Lyndsay Duthie

Harvey Weinstein, the Hollywood producer with 300 Oscar nominations, has
fallen. After [The New York Times
revealed](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/05/us/harvey-weinstein-harassment-allegations.html){target="_blank"}
decades of accusations of sexual harassment involving a string of
actresses, including high profile names such as Ashley Judd, Gwyneth
Paltrow, Angelina Jolie and Cara Delevingne, Weinstein was sacked from
his own company. He has ["unequivocally
denied"](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41570216){target="_blank"}
any allegations of non-consexual sex and was last seen heading off on a
plane to check into rehab. For a long time though, it appears, this
issue was an open secret, with digs [even being
made](https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/seth-macfarlane-says-harvey-weinstein-oscars-joke-came-from-a-place-of-loathing-and-anger-a3656671.html){target="_blank"} during
the 2013 Oscar nominations.

Weinstein is not the first to be accused of abusing his power on the
infamous "casting couch" -- a term well talked about in the circles of
film and television. Marilyn Monroe once described Hollywood as [an
overcrowded
brothel](http://news.sky.com/story/an-overcrowded-brothel-hollywoods-infamous-casting-couch-11074983){target="_blank"},
saying she spent the first half of her career mainly on her knees.

But why has this culture been allowed to continue for decades and
decades? It is a well recorded fact that the movie business is a male
dominated one -- an exclusive club at that. More women are graduating
from the world's top film and television schools and, [with a 50/50
male/female
split](http://www.mtv.com/news/2159771/female-directors-college/){target="_blank"}
in most cases, often outperforming, achieving higher grades, than their
male counterparts, so why are they not in positions of power equal to
men? To date, there has only been one female Oscar winning director,
Kathryn Bigelow (2009) since the Academy Awards began in 1929. And
almost all of the movie moguls, who wield star-making powers, are male.

The British Film Institute (BFI) [came right out and said
it](http://home.bt.com/news/world-news/film-industry-urgently-needs-women-represented-on-every-level-says-bfi-11364219888894):

> We don't believe this situation \[with Harvey Weinstein\] would have
> taken so long to surface had there been greater parity of women in the
> industry.

The BFI said that advocating for better inclusion and representation is
central to its strategic priorities and that it had introduced a number
of interventions to drive change.

<figure class="align-center">
<div class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 482px">
<a
href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/190165/original/file-20171013-11718-127chm8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip"><img
src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/190165/original/file-20171013-11718-127chm8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip"
loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="472" height="305"
alt="Angelina Jolie: actress and film director who also made allegations against Harvey Weinstein." /></a>
<p>Angelina Jolie: actress and film director who also made allegations
against Harvey Weinstein. <a
href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/angelina-jolie-on-autograph-session-after-726980872?src=9jiTkC4FrQSpnLo3hznpwQ-1-3"
target="_blank">Shutterstock</a></p>
</div>
</figure>

A study of companies in the UK, US, and India [has
shown](http://www.grantthornton.global/en/insights/articles/diverse-boards-in-india-uk-and-us-outperform-male-only-peers-by-us%24655bn/)
they perform better financially when they have at least one female
executive on the board.

Importantly, having women in the boardroom also [helps foster a
culture](https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/292514)that is respectful
to females and aids decisions that will benefit other women. For one,
they can resist a misogynistic culture by calling out male colleagues
when they make inappropriate comments about women.

Men are currently dominating decision-making roles, ultimately
influencing the type of films that are greenlit, who stars in them and
who is behind the camera. Jobs are not advertised in a traditional way,
meaning that employment practices rely on word of mouth and existing,
primarily male, networks.

<figure class="align-left">
<div class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 247px">
<a
href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/190164/original/file-20171013-11684-1xvum8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip"><img
src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/190164/original/file-20171013-11684-1xvum8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip"
loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="237" height="302"
alt="Amy Pascal: film producer and former head of Sony Pictures Entertainment." /></a>
<p>Amy Pascal: film producer and former head of Sony Pictures
Entertainment. <a
href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/los-angeles-mar-28-amy-pascal-615714707?src=3XGWTXFdvoTLx6NtY51vXA-1-3"
target="_blank">Shutterstock</a></p>
</div>
</figure>

Directors UK's 2016 report, [Cut Out of the
Picture](https://www.directors.uk.com/news/cut-out-of-the-picture){target="_blank"}
examined a total of 2,591 films released between 2005 and 2014 and found
that "in that ten-year period studied, just 13.6% of working film
directors were women". A pattern that is replicated in the US. The
report's authors also stated there had "not been any meaningful
improvement in the representation of female directors for decades".

