Female characters comprised 12 per cent of protagonists in the top 100 grossing films of 2014, the lowest figure for more than a decade, according to a recent study.
The 2014 “It’s a Man’s (Celluloid) World” report, by San Diego State University’s Centre for the Study of Women in Television and Film, was conducted by the centre’s executive director, Dr Martha Lauzen.
Additionally, the study found that females comprised 29 per cent of major characters and 30 per cent of all speaking characters last year.
“The chronic under-representation of girls and women reveals a kind of arrested development in the mainstream film industry,” said Lauzen.
A separate study conducted by her found that just 17 per cent of powerful, behind-the-camera roles (director, writer, etc.) were held by women working on the top 250 grossing films of 2014.
On the other hand, Charlize Theron has praised Mad Max: Fury Road director George Miller for breaking out of the Hollywood gender stereotype mould and showing “the truth of who we are as women”.
The Benoni actress plays the role of amputee warrior Furiosa, alongside Tom Hardy’s Mad Max, in the action sci-fi film. “Her character is very much the dominant of the two, and ’emotionally drives’ the story forward,” said Jenn Selby in her article for The Independent.
“George (Miller) just showed the truth of who we are as women, and that’s even more powerful,” said Theron.
“Women thrive on being many things; we can be just as dark and light as men.
“We’re more than just nurturers, more than just breeders, we’re just as conflicted.”
“Having children is holding women back in Hollywood,” said Isabella Rossellini, who claimed it was “unbelievably difficult” for actresses to work and raise a family.
Rossellini, an actress and mother of two, said having children was still the “biggest problem” standing in the way of female stars achieving parity with men.
According to forbes.com, women are still earning less than men in Hollywood, portrayed by their list of top earning actors in the period June 2013 to June 2014.
“Our 10 top earning actors brought in a combined $419-million during our time frame, while the top 10 actresses brought in just a little over half of that — $226-million,” stated the site.
According to the list, Sandra Bullock tops the list of actresses with an estimated $51-m in earnings between June 2013 and June 2014.
In the same period Jennifer Lawrence earned an estimated $34-m, placing her second on the list.
“We estimate that (Robert) Downey (Junior) earned $75-m between June 2013 and June 2014, the same amount as he earned last year,” stated the site.
Dwayne Johnson ranks second on the list of top earning actors, with an estimated $52-m.
This shows a $1-m disparity between the second highest earning male actor from June 2013 to June 2014, and the highest earning actress in the same period.
It is clear to me that the movie industry is still very much a boys’ game, but how do we change this? Is it a matter of time following the relatively recent rise of lawful equality between the genders, or are we, as society, still not as advanced and open-minded as we think.
I, for one, am a big fan of female actors and directors, and still struggle with the idea that they earn much less than their male counterparts.
Perhaps we must accept that we still think (at least to some degree) like many of our ancestors, and must actively try to change that.
