The Invisible Glass Ceiling

It was only since Twilight – which was directed by Catherine Hardwick- was released, and the box office totals clearly spelled out success, that I’ve realized what little presence women have in the film industry.

I think we must be confused by the multitude of pin-thin actresses whose faces are plastered all over our lives. Yes, we’re concerned because of the effect of their stupid ass body standards that permeate into our lives every day.

 Yes, we’re concerned because of the stupid ass things they do, like getting out of cars in ways that let everybody know what their undergarment preferences (or lack thereof) are. Yeah- I think we’re confusing their omnipresence with actual influence, and failing to realize there is a world in the film industry beyond actresses.

Of the 250 top-grossing films in any given year, 6% are directed by women; of the 50 top-grossing movies each year, roughly 5 star or focus on women. In 80 years of Oscar history, directors receiving a nomination for best director, 3 nominations went to female directors, but none of them won.

I found this out from a wonderful open letter (via Women and Hollywood) written by a feminist director- Ela Thier- who is trying to raise money to make one of her films, which are constantly praised and held in high esteem but never made for a myriad of sexist reasons. My favorite passage: 

After years of learning, practicing, and teaching, after hundreds of hour devoted to each script,after years of query letters, phone calls, meetings, film markets, panels, classes, LA trips, networking, more networking, even more networking, my scripts – those ones that this reader liked better than the 150 scripts she read that summer – those scripts sit on a shelf. After years of trying and falling and getting up and trying, something finally dawned on me: maybe I’m not the most unlucky bastard that ever lived. Maybe I’m female.

I have an Iranian friend living in NY who recently returned from her trip back home. She told me that it was easier to be a woman in Iran because there is no pretense there about sexism. It’s overt. It’s policy. It’s “the way things are”. What’s hard about being in the US, she said, is that women are disempowered by the myth that western women are liberated. The glass ceiling hurts every time we bash our heads against it but it’s entirely invisible. Have you ever run smack into a pane of glass?

This led me to the eloquent and thought-provoking question: What the fuck is going on? Don’t we, teenage girls, the economic backbone of America - maybe not, but we do make a shitload babysitting and whatnot…enough to employ a bunch of marketing executives -  don’t we WANT to see films made by and about women?

Obviously we’re not the only influential demographic going to see movies, but I think us and our moms and sisters and so forth have a lot of power in this area. So where’s the message getting lost? Executives obviously don’t think people want to see movies made for and about women…but I think we do. How can we fix this?

A first step would be supporting the women that are actively trying to correct this problem, like Ela Thier. Ela is currently trying to raise money to start her next project- if you can spare any money at all to support a talented woman trying to make it in the film industry by donating here. Also, you can be a fan of their facebook page just to show some love and find out about how you can support her films further (plus it beats being a fan of smiling or lemonade...sweet jesus).