The rule is that only movies which satisfy these three rules pass:
1) there are at least two named female characters
2) who talk to each other
3) about something other than a man
If you think about it, it’s quite appalling to think about how few movies pass this test, especially if you add ‘cooking’ and ‘children’ to the third point. Off the top of my head the only one I can think of is Kill Bill (and Sex & The City but that does absolutely nothing for the female cause!).
This shows just how conservative Hollywood is. It’s interesting that TV, which in theory is a close mirror to real life, does far better in the test. Men and women parts begin to approach equality in shows with big ensemble casts but in film, the shorter and still more important form, forget about it.
Our culture bleeds into and influences our lives; important works become so entrenched and popularised in society that eventually their core ideas become part of who we are, whether we like it or not. Think about the way James Bond films and Star Wars have affected our culture, these myths become history.
In my opinion cinema is the most popular and influencial medium in todays culture, whether that is a good or a bad thing is another matter. How then are we to truly achieve equality between the sexes if the differences are so reinforced by the movies we watch every week?
It’s also a viciously reinforcing circle. The inequality is reinforced into our culture and then people turn away from films that brake that mould because they’re too ‘’different’’ and ‘’challenging’’ to be mainstream.
Studios are capitalism whores; ‘’if we come, they will make it’’. With that said, what does the fact that a film where women aren’t completely sidelined can’t be anything more than “arthouse entertainment” say about the world we live in, and how far we still have to progress?
I get the feeling Hollywood will be the last to move on from our shameful past
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