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Underrepresentation Of Women In Film Industry

1699 Words7 Pages

The issue of the discrimination and the underrepresentation of women in the work place is an extremely prevalent and pressing matter in our society. Although women have been and still are being underrepresented and discriminated against in many work forces the film industry has been highlighted recently as one of the most discriminatory work places. Despite there being many aspects to the discrimination of women in the film industry (sexual harassment in the work place and wage gaps), I have chosen to focus on the topics which I believe do not receive enough attention. These topics being: the underrepresentation of women in the working force of the film industry and the stereotypes that are reinforced and created by films made in modern …show more content…

Film is a form of communication and has the power to shape a person’s perspective on certain events and topics. Creative works are (often) based on personal views and experiences, and can be interpreted differently by different people. Filmmakers should therefore avoid using stereotypes and biased opinions (or propaganda) in their films. Filmmakers should give the viewer an unbiased account in order to allow viewers to build their own opinions. The problem at hand is the underrepresentation and discrimination of women in the film industry. Throughout time women have been underrepresented in the film industry. Although actors and actresses are usually the first people that come to mind when talking about films, the film industry has a large number of people working behind the scenes (example: directors, cinematographers, editors, costume designers). But with all of these roles in this massive industry, the number of women making up the working force is miniscule. Women compromise just 17% of those jobs that are available in this …show more content…

Although there are ways to implement change in different areas of this industry, the most effective way to make a change is to encourage girls (on a primary and high school level) to become involved in the film industry and to provide them with the tools to do so. A way in which to bring about change is to provide young people with a platform to voice their opinions and learn about filmmaking. Young persons should also be given the opportunity to showcase their films and opinions in a safe environment. An ideal way to incorporate these ideas with one another is to host a film workshop. This workshop can be set up by large film corporations, a group of prominent filmmakers or by even a group of people who are passionate about women empowerment (especially women empowerment in the film industry). The only downfall to having a workshop would be location. This workshop has to be in a central location (to allow members from various communities to attend). Despite this many teenagers may not have the opportunity (money or transport) to visit this workshop. Thus it is necessary to have webpage or social media accounts that allow teenagers to access materials from the workshop

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