More and more women are speaking out about about sexist practices in Hollywood.
Actress Salma Hayek is the latest to criticize the film industry for how it underestimates women’s potential saying that women are not seen as “a powerful economic force.”
“The only kind of movie where women make more than men is the porno industry,” Hayek said. “It’s simple ignorance.”
The undervaluing of women goes beyond casting women in films, it's even being recognized in merchandise sales.
Superhero merchandise is always a big hit, and with new Avengers movie out you can imagine that stores are taking advantage to push Iron Man costumes and Hulk fists. But fans of the Marvel world are wondering where the female superhero merch is. “Black Widow” and “Scarlet Witch” are two of the main characters in “Avengers: Age of Ultron”, yet they've been left off of the shelves. Where’s the fun in that for the little girl fans out there that want to feel powerful like Natasha Romanoff?
There really is no Black Widow merchandise at the @DisneyStore in Times Square. #WheresNatasha#IncludeTheGirlspic.twitter.com/cklY9MA2Xn
— Jen Mayhew (@JenM512) April 29, 2015.@Marvel we need more #BlackWidow merchandise for my daughters and nieces. Pretty please.
— Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) April 29, 2015It has been one move after another that has been minimizing the female role in Hollywood, and women have had enough.
Melissa McCarthy was referred to as “homely” by a film critic for her role in Tammy. As McCarthy put it in an interview on The Ellen Degeneres Show, the critic’s message was basically saying "How dare women not look beautiful, perfect and attractive in a movie?" She responded to the reporter directly and asked if he would say the same things to a man.
McCarthy put a lot of thought into her character development and made specific choices about her appearance. After the reporter insisted that she “really just looked bad,” McCarthy asked if he had any children. She asked him if he thought it would be fair if someone didn’t give his daughter a job because of her appearance.
"Just know every time you write stuff, every young girl in this country reads that and just get a little bit chipped away," McCarthy said.
Anna Kendrick also took the opportunity recently to speak out against sexist casting practices in Hollywood. In an interview with Glamour magazine, she said that in her experience almost always the male leads are casted before their female counterparts.
“There’s [a film I’m considering] now where I have to wait for all the male roles to be cast before I can even become a part of the conversation,” Kendrick said. “Part of me gets that. [But] part of me is like, ‘What the f–k? You have to cast for females based on who’s cast as males?’”
Don't worry Anna, maybe they're just saving the best for last ;)
According to an San Diego State University study,women only make up 17% of all directors, writers, producers, executive producers, editors, and cinematographers of the top 250 grossing films, so it doesn’t seem Hollywood has a good track record in putting women at the top of the hiring agenda.
Coming from a female-dominated movie that just hit the screens, Pitch Perfect 2, Anna Kendrick has seen success from putting women on the screen first. It’s taken a while for studios to be sold on this type of idea. A great Mic article outlined the movies that paved the way for female-dominated narratives. Devil Wears Prada was one of the first followed by Sex and the City and its sequel. Then of course we had the hilarious Bridesmaids that showed audiences everywhere not only that women poop too, but also that they can hold their own in the box office.
Pitch Perfect and the latest, Pitch Perfect 2 keep up the track record. In the movies, the misogynist perspective is held up by the TV announcer’s sexist comments, which the all-female a cappella group, the Barden Bellas, defies again and again.
(SPOILER ALERT) In the final performance of Pitch Perfect 2, the Bellas put out the ultimate feminist message by starting off with Beyonce’s song, Run the World (Girls). They go against all odds and prove to all of the critics, both fictional and real, that they can be as successful as men. (SPOILER OVER)
It’s time Hollywood gets on board with gender equality. The film industry has such a large reach and influence on so many audiences around the world. The messages that these films, producers, cast directors, actors, actresses, and critics, along with the entire industry, put out there matter.
Hollywood has a choice. Perpetuate the cycle of sexism by minimizing the female role, or take a stand and allow women to fulfill their full potential. I’d say go for the second option myself, but that’s just me. When that happens we'll not only have some great entertainment, but also we can be one step closer to a world where men and women are treated as equals.