Women rising in lead film roles

Austin Bell, Features Editor, Puma Press
April 4, 2017
For the past thirty years, every March has been Women’s History Month. In 1987, after being petitioned by the National Women’s History Project, between 1988 and 1994, Congress passed additional resolutions requesting and authorizing the President to proclaim March of each year as Women’s History Month. Since 1988, U.S. presidents have issued annual proclamations designating the month of March as Women’s History Month.
The theme for this year’s Women’s History Month is women in the labor and business field and how they impacted the line of work in just not the United States but the entire world. Within labor and business, the arts, specifically filmmaking and acting, can allows us to see our world through different lenses in a historical, present or futuristic in context. When viewed and helmed by women, our perception greatly increases to the highest degree. Not only that but women are being cast in much bigger roles, especially in established franchises such as Star Wars and Marvel’s cinematic universe. Women are finding more leading roles in more films as well as having a higher presence behind the camera.
This increase can be attributed to more of the events outside of the film industry as well, Dr. Michele Marion, a sociology teacher at Paradise Valley Community College, stated, “art mirrors issues in society. There is indeed a link between the socio-cultural events in our society, women in leadership positions, and what is reflected in the film industry. The film industry is sometimes cutting-edge with reflecting socio-cultural events, and sometimes the industry reinforces the status quo.”
At the beginning of the year at the Golden Globes, The Cecil B. DeMille Award is presented. It’s bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment. The recipient of the award this year was Meryl Streep, who has had a prolific career for 30-plus years has been in various movies, television and stage play. Streep is one of 14 women who has won the award; she was also the last to receive it since Jodie Foster in 2013. This award shows global achievement, but the films can attain a great amount of acclaim.
While Meryl Streep is an actress who has had leading roles in movies that are one-off films that are simply adapted from books or historical settings, blockbuster franchises are now starting to cast women in leading roles. Not only have they been portrayed in a more heroic, and unique aspect, the movies themselves have done really well. An example would be “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.” While film critics and journalists were either worried or dismissed that the movie would be just be a side chapter in a long-running franchise, it instead became a really great film. Not only was it a marvelous film that bridged many of the movies in a long-running franchise together but having a lead actress gave the franchise another perspective of its world. While Luke Skywalker was more naive, headstrong and untrained, Felicity Jones character, Jyn Erso, was capable, battle-hardened and wary of the danger ahead of her.
Another example on the television side of the medium is Marvel’s Jessica Jones series which was created exclusively for Netflix and was the first film or television show where there is a female lead. The show, while dealing with many adult themes, focuses on the lead character Jessica Jones played by Krysten Ritter. In an interview by Dominic Patten, showrunner Mellisa Rosenberg discussed what it was like dealing with more adult issues;
“We are also obviously very aware this is the first female superhero Marvel’s ever introduced as a lead. But there was never the intention of this being an issue series, we’re dealing with issues. While issues of sexual assault and women in power are all issues that I certainly feel very passionately about taking on, the show’s all about exploring the inner workings of Jessica Jones and her ensemble. Their relationships and Jessica’s examination of her own trauma and healing, in a way.”
Not only have women had better opportunities in front of the camera, but roles for behind the camera expands as well. Kathryn Bigelow, an American filmmaker, producer and writer filmed “The Hurt Locker”. The American war film received widespread critical acclaim and won six Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Bigelow won the award for Best Director; as of 2016, “The Hurt Locker” is the only film by a female director to win in either category. Another notable female filmmaker that has risen up over the years is Ava Duvernay. Her films notably ‘Selma’ and the ‘13th’ deal with the normal assumptions of black people and deals with black empowerment. Her next film that she is directing the film “A Wrinkle in Time” which is based off the same book by Madeleine L’Engle. The budget of this film is reportedly above $100 million making Ava Duvernay the first black female director to film such a movie.
The percentage of women who have directed and casted as leading roles has only increased from 2015 to 2016. A study conducted by the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film stated, “In 2016, females comprised 29 percent of protagonists. This represents an increase of seven percentage points from 2015 and a recent historical high. However, the percentage of female characters in speaking roles (major and minor) was 32 percent, down one percentage point from 2015. Overall, these results indicate that while audiences were more than twice as likely to see male characters as female characters on screen, females fared better as protagonists and major characters last year.” 2017 looks to be a promising year for not only movies but the various women cast in them. Already movies like the “Beauty and the Beast” have released to positive reviews. Also, well-known franchises such as “Wonder Woman” and “Ghost in The Shell” are also hotly anticipated as well with Gal Gadot and Scarlett Johannson in starring roles.
Originally published at nevalleynews.org.

