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KitSileya

(4,035 posts)
Thu Jun 26, 2014, 12:38 PM Jun 2014

Geena Davis Shares Two Simple Steps for Making Hollywood Less Sexist

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/geena-davis-shares-two-simple-steps-to-make-hollywood-less-sexist-20140626

Geena Davis doesn't just play strong women onscreen in films like "Thelma & Louise" and "A League of Their Own," she also helps them succeed in real life, through her Institute on Gender in Media, which is behind some of the most thorough research on the media's depictions of gender and sex.

Writing in The Hollywood Reporter for its Women in Entertainment Power 100 issue, David shares the research of USC's Dr. Stacy Smith, who found that for every single female speaking character in family-rated films (i.e., not R-rated), there are three male characters, and that crowd scenes in such films contain only 17 percent female characters. Shockingly, the ration of male to female characters, according to the study, has stayed the same since 1946. (my bold)

...

First, Davis suggests, screenwriters should go through any project they're working on and change several of the characters' first names to women's names. "With one stroke," she writes, "you've created some colorful unstereotypical female characters that might turn out to be even more interesting now that they've had a gender switch." As she points out, why can't the two police officers responding to a house call be women?

Secondly, when setting up a crowd scene, Davis suggests that screenwriters simply write, "A crowd gathers, which is half female." It may seem a little bit forced, but when 83 percent of every crowd in fictional film towns across the world are men, it's worth reminding production teams that, yes, crowds can have women in them, too.


I think these two suggestions are simple, elegant, and doable. And it would definitely change perception - and since now, a crowd with 17% women is seen as equal, and that 17% is seen in so many statistics of how many women there are in different areas (Congress, military, Fortune 500 board members and so on) it seems like she's on to something.
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Geena Davis Shares Two Simple Steps for Making Hollywood Less Sexist (Original Post) KitSileya Jun 2014 OP
I fucking love her. redqueen Jun 2014 #1
As do I. KitSileya Jun 2014 #11
Davis is awesome. blackspade Jun 2014 #2
Yes, she is! n/t KitSileya Jun 2014 #12
Also stop making it so a woman in the crowd is a 30yo MILF with 8-10yo kids. Spitfire of ATJ Jun 2014 #3
mother you would like to fuck? stop making movies where a mom is attractive? cause a man might want seabeyond Jun 2014 #4
Just a guess... but I *think* he might be saying to show more diverse body types redqueen Jun 2014 #7
that is why i was walking carefully. i HATE milf. at first funny. then thinking about it and seabeyond Jun 2014 #9
Yeah, it's abhorrent. redqueen Jun 2014 #10
"i am not getting your post." Spitfire of ATJ Jun 2014 #19
There's definitely a problem with what women actually get on the screen as well. KitSileya Jun 2014 #13
Imagine an Asian woman in the role of a Chief of Police.... Spitfire of ATJ Jun 2014 #20
I love that "Elementary" made Watson a woman. CrispyQ Jun 2014 #5
that is one of the things I like about that program. niyad Jun 2014 #21
I think Lucy Liu & Jonny Lee Miller both come across as genuine & human in this series. CrispyQ Jun 2014 #22
the Bechdel Test's also a neat criterion, though it's not meant as a sine qua non MisterP Jun 2014 #6
I also like the Mako Mori test - from Pacific Rim KitSileya Jun 2014 #14
The projection of a male dominated society is fake. SleeplessinSoCal Jun 2014 #8
Men are taught to be unable to enjoy anyone but characters like them. KitSileya Jun 2014 #15
you are so smart and perceptive kit. i always enjoy the smart of your posts. nt seabeyond Jun 2014 #16
Well, thank you for that. KitSileya Jun 2014 #17
Every time I see a protest in the Middle East, I note there are no women. SleeplessinSoCal Jun 2014 #18
Outstanding post. CrispyQ Jun 2014 #23
 

seabeyond

(110,159 posts)
4. mother you would like to fuck? stop making movies where a mom is attractive? cause a man might want
Thu Jun 26, 2014, 02:43 PM
Jun 2014

to fuck her and he is forced to call her out for being an milf?

i am not getting your post. obviously, i get the offensiveness of milf, but, i am not understanding your point.

help please?

redqueen

(115,096 posts)
7. Just a guess... but I *think* he might be saying to show more diverse body types
Thu Jun 26, 2014, 03:36 PM
Jun 2014

and not always the 'hot mom' that Hollywood is so fond of.

You know, show female actors that are of an age and shape that as of now we mostly only see male actors. (Unless the character is a villain, then older women who aren't hot are allowed.)

