Chelsy Ranard – Bitch Flicks

This guest post written by Chelsy Ranard appears as part of our theme week on Women Directors, Part 2.

It’s pretty uncommon in Hollywood to see a movie directed by a woman as only 3.4% of all film directors are women. It’s even more uncommon to see women directing films in genres intended for a largely male audience. Granted, all movies of any genre can be and are watched and enjoyed by people of any gender. However, Hollywood tends to market certain genres towards men, and for that reason, it’s even more difficult for women directors to get in on the market. However, there is a female presence directing movies in each genre – even genres that are stereotypically considered for male audiences. Some may be surprised just how many popular movies are directed by women and marketed towards a male audience. Many female directors have created amazing, entertaining, and thought-provoking movies in the romantic comedy, independent, and drama genres through the years. But they’ve also created hugely popular movies in the sports, action, science fiction, horror, and western genres as well.

Sports

Sports, in general, is a predominantly male field in many ways. From playing sports to reporting, coaching, reffing, commentating, or marketing within sports, it’s dominated by men. Many women are interested in sports but have a hard time maneuvering the industry as a woman due to sexism. Not only that, but similar to STEM industries, sports opportunities aren’t as available to young women as they are for young men. As a result, few women find themselves in this field. The sports film genre is no different as most sports movies are directed by men. However, some amazing films in the sports genre are directed by women:

Love & Basketball – Gina Prince-Bythewood
Lords of Dogtown – Catherine Hardwicke
Bend it like Beckham – Gurinder Chadha
A League of their Own – Penny Marshall

Love & Basketball may also be a love story, and Bend it like Beckham and A League of their Own may also be about women, but they are sports movies nonetheless. Films about women for women are not as unusual, but sports movies highlighting women in sports are really important to the evolution of women’s sports as well, not to mention representing women’s sports in film. Both the film industry and the sports industry have issues with gender inequality regarding representation as well as pay. All of these directors have done something really uncommon in the film industry in that they are creating films about a topic that features a huge gender gap.

Action

Explosions, chase scenes, guns, fight sequences, combat, and fast-paced conflict is what action movies are all about. There’s an existing gender trope in the film world that romance films are for women, and movies with action are for men. This trope affects how films are made, who they are marketed to, who’s cast in them, and who directs them. Women are already hired for fewer directing jobs than men, but when they are hired, it’s usually for films perceived as being feminine, i.e. romantic comedies. Action movies may be stereotypically male in how they are marketed and perceived, but these amazing action films are directed by women:

The Hurt Locker – Kathryn Bigelow
Wonder Woman — Patty Jenkins
Point Break — Kathryn Bigelow
Punisher: War Zone – Lexi Alexander

Kathyrn Bigelow has become a pretty popular name among female directors – and action directors in general. Her film The Hurt Locker won the 2009 Academy Award for Best Picture and the BAFTA Award for Best Film, and was nominated for the 2009 Golden Globe Award for Best Drama. She’s the first (and currently the only) woman to win an Academy Award for Best Director, the Directors Guild of America (DGA) Award for Outstanding Directing, the BAFTA Award for Best Direction, and the Critics’ Choice Movie Award for Best Director. Lexi Alexander is one of the few women of color directing action films; Gina Prince-Bythewood will be “the first Black woman to direct a superhero film” with the upcoming Silver and Black. Wonder Woman, directed by Patty Jenkins, is “the highest-grossing live-action film to be directed by a woman” and “the highest-grossing film in the DC Extended Universe.” Jenkins became the highest paid woman director in history when she signed on to direct Wonder Woman 2. Bigelow, Alexander, Jenkins, and others like them making movies in this genre are breaking stereotypes and creating films filled with action for their predominantly male audiences.

Sci-Fi

Science fiction films are all about far-reaching, speculative science that tends to lean futuristic. Think aliens, time travel, space, and robots. Many women are just as interested as men are in this monster of a genre. However, since gender stereotypes regarding movie genres run rampant in Hollywood, women lose out on many sci-fi directing opportunities. This is unfortunate because there are many female directors that can bring out even more beautiful, outlandish, and futuristic imagery into the sci-fi films that people of all genders love. These are a few sci-fi films directed by women:

The Matrix – Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski
Advantageous — Jennifer Phang
Underworld: Blood Wars – Anna Foerster
Deep Impact – Mimi Leder

Not only are Lana and Lilly Wachowski the directors of The Matrix movies, which are some of the most prominent sci-fi films in recent history, they are also transgender women representing an even smaller group of directors in the film industry. Sci-fi has been one of the top-grossing genres in recent years with huge blockbusters like Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Jurassic World raking in millions of dollars in revenue. Women, who miss opportunities to direct these films due to men being hired over them, are missing out on a huge portion of the money made in films as a result. With her upcoming adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time, Ava DuVernay is the first Black woman filmmaker to direct a film with a $100 million budget. For the women making sci-fi films, they are paving the way for others to have a foot in a lucrative market predominantly made for men by men despite audiences being largely female as well.

