In recent years, the film industry has made huge strides to be more inclusive. Movements such as #MeToo and Time’s Up have caused many to reevaluate the industry they’re working in and figure out a way to fix the problems that exist. The major problem with the film industry, and with award programs such as the Oscars, is the noticeable lack of diversity. There has been only one black woman to win in the Best Actress category, and only one woman to have won in the Best Director category. It is often assumed that there are not that many women involved in the production aspect of the industry, but there are several women highly active in TV and film as directors/writers that definitely need a lot more recognition.
Kathryn Bigelow was only the fourth woman to be nominated in the Best Director category and was the first ever to win back in 2010. She directed the famous action movie The Hurt Locker, a feat in and of itself as action movies are viewed as being almost exclusively male dominated.
Along this same line, one of the hit TV series, Breaking Bad’s main writers was Moira Walley-Beckett. The show has a really large male following as well, and her voice is often covered by her male counterparts.
Comedian Mindy Kaling wrote, produced, starred in and occasionally directed the hit comedy series, The Office, which was arguably the most well-loved comedy show of all time. After the show ended, she went on to create another famous comedy series titled The Mindy Project.
Despite strides for diversity in the film industry, the 2018 Oscars didn’t have any female nominees in the Best Director category, noticeably leaving out Greta Gerwig, who directed Lady Bird (which was nominated in the Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay and Best Actress In A Lead/Supporting Role categories). So why is it that women are still so underrepresented and overlooked? It isn’t from a lack of talent or hard work, but instead from the notion that women are to be shown off in front of the camera and almost always ignored when behind it. There are so many talented women at work in film, both on screen and off, and it’s about time their talent is recognized just as much as men’s in the film industry.