gender of the character, having a woman portray a role that was originally intended for a man. Another

idea that addresses the underrepresentation of women behind the scenes. It is no secret that when

possessing the same qualifications, men are chosen overwhelmingly more often than women for jobs

and promotions. In ideal world, this would not occur. It would be amazing if people just took more

time to realize that women have a vast amount of undiscovered talent and if the world would just see

them as equals instead of inferior to men, they would be casted a lot more.

An ideal situation would be that women were represented the same amount as men in

television. Due to the fact that women make up over half of Americas population, this isnt a hard task

to fulfill. There are plenty of talented women who work on and off screen that are likely willing to fill

in empty spots. But because we dont live in a perfect world, we have to take baby steps. Performing
the Bechdel test on all upcoming movies, as well as screening men and women equally when it comes

to the same job, would bring us one step closer to a clear depiction of what women truly are. This

would inspire women everywhere, from women of color who rarely see themselves on the big screen,

to little girls who are dying to see themselves represented on screen as well as behind the camera.
 Works Cited

Cipriani, Casey. "Sorry, Ladies: Study on Women in Film and Television Confirms The Worst." IndieWire.

N.p., 10 Feb. 2015. Web. 12 Apr. 2017.

Ellis-Petersen, Hannah. "Gender Bias in the Film Industry: 75% of Blockbuster Crews Are Male." The

Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 22 July 2014. Web. 12 Apr. 2017.

Hollywood Female Directors. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2017.

Lauzen, Martha, Tiffany Nguyen, and Kate McCarthy. "Women's Media Center." Moving Beyond the

Bechdel Test. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2017.

Thornham, Sue. Women, Feminism and Media. Edinburgh: Edinburgh UP, 2007. Print.