NYT: Persistent absence of women in creative roles in film and theatre

[Captain Hilts]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/19/theater/19sex.html

The difference now, say media, feminist and cultural critics, is that the mostly male-run film and television industries, as well as the profit-driven medical and pharmaceutical establishment, can aggressively promote their own self-interested standards of beauty, sexiness and normality.

“Men comprise the majority of the creative community,” said Martha M. Lauzen, executive director of the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University, and one result is “male fantasies of women’s sexuality.” Dr. Lauzen studied the 2008-9 television season, surveying more than 2,100 of the most powerful jobs in prime-time network broadcasting, and found that only one out of four was held by a woman.

...

The way that these mostly male creators and executives portray female sexuality include women who resemble Victoria’s Secret models, voracious female libidos and routine pairings of older men with women 20 and 30 years younger. The new film “Crazy Heart,” released this week, which matches Jeff Bridges, 60, and Maggie Gyllenhaal, 32, is just the latest example.

...

Older “characters who look their age and have sex are still taboo,” Dr. Lauzen said, adding that on screen, women “age faster” than men. Normal signs of the passing years are erased, so that anyone over 35 still has a whipped-cream complexion and an ice-cream-stick figure. Because viewers are so unaccustomed to seeing faithful renditions of older women, when they do appear, people assume that the characters are older than they really are. The rampant use of Botox, facial fillers or cosmetic surgery among female celebrities has caused the eyes to readjust.

[AnneD]

1. My daughter goes to a powerhouse creative arts institute...

out of the ten music tech folks.....she is the only female. In fact to my knowledge, she is the only female student in the entire department. Money has been tight for us and we thought she would have to drop out. They came up with grant money to help her-that is how desperate the industry is to get and keep women in. She is going for an internship at Pixar for the summer, we hope she gets it. She really is very good at what she does.

I think the Dove campaign for real beauty has raised awareness of this problem in the industry and they are to be commend.

[dustbunnie]

3. The Dove campaign was great. Until you find out that the marketing people down the hall

are developing the ads for AXE. Both products owned by the same people, and their efforts seem to cancel each other out.

Or, well, on second thought, they did anyway. The Axe ads do seem to be a little more acceptable these days.

[dustbunnie]

2. It's tough for women to make it in creative fields.

That article was interesting, started off really well. But it seemed to become diluted with all kinds of sexual stuff that really affects both sexes, not just women.

[Mari333]

4. no shit.

welcome to STUPID WORLD.

Women over 55 are the largest demographic group in the United States.

Just get loud, ladies, kick some proverbial arse.

Thats what I do.

[Chan790]

5. I have some moral ambivalence over this...

I worked in NYC as a writer and content-producer for film and TV. While I can certainly vouch that few of my cohorts were women, those that were tended to be much higher in the food-chain that I was. I think they missed the mark here frankly.

The problem as someone like Dr. Lauzen should see it is that many (if not most) of these women actually embrace that status-quo. I got it the other way, one of the last female exec. producers I ever worked with said to me: "Channie, stop writing parts for old women who are so old. Today's woman wants to see depictions that she'll look 20 at 50 and still f*ck like she's 31. Everybody hates a matronly housewife." (Your desire for realistic depictions of women is the nemesis of their fantasy of how women wish to be portrayed.)

It's not just that there need to be more women in film, they need to be the right women...it's not an industry that attracts women who want to portray women realistically, it's an industry that attracts women who want to portray women as their fantasy of what women want. Those women in turn are surrounded by men who want to portray what they think men want: to f*ck much much much younger women casually and without attachment or consequence. (I can't really argue with that...I'm 30 and have infrequently dated anybody older than 24. That's more about finding people my own maturity and fun-level...getting dumped because she's growing up and you're not sucks goose balls. I really am just a kid...I'm probably never having them...and that's the most-mature decision I've ever made; because gee I want them but I'd truly be a bad parent...I can't even remember to do my laundry, feed myself or not lose things, let alone insure the survival of another living thing I'd name "Italo" or "Lily".)

Me? I'd have loved to have had more women coworkers and bosses who were female and frankly not f*cked-in-the-head. Everybody though in that industry is f*cked-in-the-head...that's why I left. (Note: I'm not the exception, I just hope that I can be someday.)

[Captain Hilts]

6. Yes!!! The status quo favors women who have made it. Margaret Thatcer liked

"being the only skirt in the room."

Women play a role in this, yes.

[Gwendolyn]

7. I'm going to vouch for what you say.

I work in advertising in NYC and also have friends in the industry. We've all experienced the female higher ups who not only embrace the status quo but promote it enthusiastically. And part of the reason these women embrace it is because ultimately that sells. I can't count how many times we've tested ad campaigns on the market which portray women as supposedly we'd like to be portrayed, and they flop every single time. I'd say the industry meets the marketplace somewhere in the middle. Women, and men for that matter, like to see what they dream of being, not what they are.

As far as men beyond their prime in films, I'm thinking this may change with future generations. I can't think of anything more embarrassing than Marlon Brando in his last film, or Val Kilmer in his latest B flop. Or to top it off, that horrid scene depicting Michael Douglas' flabby, emaciated buttocks in the Basic Instinct lust scene. (I think it was Basic Instinct). As society becomes more sophisticated in this regard, I think older male stars will find themselves as much out of work as older female actresses.

[Captain Hilts]

8. Sexism knows no sex!