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March 29, 2024

Hollywood needs to be more open to female directors

By ALEX SILBERZWEIG | February 9, 2017

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BAGOGAMES/cc by 2.0 The all-female Ghostbusters film was still directed by a man.

Think of a movie that revolves around the needs, desires and misadventures of at least one female character. No it cannot be a movie where a man spends an agonizing 120 minutes trying to get “the girl.” And no it cannot be a movie directed by a man. This is harder than it seems, right?

A movie directed by a woman? Surely you are thinking that I made the criteria far too unreasonable. Though female-directed movies evidently exist, they are few and far between. We are currently experiencing a shocking and undeserved dearth of female-directed films. According to Variety, women constitute a mere seven percent of directors among IMDb’s Top 250 films. Adding 450 movies worsens matters. Women have directed only 13 percent of the top 700 films. A lot of these top movies were produced in the early to mid-20th century, when a woman’s right to vote was considered more than enough. Others might contend that a movie’s position in the IMDb Top 250 does not deem it “good.”

Yes, I will admit that a number of the Top 250 could put an insomniac to sleep without all of the side effects of sleeping pills. However, these are undoubtedly some of the most viewed movies. We quote them oftentimes without realizing it. Film students watch and emulate them. Fake film connoisseurs wax poetic about them. They permeate our culture and deeply influence the way we see the world. Though a few of these movies succeed at portraying women as more than mere objects, they are seldom directed by women.

Take Mike Mills’ 20th Century Women and Paul Feig’s all-female Ghostbusters reboot. Both films revolve around a group of female characters. Both, however, are directed by men. Female directorial takes would make these movies’ portrayal of women that much more robust and genuine.

Women have extremely unique experiences that shape our womanhood and the way we see the world. Just think about it: Women are told far too often to carry around pepper spray, to buy nail polish that detects date-rape drugs in their drinks and to wear enough makeup to seem attractive, but not too much or else we’ll look like clowns.

Look at Clueless, the 1995 teen classic that takes a lighthearted and fun approach to the throes of adolescence. Did I mention that it was directed by Amy Heckerling, a woman? Heckerling made us care for a ditzy, spoiled teenage girl for 100 minutes. She created a world in which her mostly female characters could reveal their true colors, with young women who may be insecure about their feelings and their femininity. Heckerling knows women because she is one. This innate understanding made her female leads all the more compelling. Production companies should learn from this.

Why does this even matter? Simply put, women understand women better than men do. I am not saying that men are incapable of directing films that probe the inner workings of a woman’s mind. However, female-directed films that focus on women’s trials and tribulations differentiate mere sympathy from empathy.

Will we see that seven percent go up any time soon? It is with great displeasure for me to note that this number will probably stay the same or decrease. According to The Wrap, 20th Century Fox and Paramount, two of Hollywood’s most renowned studios, will not be releasing any female-directed movies in the next two years. They are responsible for maintaining household name franchises that star some of the most renowned actors and experience the greatest box office successes. In other words, many of the superhero, animated and action films that will permeate the mainstream at lightning pace will be directed by men.

Whoever reads this should not feel hopeless about the state of female representation by female directors. To remedy this shortage of upcoming female-directed films, we must collectively seek to watch the ones that exist. Let us make female directors the norm, not rarities.

Alex Silberzweig is a freshman Economics major from New York.


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