I'd also like to see more women of average weight. It seems like there are two extremes allowed and that's it. Either thin or very obese. Hardly any in between.

 

seabeyond

(110,159 posts)
9. that is why i was walking carefully. i HATE milf. at first funny. then thinking about it and
Thu Jun 26, 2014, 03:41 PM
Jun 2014

looking at my boys, the age of the boys yelling out milf to grown women minding their own business, let that funny become.... not funny.

honestly, i have not read the article yet. so i thought it might have something pertaining to that which would be relevant. more a reaction to milf. and my own personal experiences.

thanks

redqueen

(115,096 posts)
10. Yeah, it's abhorrent.
Thu Jun 26, 2014, 03:47 PM
Jun 2014

Male sexuality is portrayed as soooooooo fucking important in the patriarchy, and its just assumed that every mother of course cares sooooo much about pleasing random dudes' boners, that their gross over sharing is supposed to be a compliment.

But in this case, given the context, I decided I'd go with my interpretation

KitSileya

(4,035 posts)
13. There's definitely a problem with what women actually get on the screen as well.
Thu Jun 26, 2014, 04:13 PM
Jun 2014

There's a lot more diversity among male characters when it comes to age and body shapes. We also need more minorities on stage - there seem to be more talking animals than Asian women in films produced in Hollywood.

CrispyQ

(36,225 posts)
5. I love that "Elementary" made Watson a woman.
Thu Jun 26, 2014, 03:22 PM
Jun 2014

You'd be surprised how many people don't like it for that very reason.

"With one stroke," she writes, "you've created some colorful unstereotypical female characters that might turn out to be even more interesting now that they've had a gender switch."



CrispyQ

(36,225 posts)
22. I think Lucy Liu & Jonny Lee Miller both come across as genuine & human in this series.
Fri Jun 27, 2014, 10:24 AM
Jun 2014

Miller is doing a fab job as Sherlock. I was one of the few who didn't like the UK "Sherlock." I thought the guy who played Sherlock was over the top & the guy who played Watson was a stuffy bore. I also didn't like the stories. "Elementary" is sooooooo much better! The acting, the writing. And Watson being a female is such a great twist!

KitSileya

(4,035 posts)
14. I also like the Mako Mori test - from Pacific Rim
Thu Jun 26, 2014, 04:17 PM
Jun 2014
The Mako Mori test is passed if the movie has: a) at least one female character; b) who gets her own narrative arc; c) that is not about supporting a man’s story. I think this is about as indicative of “feminism” (that is, minimally indicative, a pretty low bar) as the Bechdel test. It is a pretty basic test for the representation of women, as is the Bechdel test. It does not make a movie automatically feminist.

http://chaila.tumblr.com/post/58379322134/spider-xan-also-i-was-thinking-more-about-why

Because so many films fail the Bechdel test it's not even funny. It's aggravating, in fact.

SleeplessinSoCal

(8,994 posts)
8. The projection of a male dominated society is fake.
Thu Jun 26, 2014, 03:40 PM
Jun 2014

Animated movies with fairy tale themes seem to better project our society. Hollywood is more interested in attracting the guys who play video games into theaters. It's one reason that there's barely any movies with mature themes in the Hollywood mainstream. Why wouldn't they think having more women to "wallpaper" their movies would be attractive?

I suspect that the gender pay gap contributes to the reason they want those young men buying tickets.

Geena Davis is doing valiant work though, and I applaud her efforts.

KitSileya

(4,035 posts)
15. Men are taught to be unable to enjoy anyone but characters like them.
Thu Jun 26, 2014, 04:27 PM
Jun 2014

Video games can't have female protagonists, because men won't buy the games (and apparently women walk so weirdly, it'll use money better spent on making sure every snowflake is different.) Boys won't read books with girl main characters, won't watch movies unless there's at least two sexy women in them, won't even want to think about the world from a girl's perspective. That is the prevalent attitude, and as a result, boys and men have to go beyond their comfort zone if they want to think equality.

(Women have never had a comfort zone to get out of.)


(We see the result on DU every day, as male posters refuse to believe when women tell them their experiences as a woman in society.)


(And when women discount what other women say - because they have been taught to privilege the male point of view too.)

SleeplessinSoCal

(8,994 posts)
18. Every time I see a protest in the Middle East, I note there are no women.
Thu Jun 26, 2014, 05:19 PM
Jun 2014

If the American male really wants to emulate the fundamentalist culture, they're on the right track. If they want to project American society, they need to stop hating their partners at home and stand together.

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