The gender gap. A great enemy of women (and men.) This historic enemy lurks around the corner and throughout history, it has taken possession of the director’s chair in the film industry. With only 7% of female directors accounting for the 200 plus films made in 2016, a decrease from 2015’s 9%, these shocking numbers prove that the inequalities and complex politics of the gender gap is a real problem that needs to be tackled. To make matters worse, there has only been one women to win an oscar for the best director, Kathryn Bigelow in 2010 for ‘The Hurt Locker.’ Even though Hollywood prides itself on being progressive, these striking figures reflect the lack of opportunities for women and the great imbalance within the film industry.
Are women just cursed with the XX chromosomes – the catalyst of the gender inequality? Maybe, because Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters, like ANY SUPERHERO film, are constantly being handed to male directors on a silver spoon. Even if they fail, they are given yet another chance to ‘redeem’ themselves with a seemingly pointless action film that just like the last action film. To round it up, an expensive project that fails for a man is overlooked but it could possibly mean the downfall of a director’s career if they just happen to be female. Well, these complex injustices aren’t stopping the women who are still creating exciting and wonderful films each chance they get. They are defeating the gender gap one film at a time and boy, it is marvellous.
Patty Jenkins leads the credits as the director for the summer blockbuster Wonder Woman, which is the most expensive film ever directed by a woman with a budget of $149 million, exceeding Bigelow’s $100 million budget for ‘K-19: The Widowmaker.’ This is a historic landmark for women in film, because it just goes to show that women are ready to challenge the patriarchy and successfully succeed. Wonder Women is a refreshing breath of fresh air that represents a celebration of feminism – it’s a female-led superhero film directed by a female, made for both women and men. Although, it isn’t the first female-led superhero film..let’s rewind back to 2004’s tragedy, Catwoman, an atrocious and lousy mockery of films in general but mostly of female heros. Catwoman’s hypersexualisation (that costume, THAT WALK!) is a no match for the Wonder Woman’s poise. There’s a certain elegance to the way she carries herself and her empathic character, not only that but “she just happens to be to be a demigoddess who can beat the shit out of you” as described by star Gal Gadot herself.
Wonder Woman wouldn’t be the first superhero blockbuster Jenkins is attached to, she had the opportunity to direct 2013’s ‘Thor: The Dark World’ however left the project. She stated that this project would have been “a big disservice to women” knowing that “ If they do it with a man, it will just be yet another mistake that the studio made. But with me, it’s going to look like I dropped the ball, and it’s going to send a very bad message” showing the pressure women have to face when it comes to directing a film, as one small mistake could make or break their career and status. This however, didn’t stop her from perfectly executing the feminist anthem, which has a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, just 2% behind Nolan’s ‘The Dark Night’ who holds the best rating of any DC film which is a huge accomplishment on its own. The film made $38.7 million on its opening day – the biggest single day gross from a female directed film, which had been held by Catherine Hardwick’s 2008 ‘Twilight’ for making $35.9 million on its opening day. On its opening weekend, the film earned a total of $103.3 million, becoming the biggest domestic opening of all-time for a female director which surpasses the previous holder, Sam Taylor-Johnson’s‘ ‘Fifty Shades of Grey.’ With the success of Wonder Woman, Jenkins and the Amazonian warrior Gadot have already signed on to make a sequel, which will most certainly live up to its expectations. It’s clear that Patty Jenkins can handle the pressure.
Ladies, gentlemen, rejoice! Female directors like Jenkins and everyone’s favourite indie female director, Sofia Coppola, are going to smash the patriarchy and lead women, whether they be producers, writers or cinematographers, to into victory against that gender inequalities of Hollywood’s film industry.
