Women take part in filming and production as actresses, producers, directors, among other roles. Despite their involvement, women are not fairly represented in all these positions. When we talk about filming and movies, Hollywood is usually the main focus of its famous production in movies. However, other countries are also involved in filming where women are still under-represented. Apart from being underrepresented, women are not well paid in the industry, whether as actresses or film support.
Important roles in filming, for example, cinematography and directing, are mostly given to men, contributing to women very minimal. Statistics show that the most important role women are given in the industry is that of film producers at 26%, while the minor role is for film cinematography at 4% (Lauzen). Though the statistics are recent, they have been collected for more than twenty years, each recording giving an insignificant increase in percentage. According to research on female dominance on the screens, only 35% of the films had women’s dominance on the screen than male dominance at 82% (Lauzen). This paper focuses on the presence of women in the film industry, the Bechdel test, and a review of the three latest movies with women’s dominance and how they rate in the Bechdel test.
The Bechdel Test
The Bechdel test is used to measure the ratio of active women in the media, especially in filming and screen representation. The test demonstrates female representation by considering the most gender dominating the screen. The test is conducted by examining the following aspects; firstly, the interaction of women on screen, whether they communicate or not. Secondly, the minimum number of women who can be recognized on screen by name, the minimum number being two. Thirdly, what the women dialogue about apart from the subject of men. By examining these features, the Bechdel test compares both males and female screen interaction in dialogues to demonstrate which gender is given more priority in terms of screen time and the number of words.
Apart from screen representation, the Bechdel test also measures women’s representation based on the amount of screen time they are given. For example, the number of scenes that women appear in and the duration of their dialogues, the minimum being one minute (Lauzen). The test is also used to show women’s representation by race and color. In this paper, a review of two female-dominated movies is discussed and based on the Bechdel test, and the movies are examined to see if they pass the test. Additionally, the paper discusses the statistics of female employment in roles that happen behind the scenes.
Frozen II
Frozen II is a musical, fantasy-animation movie filmed and produced in November 2019. The movie was produced and released by Walt Disney Animation Studios as a sequel to Frozen 1, released in 2013. The main characters in this animated movie are females, Elsa and Anna, represented by Idina Menzel and Kristen Bell. The movie follows queen Elsa and princess Anna’s journey to a mystical land to find answers to Elsa’s voices the mystical land.
They travel along with their friends, who act as support for the journey to the unknown. A mysterious imbalance of nature threatens to ruin queen Elsa’s kingdom, which develops the storyline of the movie further to show the heroic acts of Elsa in saving her kingdom together with her sister Anna. Frozen II passes the Bechdel test tremendously, considering its storyline of heroic acts accomplished by the two female characters. In the movie, Elsa and Anna are viewed as heroines who save their kingdom’s ruin.
Apart from being heroes, they face all challenges with great courage and come out stronger than meeting a bad ending. In terms of screen time, almost all scenes are dominated by either Elsa, Anna, or both, which covers more than the recommended time of one minute. Elsa and Anna communicate a lot throughout the movie on various topics like magic, parties, and matters concerning the kingdom. It can be said that there is no mention of men in any of the conversations of the entire movie hence a complete feminist movie.
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
Just like Frozen II, Maleficent is a fantasy movie produced and released by Walt Disney Studios in2019. The main character in the movie is a female, Angelina Jolie, cast as the evil queen Maleficent. In this movie, the themes focus on family ties, love, hatred, and dark powers. It narrates the story of Maleficent, her goddaughter, Elle Fanning, cast as Aurora, and Aurora’s mother-in-law, Michelle Pfeiffer, cast as Queen Ingrid. Maleficent is opposing Aurora’s marriage to her fiancée, claiming the mother, Queen Ingrid, is evil. The story develops with both Queens fighting for Aurora against and her marriage.
Other than the maternal fight for Aurora, the two kingdoms are faced with dark times that render them on opposing sides where they become enemies. It is up to the women to fight for love and the return of peace to these kingdoms. The film takes the audience on a journey with different emotions of love, anger, hate, pain, and revenge. All in all, a heroine emerges through all the challenges and gives the movie a somehow happy ending.
In this movie, we can say all the main characters are women, each with a major role that it is hard to point to one main character. The movies cast three female characters, with one being a protagonist and two antagonists. Most conversations in the movie are between women, even the fighting scenes. The women might have talked about men, but there was no mention of the topic in most conversations. Therefore, it can be concluded that the movie passes the Bechdel test, although some critics beg to differ regarding the presence of people of color in the movie.
Facts And Figures On Women Employment Behind The Scenes
Although women are greatly outnumbered in the film industry employment, a study shows that more women can be seen working behind the scenes as the years advance. Martha Lauzen is the director of the San Diego University Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film. According to her, the percentage of females working behind the scenes rose from 16% in 2018 to 20% in 2019, based on research of the top one hundred films produced domestically (Lauzen). The women were employed in writing, directing, cinematography, editing, producing, among others. In the 20%, female directors make up 12% which is an improvement from 4% in 2019 (Lauzen).
In 2019, research on the percentage of women working behind the scenes shows 21% were directors, 31% art directors, 6% engaged in visual effects, 19% writers, 40% in musical effects, and 23% designers (Lauzen). Despite the significant improvement in percentages, Lauren still believes women are outnumbered and should continue striving for recognition in the film industry.
Works Cited
Lauzen, Martha. “New study finds behind-the-scenes employment of women in film industry increases“. Newscenter.Sdsu.Edu, 2020. Web.