500 Words Rationale

Draft Title:

In my SSRP I will explore the success of film produced and directed by women and why their are a lack of women behind the camera in Hollywood as certain films have been incredibly successful with female roles. A suitable title for my project could be "Where are the women in Hollywood?" This is because I will be discussing the lack of female roles in the film industry and how female producers can attract a wider and more gender equal audiences. 

Primary Research

Focus film:

Item 1: Under The Skin starring Scarlett Johansson is a drama/horror film with a twist in gender roles. Scarlett Johansson's character Laura is a mysterious woman who seduces lonely men in the evening hours in Scotland. Laura tries to lure unsuspecting men into her van. This film is unique in its way of gender roles. This is because stereotypically you would usually have a male character luring women into their van, rather than a woman character being in a dominant position. Under The Skin relates to my research topic as it explores the way in which female roles are contrasted to your 'damsel in distress' characters in your typical romance and comedy's. I will use certain scenes from this film, for example: when Laura tries to lure men into her van as this is usually the complete opposite way around in your typical film. The male roles are mostly given the fiercer roles to enhance their gender and identity. 

Other Films:

Item 2: Jezebel starring Bette Davis was a black and white film which changed and inspired gender roles in film in the early 1900's. The way in which Bette Davis's character was constructed broke rules of censorship shocking most audiences at the time. This is because Bette Davis's character Julie Marsden had characteristics of a spoiled, strong-willed women engaged to a banker. This film will allow me to study why it changed gender roles in the early 1900's.



Item 3: The Violaters is a film about two dysfunctional girls (Lauren McQueen, Brogan Ellis) from radically different backgrounds set off on a collision course that will leave one of them shattered, the other re-born. This film directed by a female, Helen Walsh is ideal for me to study as I can begin to understand different female directors styles and whether or not I can contrast them with male directed films.


Item 4: Films such as Twilight and 50 Shades of Grey are both produced and directed by females. This can be reflected through demographics in cinema admissions. These types of films, e.g.- romance and drama mostly attract women. This indicates that films in hollywood which are produced and directed by women are more likely to create a genre which is either for females or females and males.

Twilight is a great example of a film which is both directed and produced by a woman, however, generates great cinema admission response from both genders, female and male. This is because the narrative explores different genres in one. For example: you get your romantic love scenes between Edward and Bella especially in Breaking Dawn Part 1, however, you get your action packed scenes including female and male roles. An example of this would be the scenes of fights between the wear-wolfs and vampires. So, to conclude the message being delivered would be that films also produced and directed by women could be more successful in targeting an equal gendered audience, rather leaning more towards males or females.



Secondary Research

Books

Item 5: Sight & Sound Magazine
Item 6: Women's Cinema
Item 7: Hollywood Romantic Comedy of the 1980s and 1990s

Item 8: Film Marketing

(print outs which are highlighted)

Internet

Item 9: Geena Davis stands up to tackle gender roles in films today https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAJvfsOCkG0

Item 10:  This source of research proves to show that female directors and producers are more likely to cast female roles, however this source also shows how this doesn't result in a negative as it broadens audiences even more than before. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/apr/21/hollywood-paramount-20th-century-fox-no-female-directors

Item 11: This source shows evidence of successful films produced and directed by females in the film industry http://www.thewrap.com/15-highest-grossing-movies-directed-by-women/7/

Women's Cinema- Ida Lupino

(Women's Cinema- Genre & Gender in Hollywood Cinema)

Lupino had a successful career in Hollywood B movies, before setting up as an independent to produce, write and direct low budget films with controversial themes, including rape, disability and unmarried motherhood. 

Between 1949 and 1953 she made 6 films, with a further and final production in 1966. 

In 1999, women directed only 4% of the top grossing 100 Hollywood films. The numbers of female producers, writers and editors are better but still very low! 

Summary of research so far

My Small Scale Research Project focuses on gender roles and stereotypes in films including characters and roles in the production of film. I can contrast animation films such as Disney princesses to more recent animation Brave, representing women in a stronger light rather than a 'damsel in distress'. Also to support my research in female directors, I have conducted research about Geena Davis and her strong campaigns about bringing more women into the film industry as she believes they have a lot to offer! For example: highest grossing films such as Twilight, grossing over $600,000,000 produced by a female is a great example and piece of evidence of what female can bring to film today. 

Focus Films

Some films that are relevant to gender roles in films and in the production of films:

Under the Skin, Jezebel, The Violaters

Animation films such as:

Shrek, Frozen, Shark Tale have all be produced or co-produced by females. This shows that animation films are usually produced for a wider demographic. 

Films such as Twilight and 50 Shades of Grey are both produced and directed by females. This can be reflected through demographics in cinema admissions. These types of films, eg- romance and comedy mostly attract women.

In all the films I have mentioned all have an equal gender amount of roles in the characters, however are represented in different ways. In female produced films you usually have a more equal outlook between males and female or go against female stereotyping and make the female characters strong and independent, for example: Brave.

However, you can contrast most recent films such as Brave with Disney animation films such as: Snow White or Cinderella as these focus more towards 'damsel in distress' type character, representing women in a weak way.