The film industry has been a male-dominated field since the beginning. In the films themselves, women are typically reduced to some sort of dead wife/caregiver/mother/nurse/girlfriend/maid/temptress role that somehow has no idea what to do in any situation she’s put in. It gets ridiculous fast, because honestly, when have you EVER met a woman with a brain who has never known what to do in a situation?
Even worse for women working in any behind the scenes role in film, not only do they have to deal with men taking the credit for their roles, getting stepped on constantly, working twice as hard to get to where you are, AND also the men with weird movie fetishes and gross views of women (yes, I’m looking at you, Tarantino). Not to mention the constant misogyny that “women only care about films with romance” or “we must be sensitive and careful for our female audience.” For us girls, it’s hard out there.
Although I digress.
Amidst all this negativity, Women’s History Month is the perfect time to highlight some of the recent victories for women in film.
The 98th Oscar Academy Award ceremony had nine awards received by women, with at least four being the first in history.
Starting strong, Jessie Buckley won her first Oscar for Best Leading Actress for her role of Agnes in Chloe Zhao’s Hamnet. Amy Madigan won her first Oscar in 40 years for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Gladys in Zach Cregger’s Weapons. Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans, and Michelle L.M. Wong won Best Animated Feature for K-pop Demon Hunters, as well as winning alongside the song Golden, winning Best Original Song the same night, and gave a powerful speech speaking out against Asian hatred.
The Academy introduced its very first Best Casting category at the Oscars, and its very first award went to Cassandra Kulukundis, who cast the movie One Battle After Another. Autumn Durald Arkapaw won the award for Best Cinematography for her work on the movie Sinners, and became the first woman of color to be nominated for the award, as well as the first woman in history to win for cinematography.
Finally, to end off the recap, Kate Hawley took the Academy Award for Best Costume Design, and Cliona Furey, alongside Mike Hill and Jordan Samuel, won Best Makeup and Hairstyling, who all worked on the film Frankenstein.
Overall, a successful night for the women, and it’s moments like these and months like these that empower young girls to dream big and wide. It shows just how capable women are of achieving greatness, and it celebrates how incredible we are.