It’s not just about the pay gap
This Docu-series explains perfectly what’s wrong with Hollywood’s gender problem
3.9.2016
If you’ve been following what’s been going on in Hollywood recently, you’ll know that people are getting sick of its inequality. It all started this past October with Jennifer Lawrence speaking out about the gender pay gap (22 cents less per hour) in a personal essay. Then Iit continued when a small number of female directors, producers, and screenwriters received Oscar nominations, made worse when no minorities received nominations in any of the 20 acting categories. Now a new docu-series, The 4%: Film’s Gender Problem, will give us even more of an insight into what it’s like for women in Hollywood from Hollywood’s hottest insiders.
The entertainment network Epix premiered the six short films on Hollywood’s gender gap yesterday in honor of International Women’s Day and will continue to show them all throughout Women’s History Month. How ironic.
Directed by Caroline Suh, the series features a variety of interviews with some of the film industry’s top influencers, including James Franco, Kristen Wiig, Catherine Hardwicke, Judd Apatow, and others. These film stars give us insight on the issue with personal experiences as well as offering advice on how to change the industry. "You’re either on the phone or waving goodbye at the doorstep to your husband, or boyfriend, or brother, or father, who’s going off to begin the plot of the movie,” says actress Amanda Peet.
The series also includes findings from a study led by Stacy Smith, Ph.D., of the USC Annenberg Media, Diversity and Social Change Initiative, that which analyzed 700 films between 2007 and 2014.
TheSmith’s findings from Smith’s study paint a not-so pretty picture, one in which women in every part of the film industry are severely underrepresented. Here are a few facts just to put the problem in perspective:
Women need to get experience in order to work on blockbuster-budgeted films, but they can’t do thatget it unless studios will actually hire them. Director Catherine Hardwicke puts it pretty plainly: "Of course, you're going to say, 'tThere's no woman who has a track record for these big action movies, cause you didn't hire any of us, guys!"
Tweet: You won’t believe these statistics on Hollywood’s gender gap
Facebook Post: "You’re either on the phone or waving goodbye at the doorstep to your husband, or boyfriend, or brother, or father, who’s going off to begin the plot of the movie." – Amanda Peet
