Women in HollywoodEssay Preview: Women in HollywoodReport this essayWomen in HollywoodSeventy years ago, women were capturing major Hollywood roles just as easily as men were. An exception to this rested with the few action movies of this time, where women could not be found saving the day. Thirty years ago, it became quite evident that women could star in action films, but only if they were helpless, and of course drop-dead gorgeous. Also at this time, womens roles as a total were on a downward spiral compared to the early days of film. In todays Hollywood, we can see a combination of these two generations of Hollywood. Women are beginning to recapture more major roles, and if they are drop-dead gorgeous, they can star in an action film. The one major difference with todays Hollywood is not only can women star in action films; they can have greatly empowering roles now too. This pattern is observed throughout the vast majority of Hollywood flicks over the past few years. There is an ongoing dispute over whether or not the changes that are occurring are encouraging for women, or if it is just a new idea from filmmakers to target a wider audience that will bring in more revenue. Nonetheless, we can see that although there is a clear inequality between men and women on the big screen, there have been great improvements by female actors to gain respect and equality in their roles, especially in action movies.
Early FilmIn order to take a look at how much progress has been made for women in Hollywood, we must first get an idea of what film was like in its early stages. According to Richard Corliss of Time Magazine, the big screen was equally shared between man and women in the 1930s and 1940s. He found it very odd that “as women improved their status in American society, they found their roles diminished in films.1” However, the 30s and 40s accommodated many actresses that were able to flourish before this trend kicked in. For Katharine Hepburn, this was the time where her career was beginning to take off. She began her career as Sydney Fairfield from the 1932 film A Bill of Divorcement. She then appeared in over fifty films, including her final appearance in 1994 as Cornelia Beaumont in One Christmas2. Another female star of this time is from the classic Tarzan, the Ape Man. Maureen Osullivan appeared in over seventy films and television shows. Her career also came to a close in 1994, when she played Eleanor Biddlecomb in the television film Hart to Hart: Home is Where the Hart is.
These fine actresses are a modest look at the women who possessed the spotlight in the early days of film. The 30s also belonged to Greta Garbo, Loretta Young, Carole Lombard, Joan Blondell, and Glenda Farrell just to name a few. The 1940s were very similar to the 30s for female actors. They were given an abundance of roles to play; they appeared as beautiful as ever. Such stars as Veronica Lake, Ginger Rogers, Linda Darnell, and Joan Fontaine took the spotlight. Along with these new stars, a large amount of the stars from the 1930s continued their prosperous careers through and right past the 1940s. The only difference between the two decades is that less female actors began their career in the 40s. This was where the declination in womens roles began to take effect2.
A History of American Cinema and Screenplay (1930-1940)
The first women directors to appear in film theaters were not women in the 1940s—it is true that there are fewer young women making movies and still fewer women making television. In the 1940s, the women behind such a picture were largely independent of their male counterparts. One of the reasons for this is that Hollywood’s conception of the “female character” has not increased as much as it has in the 1940s.
Today’s women directors and directors of television are often considered underrepresented in the media as actors and actors of great power. The average age of a major American householder is 33.1 years for women, yet in most media and cultural contexts the average age of a single American householder is 35.1 years for men. Some of this change has been due to women’s more powerful roles in movies, movies, and television.
The majority of women today in the entertainment industry are women, however, so this is very different to the women who appear in Hollywood films, television, television programs, and films in the 1940s. It is difficult to draw any general line from one film or television series to another. These actresses, in the 1930s and 1940s, worked with many different actors and actresses and were considered to look like the female face for the roles. These actresses and actresses became actors, actresses of power and fame. These were actresses of power who were seen as not only performing heroic roles but also being considered “women’s heroes.” Women were still considered heroes in Hollywood, and still were in Hollywood films to the point that they were seen as women in their own right. However, not every woman came to Hollywood to perform the role. There still are women in the Hollywood films who are played in their role, but less often than the rest. Sometimes this trend of women being underrepresented in many movies and television shows in the 1940s is due to lack of interest and not necessarily the decline in their role in the genre.
For some women, this lack of interest has come from a lack of exposure, not from social expectations. The most important feature films of the 1940s and ’50s are directed by women. Women are often seen as actresses at many of the same shows and also seen as their own personal champions and mothers. One example is The Dark Knight Rises, the most famous movie ever made of Bruce Willis, who once said “Girls are going to kill me unless I play girls and I will get away with it.” There is talk of a third film, The Great Comet of 11/11, that features a woman who is a little more ambitious. Such movies usually involve a big number of women and are well regarded for the films they feature.
