Blog 4 Option #5 "Hollywood's Female Trouble"

"Hollywood's Female Trouble: Part 2, The Directors"

Author: Xaque Gruber

Article Critique 

     The statistics in this article are astounding to me. To see that it was written by a male is even more surprising. I would have thought it would have been a women trying to promote awareness. So, where are the women these days in Hollywood? Why aren’t they directing more films?  The faces in the media today are female actresses, not directors and producers. So much publicity is on the models and actresses. That is where the "glamour" and limelight is. Most women crave this whether they want to admit it or not. Yes, it might be hard to get a job in directing or producing, but once you have a foot in the door, its possible. Surely, the women pursing this career are just as equal as their male counterparts who are also applying for the same job?

     Why are we not encouraging more young women to pursue a career in film, specifically producing and directing? All of the directors who were interviewed in this article can all agree on the same thing, it isn't an easy career, but all genders should be treated equal. A women shouldn't be looked down upon. Instead, she should be commended for her desire in pursuing such a demanding career. Is the lack of female directors because of the lack of role models?  Being in a male dominated field in the military myself, I know the struggles first hand. In the beginning of my career, I didn't have a female role model. While it hasn’t been easy, it has been amazing to see the amount of women who have chosen to pursue this career field just in just the  short 6 years that I was active duty.  What started as a shop of 3-4 women in 2006, was at 8-10 women in 2012 when I left that duty station. The more women who join, the more awareness that women can do the same job as the men. I like to believe we can do it better in some instances. 

     My rating for this article is a 4.5/5.0 scale. I would most definitely recommend it to others. It doesn’t really hit home until you read something like this. More women need to be aware of this. We need to start encouraging girls at a young age that you can one day be a director or producer. Just because all you hear about is men, it doesn’t mean that women can’t do it.  It is enlightening to hear Pam Veasey say, “I make a concerted effort to hire female directors on my shows, but I'm not the last voice on the subject.” (Gruber) While it is unfortunate that it is her male counterparts who make the final decision, but in my opinion it is a step in the right direction.

References

Gruber, Xaque. “Hollywood’s Female Trouble: Part 2, The Directors.” The Huffington Post. 4 April 2012. Web. Accessed 8 April 2014. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/xaque-gruber/hollywoods-female-trouble_1_b_1401363.html