A personal observation on women's influences in films.
Consider the following shocking fact: although the Academy Awards (Oscar) have recognized the talents of numerous personalities in films for 80 years, it was not until 2010 that the very first female director, Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker), was awarded a Best Director Oscar. Female directors have been nominated before (e.g. Sofia Coppola, 'Lost In Translation'; Jane Campion, 'The Piano'), but for only 4 times over the last 80 years. For some culturally-related reasons, women tended to be under-represented when looking in this perspective. That may not be true: if you look at it in a mechanistic manner, it will always be ensured that there will be female winners in the award because the Best Actress in Leading Role / Supporting Role awards have always been in the Oscar. What is obvious, however, is that some of the most talented people ever emerged in films are women.
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| Kathryn Bigelow |
The content of a film can always reflect the contemporary culture at the particular time, thus watching a classic film will definitely give you insights into the history and culture of that particular timeline. The very first lady in film that has inspired us is obviously Scarlett O'Hara (portrayed by the legendary actress Vivien Leigh), in 'Gone With The Wind'. The iconic aspect of this character was her liberal spirit and her tenacity, which was clearly ahead of her time. Her influence has protruded from her elegant look to her spirit, and it should become no surprise that even the male counterparts will be inspired by her. An additional reason for her popularity is obviously the time in question: it was a time when the menacing Great Depression has just passed, and it was this restorative spirit of her that we needed to make ourselves back on track. Leigh's role has clearly stood the test of time, and become an eternal icon in film art.
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| Vivien Leigh |
The Great Depression has also led to the emergence of a sub-category of film - the Film Noir. While this type of film is often realistic and dark in tone, the importance of female characters in these films cannot be underestimated. The element of 'Femme Fatale' has very much become an essential ingredient in all these classics. The role of these ladies is not merely acting as visual sensations. The female characters are used for driving the plot. They unfold the secrets and provide clues to lead us through the maze. Of course, too often they also contribute to the male protagonist’s misfortune. In other cases the ladies can be manipulative. These observations have important cultural implications: in an age where males have a much higher social status, these vixens illuminate that the males can just be hopelessly vulnerable – bringing a balancing act to the 'battle of the sexes'.
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| The Big Combo |
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| Lauren Bacall |
It's evident that certain treatments of plots will be at a better hand if it is done by a female writer / director. By this assumption we are looking at the issue at a male’s perspective - which is not particularly biased given the development of film art in general. Indeed, female artists tend to have a very distinctive psyche when it comes to certain sort of topics, and often they are able to shed light on the blind spot where a male cannot perceive. A good example is that, if Jane Eyre is written by a male author instead of Charlotte Bronte, Ms. Eyre will clearly not become an icon. Thus, it may be a bit surprising at first sight that some of the finest films about women are the works of male directors. The most famous contender is obviously Ingmar Bergman, and his 2 master strokes are ‘Cries And Whispers’ and ‘Persona’. The wonderfulness of these 2 masterpieces warrants future accounts of their own, yet the extent of how Bergman understands about women was one of a kind. Bergman loved to talk to women, and he was voraciously interested about ladies. It was this passion that the lasses were happy to share their little secrets to him. Bergman has found his muse in the name of Liv Ullman. This perfect match has led to 10 pieces of great work (including the aforementioned two). The ultimate lesson from this, in particular for an auteur, is that there will be such a gift to have a muse – someone that will inspire you to the point that you are always happy to write stories for them.
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| Cries And Whispers |
The contemporary favor for girl power originated from a few mainstream films, namely the ‘Alien’ and ‘The Terminator’ series. These films very much embraced the rising awareness of ‘equal sex’ in the society. The protagonists, Ellen Ripley and Sarah Connor are courageous, intelligent, and independent. I believe Feminism is amongst one of the key sub-plots , other than human-technology interactions in the ‘Terminator’ series – that represents the evolution of Sarah Connor from a timid woman to a courageous warrior that fights for the future. An interesting observation in the first ‘Alien’ picture was that the director has made no attempts to allow the Ellen Ripley role as a superwoman at the very beginning of the film, she was not seen as a heroine when the film began. The 7 people on the spaceship ‘Nostromo’ was working as a team, and there were clear tensions between Ripley and her male colleagues concerning work practices. It was not until the Alien killed off almost everyone on ‘Nostromo’, at that point that Ripley had to rely on her own. The whole process of Alien once again represented our heroine’s transformation, for which her courage was evident in all the subsequent Alien films. Indeed, the directors behind these 2 famous series, Ridley Scott and James Cameron, both have a strong track record in the portrayal of strong female characters in their films. Scott has obviously made an ultimate Feminist statement, ‘Thelma and Louise’. Indeed, ‘Alien’ and ‘Terminator’ have often been cited as the prime examples of the depiction of Feminism in modern cinema.
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| Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) |
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| Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) |
In an interview, Jada Pinkett Smith has stated her philosophy of working in a masculine world – don’t be the ‘loudest’ one but have your ‘authentic confidence’. It is this very precious femininity that makes ladies so sexy. The talent that females have contributed to the modern cinema was clearly unquestionable.
By Ed Law
13/06/2010
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