Horror

Unlike some of the other genres mentioned, the horror genre has made a lot of headway in terms of women directing horror films. Murder, serial killers, blood, gore, suspense, terror, and mystery are not gender specific and many women love to dive into the terrifying world of horror as much, or more, than some of their male counterparts. Some popular names include:

Jennifer’s Body — Karyn Kusama
American Psycho – Mary Harron
The Babadook – Jennifer Kent
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night – Ana Lily Amirpour

Not only are women directing more horror films, but more women are watching them as well. Some of the most well-known horror films have women directing them: Pet Semetary, Near Dark, Slumber Party Massacre, Carrie (2013). With so many more options for women in this genre, it gives hope for women working towards directing movies in other male-dominated genres. The horror genre is a great example of female directors and female audiences defying their stereotypes and showing the true demographics of their chosen genre. Blood and guts don’t come with a gender qualifier.

Western

Cowboys, the old West, horses, and gunslingers fill the Western genre of films from Big Jake to Django Unchained. Unfortunately, women are hugely underrepresented in this genre. One of the issues with Western films is that they were more popular in the 1970s, when female directors had abysmal numbers. Interestingly, film critic Carrie Rickey points out, “The late 1960s and 1970s were a pivotal era for women directors whose films looked askance at society, social arrangements, and men.” Now that we are beginning to see more modern portrayals of Westerns, it’s still a somewhat small genre of films that women haven’t often been represented in yet. However, a few women have created films within this small and largely male genre:

The Ballad of Little Jo – Maggie Greenwald
Meek’s Cutoff – Kelly Reichardt
’49-’17 – Ruth Ann Baldwin
Something New – Nell Shipman

None of these films are very recent. In fact, the most recent is Meek’s Cutoff from 2010 and the oldest ’49-’17 from 1917 – which is one of the first narrative-length Westerns ever directed by a woman. Regardless, these women have created films in a genre with almost no female representation at all — on-screen and off. It only takes one pioneer to take the steps needed to pave the way for others, so these women directing films in the Western genre have made it possible for other women to make Westerns in the future.

The idea of any genre being specific to one gender or another doesn’t have a ton of statistical backing, and neither does one gender’s ability to direct a movie for another gender. Both ideas lack logic, so there’s no reason for women to be denied directing roles because of a film’s perceived audience. What makes a film feminine or masculine? That question is even harder to answer when you realize that, overall, movie ticket sales are predominantly by women (52% of moviegoers in 2016). The notion that films are meant for one gender, or that films that aren’t traditionally “feminine” can’t be directed by women is widening an already problematic gender divide within directors in Hollywood.

There are many amazing women directing film and television, but not nearly enough. Luckily, the women paving the way for other female directors are fearlessly fighting their way to direct movies outside of the perceived stereotypical female genre despite it being even more competitive. Female directors are no strangers to blockbusters or huge film success. It’s just a matter of making it easier for other women to work within all genres by hiring women directors. Sports movies, action blockbusters, sci-fi, horror, and nostalgic Westerns may have perceived male audiences, but do they in reality? Women can be engineers, women can be welders, women can run businesses, women can enjoy horror, and women can direct action films. Gender tropes don’t belong in our world, and they don’t belong in our film in any capacity, either.

Chelsy Ranard is a writer from Montana who graduated with her journalism degree from the University of Montana in 2012. She is a passionate feminist, she enjoys talk radio, and is usually listening to out of date rock music. Follow her on Twitter @Chelsy5.

This is a guest post written by Chelsy Ranard.

From Imperator Furiosa to Letty Ortiz, strong and knowledgeable female characters crop up in car movies. The women who used to be relegated to flag girls and objectified as hood ornaments are now being introduced as main characters with their own plot points and story developments. Women have notoriously had a minimal past in the automotive industry (and sadly, women are still underrepresented) and their history in automotive movies is no different. However, much like the evolution of women in film in general, women are evolving from props to leading characters in recent years.