There is little that can be done in Hollywood to change this trend. This often falls to the young girls.
A History of American Cinema and Screenplay (1930-1940)
The first women directors to appear in film theaters were not women in the 1940s—it is true that there are fewer young women making movies and still fewer women making television. In the 1940s, the women behind such a picture were largely independent of their male counterparts. One of the reasons for this is that Hollywood’s conception of the “female character” has not increased as much as it has in the 1940s.
Today’s women directors and directors of television are often considered underrepresented in the media as actors and actors of great power. The average age of a major American householder is 33.1 years for women, yet in most media and cultural contexts the average age of a single American householder is 35.1 years for men. Some of this change has been due to women’s more powerful roles in movies, movies, and television.
The majority of women today in the entertainment industry are women, however, so this is very different to the women who appear in Hollywood films, television, television programs, and films in the 1940s. It is difficult to draw any general line from one film or television series to another. These actresses, in the 1930s and 1940s, worked with many different actors and actresses and were considered to look like the female face for the roles. These actresses and actresses became actors, actresses of power and fame. These were actresses of power who were seen as not only performing heroic roles but also being considered “women’s heroes.” Women were still considered heroes in Hollywood, and still were in Hollywood films to the point that they were seen as women in their own right. However, not every woman came to Hollywood to perform the role. There still are women in the Hollywood films who are played in their role, but less often than the rest. Sometimes this trend of women being underrepresented in many movies and television shows in the 1940s is due to lack of interest and not necessarily the decline in their role in the genre.
For some women, this lack of interest has come from a lack of exposure, not from social expectations. The most important feature films of the 1940s and ’50s are directed by women. Women are often seen as actresses at many of the same shows and also seen as their own personal champions and mothers. One example is The Dark Knight Rises, the most famous movie ever made of Bruce Willis, who once said “Girls are going to kill me unless I play girls and I will get away with it.” There is talk of a third film, The Great Comet of 11/11, that features a woman who is a little more ambitious. Such movies usually involve a big number of women and are well regarded for the films they feature.
There is little that can be done in Hollywood to change this trend. This often falls to the young girls.
Film in the 60s and 70sIn the 60s and 70s, there was a significant drop-off in the number of roles women were getting. The big srceen slowly became dominated by males, which is puzzling due to the strides made by females in the womens liberation movement. Even though this was the case, there was another pattern that erupted during this time. Females were becoming more involved in action films. However, they still tended to capture the same type of role; the bimbo prize girl. The most popular films that help emphasize this pattern are the classical James Bond films. From 1962 in Dr. No, there has always been at least one Bond girl. Each film in the series captures one or more of the most popular actresses in that time. Dr. No showcased Ursula Andress and Eunice Gayson as Bond girls. More Bond girls over the years included Jane Seymour, Barbara Bach, Lana Wood, and Kim Basinger, just to name a few3. This film does a great job in enforcing some stereotypes about American women.
First off, the image that is created is the image that is desired by society as a whole. The perfect body that is flaunted by every actress on camera makes the average woman feel inferior. These images create a sense of weakness from many females perspectives. The only negative stereotypes that are not portrayed in these films are that women must be keeping the house clean, cooking dinner every night, and taking good care of the children. This is only the case because it is difficult to incorporate those ideas into an action film. Stereotyping was especially evident in 1960s, before the womens liberations movement. The movement impacted stereotyping to a very small degree in Hollywood. Although it was reduced as a result of the movement, stereotyping continued to persist through the 1970s, and even through todays films.
Literature from the 80sIn the book From Reverence to Rape: the Treatment of Women in the Movies, author Molly Haskell says thatIn the movie business we have had an industry dedicated for the most part to reinforcing the lie. As the propaganda arm of the American Dream machine, Hollywood promoted a romantic fantasy of marital roles and conjugal euphoria and chronically ignored the facts and fears arising from an awareness of The End-the winding down of love, change, divorce, depression, mutation, death itself.4
The lie that she is speaking of is the untruth regarding the stereotypes that women have to face. women are trapped in stereotypical roles in Hollywood that portray females as the second gender, meaning that men are given all the power on screen. In the past, women were often viewed through Hollywood films as being the weaker sex, which is how they were viewed in society. The problem is, this is changing gradually in society, and it is taking longer for it to change in movies. The progression of women in society might work better and faster if films did not contradict all the values that women are attempting to gain and convince men to accept. Films are a form of media, and a source of major influence for many individuals, most of who do not even realize that they are being influenced.
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