Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Women in Hollywood
Women in Hollywood
Women in Hollywood
Women have been discriminated against in film ever since the beginning of Hollywood.
With the changing times, some female directors have emerged. However, they are not dominant
in their field and their movies are very undermining of femininity. Thus, the men of Hollywood
have the constant source of power, upholding their male dominance through several movies, as
The discrimination of women in film has been persistent throughout history. In classic
films, women were portrayed with “innocence, purity, and the need to be protected” (Benshoff,
and Griffin 208). Thus, a woman was weak and relied entirely on a man to make her feel safe.
This implies that a female cannot fend for herself and is not mentally or physically strong enough
to withstand the problems that she faces. In particular, there is one genre of movies that
accurately fulfills this description. This genre is the “Disney-Princess” movies. Take for
example, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. Even her name, “Snow White” implements the
image of purity, virginity, and goodness. In this movie, Snow White is helpless and falls into a
deep sleep, only to be awakened when the masculine prince arrives to save her. What is most
frightening is that this is a children’s movie. In result, from an early age, a girl may think that she
is supposed to act timidly to be feminine, rather than being her strong independent self.
The 1950s brought a new discriminate perspective: the sexually attractive female. With
the help of photography, women were made sexually appealing so they became the item of
men’s attention. She is nothing more than a visual for men to enjoy (Benshoff, and Griffin
the male. There are several Disney princesses that fit this description as well. Esmeralda in
Hunchback of Notre Dame, Meg from Hercules, and Jasmine from Aladdin all uses their
excessive beauty and sexual allure to persuade or distract the villain in order to obtain their goal.
These several Disney princess films are evidence of the “virgin-whore complex,” which portrays
the message to little girls that they may either “good” or “bad” sexually (Benshoff, and Griffin
210).This is a stereotypical trap for women, which small girls fall into from an early age while
watching Disney movies. If they are considered “good,” they ultimately become contingent to
the male, losing their identity. In contrast, if they are considered “bad,” they are looked down
The Lion King is an interesting case when one focuses on female discrimination. It can be
argued that females are considered unimportant because they are only background characters.
Returning to the stereotypical passive female, the lionesses are helpless when the kingdom is
taken over by the evil Scar. Only when the male lion, Simba, returns do they regain their
kingdom. However, it can be argued that females have a small amount of power in the film. For
example, the lioness Sarabi is not afraid to speak her mind to Scar when he is controlling her
kingdom. Next, Simba’s female lion friend Nala is constantly able to pin him down when they
play-fight. Finally, Shenzi is the female hyena in Scar’s henchmen group. She, of the three
hyenas, is the smartest and seems to be the dominant leader. These characters definitely represent
Feminine progress has also come about throughout history because women have become
directors. However, it can be argued that this progress is deceiving. Presently in the Directors
Guild of America, seven percent of its members are female ("MSNBC.com"). Sadly, this is an
improvement from classical film. In the early days of film, only a couple of females emerged as
directors in the dominated male industry. To make their dream happen, these women had to
push themselves to extreme measures, or they just became lucky. Some females first had to
become actresses to possibly have the chance to get in the director’s chair. One particular female
director who went to the extreme to gain equality was Dorothy Arzner. To do this, she dressed,
talked, and acted like a man (Benshoff, and Griffin 216). It is sickening that this was the only
way a female could make progress is to blend in; losing her individuality, and become the very
Today, nine percent of the 250 top grossing domestic films were directed by women
(Ulaby). One of these films was Twilight, directed by Katherine Hardwicke. Even with its
success, the movie’s content contains the ultimate discriminating representations of the female
gender. First Bella, the story’s protagonist, is not a hero. Besides being smart, she has no
qualities that allow her to be looked up to. Often, she is sarcastic and cold to her peers. These
actions are due to her obsession with Edward Cullen, a vampire whom she loves. Her
overwhelming compassion for him is feminine in nature, and she is succumbed to the stereotype
that the woman lives for the man. Edward Cullen himself is an ultimate representation of a male
in film. He is extremely handsome and strong, and is there on countless occasions to save and
protect Bella. In the climax, Bella is so infatuated with Edward that she wishes to become a
vampire so she can be with Edward forever. Sara Seltzer, a female columnist, describes Bella and
her situation best in her article when she states “[Bella is willing] to sacrifice her physical safety,
her education, and her family and social ties for Edward--and the well-meaning but stringent
control he exerts over her.” Ultimately, Bella fulfills the classical Hollywood stereotype because
she is the helpless female who is willing to give up everything, including her identity for her
man.
stereotypes is the vampire Victoria. In the movie, the actress is highly sexualized. As a result, it
is not a coincidence that she is portrayed as evil. The classic Hollywood formula demonizes
highly sexualized women, and perpetuates the “virgin-whore complex” (Benshoff, and Griffin
281).
It is evident that throughout history, women have been discriminated against in film.
Regardless of how they act to the male, women still have unfair representation. Even when
women direct films, they are extremely underrepresented, and forced to obey the male ideal.
In reality, there has been minimal progress because the only successful movies directed by a
woman have strong representations of the female as they are presented in classical Hollywood.
Works Cited
Benshoff, Harry, and Sean Griffin. America on Film: Respresenting Race, Class, Gender, and
Sexuality at the Movies. 1st. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 2004. 207-289.
Print.
"Female directors remain a rarity in Hollywood." MSNBC.com 2009: n. pag. Web. 4 Nov 2009.
<http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20074475/ns/entertainment-movies//>.
Seltzer, Sarah. ""Twilight": Sexual Longing in an Abstinence-Only World." Huffington Post
(2008): n. pag. Web. 4 Nov 2009. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sarah-
seltzer/twilight-sexual-longing-i_b_117927.html>.
Ulaby, Neda. "Female Directors, Still A Scarce Movie Commodity." NPR:Find A Station 13 Jul.
2009: n. pag. Web. 4 Nov 2009. <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?
storyId=106402458>.