Flag Girls and Hood Ornaments

The stereotypical woman in a car movie has been the woman in tall heels and a short skirt waving the start flag before a race. She’s been the beautiful woman in a bikini lying on top of a hood, washing the car, or standing next to the car in some sort of way.

These women don’t have names, any character development, and tend to be nothing more than gorgeous props, similar to the cars themselves in each scene. Car movies tend to be marketed towards men, so naturally there tend to be beautiful women next to beautiful cars. Even in some movies that portray strong women who know cars and drive them, a few flag girls still remain, but this used to be the only role available for women in car movies — unless you were a love interest; then at least you had a name.

Sexism has been an issue in Hollywood in general, not just movies in the car or action genre. Men are paid more and given more leading roles than women and this continues to be a pervasive issue. Women tend to be props in car movies, but they do in movies in other genres as well. This is an issue evolving and changing, however, and an exceeding amount of actresses speak out against sexism and the gender disparity in Hollywood and are working to change it. Women are still unequal to their male co-stars, especially in male-dominated genres, but the evolution is at an upward slope in car movies and in film and television in general.

Sexualized Characters

The women portrayed in car movies are almost always sexualized; the hyper-sexualized characters are almost always the flag girl type. But even the women taking their roles from props to supporting characters still remain highly sexualized and objectified. Think Megan Fox’s character in Transformers, or Jessica Simpson as Daisy Duke in The Dukes of Hazzard movie. These women are car women, not just flag girls or love interests, and are supporting characters. However, Fox’s character still bends over an engine in a crop-top while tightening a cap and Simpson’s character tricks men with her bikini-clad body.

While car movies now mix together more prominent women full of character development and car knowledge, these women are still sexualized. This is definitely not just a woman problem as Hollywood demands that all their stars be beautiful and men are not strangers to shirtless scenes. But men have a wider range of roles portrayed, as well as more lead roles and speaking lines and women are sexualized and objectified, often for the Male Gaze — in film, television and other media — far more than men.

Strong Female Characters

Fortunately, the role of the strong woman in car movies is not a myth and many movies are beginning to add more complex, intelligent, resilient female characters with agency. While some female characters are still sexualized and some aren’t main characters, the more films that feature strong women, the more upward momentum we see on-screen. Characters mentioned before like Letty, played by Michelle Rodriguez in The Fast and the Furious franchise, or Imperator Furiosa, played by Charlize Theron in Mad Max: Fury Road, are two examples of amazing female characters in car movies who don’t exist as props, who aren’t overly sexualized, and who possess character and story developments.

Some other strong female characters in car movies include Thelma (Geena Davis) and Louise (Susan Sarandon) in Thelma & Louise, Stella (Charlize Theron) in The Italian Job, Mona Lisa Vito (Marisa Tomei) in My Cousin Vinny, and Sway (Angelina Jolie) in Gone in 60 Seconds. Some of these movies walk the line for what is considered a “car movie,” but all of these women drive and represent the strong female characters our car movies need; although we could do with even less sexualization.

Movies That are Breaking Through

The Fast and the Furious franchise is the highest-grossing car movie franchise and has created seven movies so far, all of which feature women in main roles; but all of them also feature flag girls as well. However, the story created for one of the main characters, Letty, in such a big car movie franchise makes it one of the movies causing change as they try to break through the norm. Letty, whose story and character development undergo major plot points throughout the movies, is not sexualized in the way that Fox’s or Simpson’s characters are in their roles. She’s also featured in one of the largest car stunt scenes in film, a feat that not many women in car movies have been able to achieve.

Even in movies like Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the main character is a woman and an amazing pilot. Katniss in The Hunger Games trilogy, Hermione in the Harry Potter series, and Tris in the Divergent series are all strong female leads for whom younger generations can identify. They are all leads or co-leads in their movies; brave, intelligent, and strong who show that women are not just love interests in action-filled franchises.

In such a male-dominated genre, the women who appear in car movies stick out like a sore thumb. With each woman we see on-screen in these movies who exists as more than just a flag girl, who has a name, who isn’t just a love interest, and isn’t sexualized — it’s a huge win for women in car films, and women in general. Reaching equality is about making small changes until they build up into big changes, and each win gets women closer to being represented equally among men. In a genre that used to be all Burt Reynolds and Steve McQueen, it’s nice to see women like Michelle Rodriguez and Charlize Theron become common names in the car genre as well.

Chelsy Ranard is a writer from Montana who is now living in Boise, Idaho. She graduated with her journalism degree from the University of Montana in 2012. She is a passionate feminist, loves listening to talk radio, and prefers her coffee cold. Follow her on Twitter at @Chelsy5.

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