Written by Catherine Robinson
There are hundreds of films made about unique individuals from all races, genders, and backgrounds each year. But here’s the problem; these stories are being told by male, white directors, who cannot even begin to empathize with the struggles of the characters in their films. Especially female characters.
As a young black woman, I have a very unique set of challenges that I face throughout my everyday life. These problems are specific to my gender andracial identity, it would be very difficult for a white man to be aware of them- let alone portray them truthfully onscreen.
Yet men are still being handed films like “The Fault In Our Stars” (directed by Josh Boone) which is a story told from the perspective of a teen girl, and “Divergent” (directed by Neil Burger) which was also told from the perspective of a teen girl. But why is this so?
The only woman to ever win the Academy Award for Best Director was Katherine Bigelow in 2010. It is very clear that women are not widely accepted in the directing community, or even Hollywood as a whole. It is very much still a “man’s world”.
This is not the only issue. An African-American woman has NEVER won the Academy Award for best director, nor has one been nominated, and only three African-American men have been nominated for the award in over 80 years. Lee Daniels for his film “Precious”, Steve McQueen for 12 Years A Slave,and John Singleton for Boyz In The Hood. But it has never gone further than a nomination.
According to a study conducted by a professor at UCLA, 4.1% of working directors in 2011 were women*. This number is discouraging. It’s not that there aren’t women who don’t want to make movies, that’s never been the problem. The problem is that they aren’t getting work, and they aren’t given the room to make the films that deserve to be made.
Female characters should shine just as brightly as male characters, as should characters of color when compared to their white counterparts.
These characters need a diverse team of strong directors behind them to do their stories justice. It’s not just about movies anymore. It’s about equality.
What can we do? Well, there are 2 things. For starters, we could support up and coming female and minority directors. They need supporters and Hollywood needs to see that people enjoy their work. At the end of this article I will attach a list of directors that fall into these categories. Do yourself a favor and watch their films – I promise you won’t be disappointed.
The last thing that we can all do is be patient. You’re probably all fired up after reading this but trust me, patience is key. There’s always new talent around the corner, waiting for an enthusiastic cheerleader. Be that cheerleader. Support diverse filmmaking and more will be sure to come. I promise.
Directors to watch:
Ava DuVernay
Steve McQueen
Rick Famuyiwa
Sofia Coppola
Lena Wertmuller
Julie Dash
Alejandro González Iñárritu
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