Women – Filmed, Rarely Filming

Women – Filmed, Rarely Filming

Behind the camera, the Hollywood of today is predominantly male, despite a growing number of women filmmakers in all aspects of the industry. Many capable women filmmakers are marginalized and often confined to making independent films and working in television and streaming media. This sexist bias limits creativity, and the variety of stories that could come out of Hollywood, which in turns robs viewers of varied and fresh storytelling on film.

By exploring the role of women in the Hollywood film industry from its infancy to the present, and highlighting the work of three contemporary directors—Kathryn Bigelow, Sofia Coppola, and Ava DuVernay—this study examines the nature and causes of sex discrimination in Hollywood. It explains why women filmmakers, in spite of their remarkable talent and contributions, do not have as strong a presence today as they did in the industry’s infancy, and how feminist efforts are working to address thisimbalance and achieve gender parity.