Is Hollywood Failing Women? A look at gender biases and stats in Hollywood.

That's a bit rhetorical. We all already know the answer is yes.

For years, Hollywood has been a straight white man's land. Stories of all shapes and sizes are driven by white male leads with women being little more than supporting characters, often used as a "pretty thing to look at" while she hangs on the arm of the all powerful male star.

And it's no secret that Hollywood, and the films and television that come out of it, have an enormous impact on the way the world operates, usually behaving as a bit of a flagship for change to come.

People often refer to their favorite media as a means of their own actions. How often do you hear someone say they're going to do something like their favorite film character? As such, anything and everything that Hollywood does is a direct reflection of the change the world will undoubtedly see, and therefor it's imperative that Hollywood steps up and does it's part in bringing much needed attention to women and diversity of all kinds.

Women have stories to tell, visions to share, and amazing gifts all our own, many of which have been stifled for countless years in order to appeal to the masses of white men. With giants like Harvey Weinstein behind the scenes, it's no question as to why that was the case. And, unfortunately, still is, even amongst smaller companies and businesses. Women are discouraged from forging their own paths, instead told to follow along behind their male counterparts and take positions of lesser power, essentially “cleaning up" after the men who power ahead. “Behind every great man is an even greater woman” huh? Only because she wasn’t allowed to be out front.

I should know. I experienced it firsthand. As a writer and director, it's been my dream since childhood to handle a camera and show the world what I can do. But the CEO at my first job at a production company felt differently. Straight, white, middle aged. He was a constant source of degradation, beating my ideas down into dirt and convincing me that I did better work when I worked as an editor for him instead of a creator of original content.

Thankfully, the company folded, and I was able to pull myself back together with the help of some powerful and uplifting women. Women who now run Rogue Luna Entertainment, and invited me along for the ride.

After sharing my story of not only being degraded and insulted, but also sexually harassed, I was surprised to find out that countless women of various walks of life had experienced the same kind of treatment during their infancy in the entertainment industry. Women gave up jobs, had their ideas and work stolen, and even quit the industry altogether, as a result of sexual harassment and discrimination, and it's still happening today.

Even with movements like #TimesUp and #MeToo, the movers and shakers in the corner offices of the bigtime companies are still middle aged straight white men who believe the only interesting stories the world needs are the ones they would most like to watch.

Typically, said stories are alpha male characters with overtly sexualized female companions who reside somewhere in the uncanny valley, as the way they act just simply isn't human. For a long time, those stories were what was pumped out year after year, and even managed to turn a healthy profit. But sadly, this just isn't going to cut it any longer.

While Hollywood is seeing an improvement in women in important roles both in front of and behind the camera, it's still far from perfect. Taking a look at the most recent nominations for awards such as Best Director, Best Writer, and many other non-gender distinct categories, it's still blatantly obvious that Hollywood favors the white man. And that's because old habits die hard.

A simple reference; last year's Ammonite was a film based on the story of two women who discover their sexuality in the 1840s. It was supposed to be a great story for the lesbian community, with visibility for LGBTQ+, but upon closer inspection, it was discovered that the film was written and directed by none other than a straight white man. The film bordered on pornographic depictions of lesbian love scenes and was a shallowly covered excuse for the objectification of homosexual women, through the lens of a straight white man.

The future of Hollywood needs to include diversity on all levels. Stories about women of varying ages in broader genres, spearheaded BY women of varying ages and visions.

Inclusivity means having stories for everyone, by everyone.

No voice should be shunned for reasons of offering the same position to a white man who only gained his power thanks to the color of his skin and his Y chromosome.

It's time for women to be involved in every aspect of filmmaking, from beginning to end, and the only way this can happen is to enforce diversity of all genders and races in every position of power.

If you’d like to learn more about the #MeToo movement, be sure to check out their site here. And while you’re at it, check out the site for #TimesUp, as well, which can be found here.

Producers, directors, CEOs; these are all positions that can be run with equal authenticity by a woman or person of color, and to assume the world is best run by white men is an aged way of thinking that holds no place in modern society. And anyone who thinks it's over is sorely misinformed.

Unfortunately, the percentage of women in positions of power and change has hardly budged, despite efforts and calls for action. According to an aggregate of Martha Lauzen's "Celluloid Ceiling" reports, as of 2019, only 5% of cinematographers, 27% of producers, and 19% of writers, were women. Most shocking of all, though, is that only 10.6% of directors in Hollywood were female. That's a stellar jump from 4.5% in 2018, but that's still a huge discrepancy that simply cannot be ignored, and if the numbers don't continue to increase, we're still nowhere near equality.

While the numbers above may seem promising, a simple view of their aspects is more than enough to drive the point home, as illustrated in the graph below.

You can see more about the Martha Lauzen’s Celluloid Ceiling here.

For far too long, women have been used as a plot device in film. The inciting incident of a woman only being capable of rage or revenge after experiencing a sexual assault. The indulgence of male filmmakers enacting violence against women through their camera lens.

The overall lack of humanity as a female character falls helplessly in love with a male character simply for saving her life. And let's not forget the overused shot of a woman busting her blouse open to reveal her lacey bra for the male lead, often used as a selling point in trailers. If male characters can be realistic depictions of attainability, then so should females.

Rogue Luna Entertainment was formed as a huge first step toward the inclusivity and visibility needed in Hollywood, and with the strong minded women helming the company, we plan to change the way Hollywood operates from the ground up.

Women have a place in the film industry, both as characters of equality, and in positions of power behind the scenes. Our stories matter. Our visions matter. It's time for those percentages to be a little more even, and for Hollywood to stop catering to the straight white man.