*Groan* Not another one...

That exactly what I was going to say. If you quit letting your daughters by Christina Aguilera albums, stop letting them fall in love with *beep* actors who are hot(Bloom) and stop letting them think Titanic is the end all be all, then movies will get better.






Stella D'Oro breakfast treats. Snack Time anytime.

kjps said:

"Interestingly enough, if you look at the history of filmmaking, it is clear that women seem to have lost ground when it comes to the silver screen. We no longer have actresses like Joan Crawford, Betty Davis, Agnes Moorehead, Mae West, Claudette Colbert, or Katherine Hepburn. There is almost no concept any longer of a female actress with a career that lasts longer than ten years or so, the swan song of their careers generally arriving at some point around the age of thirty. For whatever reason, audiences no longer respond to an older woman in a strong role, rather they prefer young women clinging to the arms of the men they accompany.

Don't make the mistake of blaming Hollywood, though; rather blame us, the public. We vote with our wallets, if we can't show support for strong female characters, then why should the production companies spit out the movies anyways?"


I'm not sure that women have "lost ground". In fact, if you look at films representing heroines, the reverse would likely be more true over history, not to mention monetary gains for both the actors and the movies. Strong or weak women or men, who cares? The film history demonstrates what entertains. kjps says "blame us"; I agree that film trails society rather than leads it (to a large extent, anyway).

"ten years or so"; I'm not sure where kjps gets that idea, but if that's an official average, than maybe these days, they retire earlier?

I said this a while ago in a different thread (in fact more than one other thread I think): My favorite biology professor noted that "Nowhere in nature is there an example of the male and female mammals being equal; sometimes in family roles, yes, sometimes in foraging or hunting yes, but never in all things." Sexism becomes an unintentional red herring.

Well said, kjps.

The truth is that everybody gets stereotyped in movies. Black characters are often portrayed as jive talking athletes, drug dealers, or rappers. Asians tend to be martial arts experts or have mystical powers. White women, especially if they are older, are usually rich and neurotic. In families, the father is portrayed as a bumbling idiot, the mother as a put-upon know-it-all, and the children are much smarter than they are. It would be nice to see movies that portray people differently than these stereotypes but I guess they don't sell at the box office.

Several Hollywood studio heads have recently held conferences with leaders of the National Organization of Women (NOW) in regard to the issue of sexism in children's entertainment venues. As a result, several studio heads have made the decision to revamp the style that predominates children's films, a style that is male-centric and outdated.

At the forefront of this new wave is Walt Disney pictures. Head of the corporation Michael Eisner has gone on record as saying that he will bring the company to a new understanding of its female characters, and reinterpretations of its existing male characters. Already the four main characters of the Narnia stories have been modified from being comprised of two girls and two boys to being entirely female. In addition to this, Eisner noted, all evil characters will be masculine from now on, while all good characters will be decidedly female. The company is also considering revamping classics such as "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves" and "Sleeping Beauty" to reflect its new attitude towards feminism. In accordance with the changes to come, titles for the revamped projects will be "Snow White and Her Helpful But Unnecessary Friends" and "Attractive Resting Woman Who is Fully Capable of Solving Her Problems Without the Help of a Man."

Aside from Disney, Warner Brothers has also jumped on the women's empowerment train, as a press release sent out yesterday details plans to recut the next film in the lucrative "Harry Potter" franchise and attach the new title: "Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley, and a Host of Other Strong Female Characters Prove Their Worth by Defeating Evil Without the Help of Men.

A spokesperson for N.O.W. has praised the actions taken by these and other film companies as "the final move towards complete equality in films from the standpoint of gender relations."

AP



They`re not changing the Narnia kids into all girls. And I`m pretty sure they`re not changing those other stuff too.

Well,I`m a big fan of movies and hope to make some friends here.

I agree with Freez.