Lights! Camera! ACTION!
As a dedicated film and tv enthusiast, every ad seems to be promoting women-led films and tv to me. Despite this in-your-face promotion, the industry is still dominated by men.
This was not always the case. From 1917 to 1923, women dominated Hollywood in America. Jane Gaines, a professor at Duke University, writes that women were more powerful forces in cinema than any other American business at that time. They produced movies, were screenwriters, and portrayed thought-provoking and complex characters on screen. Beginning in 1927 women moved away from behind the camera work and were most frequently portrayed as love interests. Moreover, in 1934 the American Motion Picture Association (the really powerful movie studio executives) implemented the Hays Code.
Back then, Hollywood was known as a den of sin and faced a serious threat of censorship legislation from the government. So the spooked executives self-censored themselves. The Hays Code imposed strict censorship guidelines on every movie released between 1934 and1968. It prohibited sexual depictions, nudity, childbirth, sex hygiene, profanity, and depictions of violence. The code led to women’s roles in films being confined by morally defined standards and revolved around love, marriage, and in general men.
It is easy to see how this legacy carried on even after the end of the Hays Code. Women have much fewer roles behind the scenes. Leading roles written for women are often cliched and (big surprise) written by male screenwriters.
It’s not all bad news.
There seems to be an upward trend with more women behind the scenes as directors and writers in the years 2020 and 2021. According to the Center for the study of women in television and film, overall in 2021 women accounted for 25% of those working in key behind-the-scenes roles which is up from 23% in 2020.
I place an emphasis on screenwriters and directors along with actors because who writes the dialogue and directs the action plays a key role in how female characters are portrayed. Media has a powerful influence in creating and perpetuating our collective unconscious biases. For the longest time, we have been bombarded with images of lovesick women or worse, complicated and likable female characters stuck in supporting roles.
Who better than actual women to tell women’s stories on screen?
Where Hollywood has failed, streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu, and HBOMAX are doing much better in creating a space for women to tell their stories. Streaming platforms have substantially higher percentages of women working as directors, editors, and producers. In 2020-21, females comprised 52% of major characters appearing on streaming services.
Streaming is the new hope for anyone who wants to see complex, flawed, and real female characters. So here are two of my favorite tv shows created by and starring women.
“Killing Eve” – trailer
Created by Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Starring: Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer
Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer star in an immensely entertaining spy-drama-thriller. Eve is a bored MI5 security officer who seems destined for desk life. Enter Villanelle, a talented psychopathic killer who Eve is tasked with hunting. The women, both obsessed with each other, are captivating on-screen as they each try to get the upper hand.
You can watch Killing Eve on Hulu!
“Big Little Lies”- trailer
Created by: Jean-Marc Vallée; Andrea Arnold
Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern, Nicole Kidman, Zoë Kravitz, and Shailee Woodley
Set in the idyllic and affluent beachfront town in Monterey, this quieter story shares the journey of a quintet of women as they navigate the lies they tell themselves and each other. The backdrop is a murder, and the story is deliciously dark in its exploration of marriage, sex, family, and friendship.
You can watch Big Little Lies on HBOMAX!
T.V. truly is the space where women’s stories are allowed to flourish. Share your favorite female-led films and shows, and be sure to tag @HerCampuSJSU.