Aiiana Nolleis

Nov. 18, 2u1S

INEQ0ALITY IN N0vIES

Novies aie Society's Niiioi of uenuei Inequality

Last time I checkeu, females make up half of the population. Bowevei, accoiuing to
the movie piouuction inuustiy, genuei inequality uominates oui scieens.
In a stuuy by the 0niveisity of Southein Califoinia, the Annenbeig School foi
Communication anu }ouinalism founu that of the 1uu most successful films at the box office
in 2u12, only 28.4 peicent of the 4,47S speaking chaiacteis weie female. Shockingly, this is
even a uiop fiom the S2.8 peicent founu fiom the same stuuy in 2uu9.
"Neuia is basically the miiioi of genuei socialization," Ninjeong Kim, assistant
piofessoi of women's stuuies, saiu. "Women aie socializeu baseu on what they see on the
scieen. They socialize them in a ceitain way so that they meet tiauitional genuei ioles."
The movie inuustiy holus up a fiactuieu miiioi foi vieweis. What these numbeis
concluue is not that women lack a voice, but aie not alloweu to have one.
When imagining leau chaiacteis foi a film, a stiong man almost always comes to
minu. A young white man, moie specifically. Wheie aie the women anu young giils capable
of confionting challenges. 0ui mainstieam stoiies cieate a cultuie maue exclusively by
men with testosteione-filleu anu outuateu iueas of genuei ioles.
0nly 16 peicent of piotagonists in film aie female, accoiuing to stuuies in the
Ameiican uocumentaiy film, "Niss Repiesentation", wiitten in 2u11. In fact, they aie also
twice as moie likely to be poitiayeu as victims in meuia than men aie.
"I think |genuei inequalityj suggests the inuustiy has ueciueu that theii maiket
niche is going to be young auult males," Stephen Piince, a piofessoi of cinema stuuies, saiu.
"Typically, we aie talking about 14 to 2S-yeai-olus."
Aiiana Nolleis
Nov. 18, 2u1S
INEQ0ALITY IN N0vIES

0ltimately, the uiiectois anu piouuceis aie the uecision makeis with the powei to
contiol genuei inequality in films. Also stateu in "Niss Repiesentation", only 7 peicent of
film uiiectois anu 1u peicent of wiiteis aie female.
"In teims of genuei socialization, how many women aie encouiageu to become
uiiectois." Kim saiu. "0i filmmakeis. Women aie socializeu to pay moie attention to theii
appeaiance to follow these feminine ioles anu get maiiieu with kius. Eveiything else is an
option oi supplementaiy."
In an inuustiy completely contiolleu by men, I am not suipiiseu by how blatantly
these numbeis ieveal the misiepiesentation of women. Bowevei, I am moie appalleu by
the assumption that women will watch stoiies about men, but men cannot watch stoiies
about women.
Foi all that women aie poitiayeu as objects of affection anu uesiie in films, the
inuustiy must tiuly finu women uninteiesting foi the othei half of the population in oiuei
to maiginalize women to such a uegiee.
I think the more narrowly niched they become, the more of an audience they forfeit,
Prince said. Then, the moie auuiences get excluueu fiom theatiical film, the moie
impoveiisheu that meuium becomes."
Also according to Miss Representation, American teenagers spend more than 10 hours
a day consuming media. The gender inequality in this medium is not just a reflection of our
society, but its greatest teacher to younger generations.
The issue of gender inequality does not exist solely in the big screen, but is very real and
affects every individual. Without strong female role models, young girls and boys grow up
Aiiana Nolleis
Nov. 18, 2u1S
INEQ0ALITY IN N0vIES

defining a leader with only one qualification: male. If women leaders are not reflected in the
media with positive abilities and acceptance, men and women will never begin to truly trust or
believe in women leaders.
Unequal representation in the movies does not come from mere imagination. In fact, the
representation in movies is a terrifyingly accurate portrayal of our reality. In the U.S., less than
19 percent of women make up the 113
th
Congress. In fact, Miss Representation found that 67
countries in the world have had female presidents or prime ministers, but the U.S. is not one of
them. In comparison, Cuba, China, Iraq and Afghanistan have more women in government.
All these very famous actresses set the glass ceiling for women, which is sad, Kim said.
Of course there are few women who do different things, but the whole general landscape is very
skewed.
Misrepresentation of women in films is not only a female issue. Males are also affected
by the over-dominance of their gender in the industry. Whereas females face more pressure to fit
a certain standard of perfection and thinness, males face pressures to fit a mold of aggressive and
unrealistic masculinity.
This unbalanced perception of the world is not what young girls and boys should be
learning every time they visit the movie theater. It should also not be the perception we reinforce
into lawmakers heads as they continue to prevent reform on issues like womens health care.
Its time to stop staring into this broken mirror of gender inequality and face the real
issue. We must first hold the film industry accountable for the lack of female role models on
screen and filmmakers behind the screen, but we must also hold ourselves accountable. For if the
media is a reflection of us, then we must also change ourselves.