Louise

Dunk Media Roles Essay BA1a

How does the absence of female directors influence the portrayal of female
perspectives in cinema?
The film industry has often been viewed as having a glass ceiling that is often difficult for
women to break through. This is particularly evident considering that despite 34% of
directing students in the UK being femalei, women only made up 14% of directors for British
films between 2009-13.ii This leads to the perception that opportunities to progress in the film
industry are far more limited for women in comparison to men. When I interviewed Jan
Dunniii she stated that this is because the film industry is clearly overlooking women. This
begs the question: if there is a lack of women behind the camera how does this affect the
content produced?
A problem many female directors face is the idea that they will only make certain types
of films. Many producers and financiers believe that female directors are only capable of
telling female lead stories that will not sell as well as a male lead story. Professor Martha
Lauzen argues that when the majority of people in power are male, who are they going to
relate to most on screen, and who do they think other people are going to relate to? Males.iv
These same producers therefore believe that female directors are incapable of telling these
stories, which leads to the idea that women can only make films for women. When I
interviewed Lesley Manningv she stated that producers and financiers are happier if women
direct certain subjects womens subjects i.e. Suffragette. This makes opportunities for
female directors very limited at times because the general consensus is that mens stories are
preferred by audiences; however, the reality is that mens stories are usually the only option
for audiences.
Despite there being content that is generally far more in need of a female perspective,
some stories are not always told this way. Jan Dunn discussed her ambition to direct the BBC
adaptation of Vera Britains The White Queen; a story regarded as feminist literature.
These feminist overtones which can easily be picked up and presented by a female director
however she stated that she couldnt even get a meeting. This eventually resulted in the
role going to a male director followed by criticism of feminism being stripped back and the
love story being amplified.
Professor Martha Lauzens research has found that in films with at least one woman
director and/or writer, females comprised 39% of protagonists whereas in films with
exclusively male directors and writers, females accounted for 4% of protagonistsvi. The
correlation between female directors and the amount of female protagonists within their films
demonstrates how audiences are presented with a lack of diversity on screen when there is a
lack of diversity behind the camera. This demonstrates that with more female directors a
wider range of films can be produced and audiences will have more options when they go to
the cinema. It also means that there will be a different perspective for stories that are often
considered to be masculine; for example, action films. Producers and financiers often believe
that action films are not suitable for female directors. Jan Dunn told me that she has always
wanted to direct action but the general response she was given when she applied for jobs was
because youre a girl you cant do that. On the contrary, the success of Kathryn Bigelow
would suggest that a girl can definitely do that.
Bigelow was the first woman to win an Oscar for directing in 2010 for The Hurt
Lockervii, a film based around the Iraq War. Therefore, the idea that a woman is incapable of
directing action seems superfluous. The film is very action centric however I believe that

Louise Dunk Media Roles Essay BA1a

Bigelow also deals with a lot of the psychological impacts of war that would perhaps have
been overlooked by a male director on the basis that stereotypically a male audience would
rather see action than emotion. The film opens with the quote: The rush of battle is often a
potent and lethal addiction, for war is a drug. Bigelow explores this idea throughout the film
and weaves it around the action. She does so by providing a strong contrast between
adrenaline fuelled action and mundane daily life which implies that the protagonist needs war
because everyday life is dull and dissatisfying.
In comparison to war films directed by men it is arguable that the stance Bigelow took
with her storytelling aligns with the social perception that women are more emotionally
driven by men which creates a unique perspective for a frequently told story of war. While
Bigelow tells both the emotional and action sides of the story in The Hurt Locker, Clint
Eastwoods American Sniper is speculated far more for its action. Both films cover the
Iraq war and the life of a soldier in this position but Bigelow demonstrates empathy with
assumed enemies through scenes in which the soldiers interact with locals, whereas
Eastwoods film has been criticised for a lack of empathy as the films not interested in the
morality of the Iraq War itself, just Kyles actions within it.viii Bigelow is one of the few
examples for female directors that have managed to find success in feature films and
demonstrates how the female perspective is necessary to provide a variation in stories in
cinema.
In conclusion, I believe that from my research and discussions with women within the
industry it is evident that female representation behind the camera is still lacking as the
playing field is unevenix. This lack of representation has a correlation with the types of films
that are available to audiences as we face a one sided perspective on many subjects. From the
success of Kathryn Bigelow along with many other film makers it is evident that women have
the ability to cover the same content as men however the content they are allowed to produce
is often dictated by what producers and financiers believe women should portray. However,
with changing attitudes towards female film makers and with a rise in female directors,
audiences should be able to see a rise in female lead films and different takes on films
deemed to be more masculine in nature.

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/jan/31/female-film-makers

ii

https://stephenfollows.com/category/women-in-film/
Jan Dunn
iv
[See i]
v
Lesley Manning
vi
http://www.indiewire.com/article/sorry-ladies-study-on-women-in-film-and-television-confirms-the-worst-
20150210
vii
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/mar/08/oscars-2010-kathryn-bigelow-women-in-film
viii
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/film/american-sniper/review/
ix
Jan Dunn
iii

Louise Dunk Media Roles Essay BA1a

Bibliography
1. Cochrane, Kira. (2010). Why are there so few female film-makers?.Available:
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2. Follows, Stephen. (2015). UK films with public funding hire more

women. Available: https://stephenfollows.com/category/women-in-film/. Last

accessed 3rd November 2015.

3. Jan Dunn interview

5. Lesley Manning interview

6. Cipriani, Casey. (2015). Sorry, Ladies: Study on Women in Film and Television
Confirms the Worst. Available: http://www.indiewire.com/article/sorry-ladiesstudy-on-women-in-film-and-television-confirms-the-worst-20150210. Last
accessed 3rd November 2015.

7. Bradshaw, Peter. (2010). Oscars 2010: Is Kathryn Bigelow's victory a win for
women?. Available: http://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/mar/08/oscars2010-kathryn-bigelow-women-in-film. Last accessed 4th November 2015.

8. Collin, Robbie. (2015). American Sniper: 'Clint hits the target'.Available:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/film/american-sniper/review/. Last accessed 8th

November 2015.