When you look at on-screen roles, the picture is even more dismal.
[Who's calling the
Shots](https://www.directors.uk.com/news/women-directors-who-s-calling-the-shots-women-directors-in-british-television-production){target="_blank"}
examined the list of Oscar role nominations from the past 88 years and
found the winning roles for genders to be quite different: while men win
for roles portraying characters such as lawyers or criminals, women get
them for playing wives, mothers and prostitutes. The report, published
in 2014, emphasised how little has changed for on-screen roles for women
since 1946. A BFI/Nesta Report (2017) showed that 1917 was, in fact,
when [women were at their
peak](http://www.nesta.org.uk/blog/women-film-what-does-data-say){target="_blank"}
of representation in British Film.

Although barriers would seem to have broken down to open up access for
women to train and prepare for a career in the screen industries, they
do not enjoy the same kind of career paths as their male counterparts.
Why, if more females have the relevant skills and training than ever
before, are they still a minority in key roles in the film and
television industries? Decision making roles are highly significant, as
they not only dictate the type of stories that are made but also the way
they are told. There has been some blockbuster success. Patti Jenkin's
Wonder Women (2017) and Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker (2008), for
example, prove that women can do it, but more trailblazers are needed.

With fewer female heads the cycle is allowed to continue within the film
and television industry and, as a result, both on and off screen roles
for women remain the same, as well as the working culture behind the
scenes.

Kate Kinninmont MBE, CEO of Women in Film and Television (WFTV),
[said](http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/kate-kinninmont-mbe/harvey-weinstein-sexual-abuse_b_18234338.html){target="_blank"}:

> In the largely freelance world of film, it is difficult for junior
> people to speak up. And it is always the young and vulnerable who are
> targeted: sexual predators are deluded, not stupid. Weinstein is the
> tip of the iceberg. The problem will persist until women have achieved
> a greater degree of equality across the whole industry. We're making
> progress. But we're not there yet.

It is encouraging to hear the BFI's new commitment to [50/50 gender
balance for their film
fund](https://www.screendaily.com/news/bfi-makes-key-changes-to-film-fund-exclusive/5123037.article){target="_blank"},
but that is a mere drop in the ocean to the power of the Hollywood movie
business. They must follow suit if they are serious about culture
change. Every effort has to be made to get women in key positions of
power, the talent is out there.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Lyndsay Duthie -- TV Executive Producer, Lecturer & Author. ** Lyndsay
Duthie is an executive producer with television credits for BBC, ITV,
Channel 4, Discovery Network and SKY. Her career began at ITV on talk
shows where she spent 10 years originating and producing hit series and
documentaries, becoming one of the country's youngest showrunners aged
23. Lyndsay has filmed a diverse range of documentary output ranging
from serial killers on Death Row to the UK's first 12-year-old dad. From
ITV Lyndsay moved to Endemol, before founding her own company Ice Blue
Media. She has served on the Board of Directors for Women in Film & TV
(WFTV) and judged at the Royal Television Society Awards and
International Emmys. In 2013 Lyndsay took up post as Head of the Film
and Television programme and Principal Lecturer for University of
Hertfordshire. Lyndsay is also a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
and winner of the Vice-Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Education
for 3 years running (2013-2016). Lyndsay is Co-author of *The TV Studio
Production Handbook* published by I.B Tauris (2016) and a TV Critic for
publications; The Independent, BBC News and The Conversation. Lyndsay
also co-founded (2017) the Research Institute for Gender in Media (RIGM)
in association with Women in Film and TV (WFTV).

 


Harvey Weinstein, the Hollywood producer with 300 Oscar nominations, has fallen. After The New York Times revealed decades of accusations of sexual harassment involving a string of actresses, including high profile names such as Ashley Judd, Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie and Cara Delevingne, Weinstein was sacked from his own company.

Postagens de Rogue Scholar

MORE FEMALE EXECUTIVES WOULD STEM THE SEXIST ROT IN HOLLYWOOD