​THE CHANGING IMAGE

OF WOMEN IN FILM 

 

After 86 years (1925 to 2019) of the American Academy of Motion Pictures handing out Oscars for Best Actor, the Oscar went to actors portraying heroes in the men’s category over 80 times; cowboy heroes, war heroes, detective heroes, priests, men of fame, men with causes, men of wealth, men of power; even Loki and the Joker are anti-heroes.

​

Male heroes have changed little since the beginning of cinema. Change a hat from buccaneer to western, western to debonair;  debonair to no hat. Change the hair to long, short, ruffled...with or without beard.

 

This romantic savior of his world is good-looking and loves children. He is almost picture-perfect with a witty sense of humor as he reigns supreme in movie after movie.

 

Most importantly, he may bare his chest, but he doesn’t have to expose his beautiful body to be given an Oscar Nomination. Most of the time, he has all his clothes on.

 

He commands respect. 

​

The image of women in film has been a 'bumpy' changing road. In the early days of Hollywood, our heroine, like the image of the male savior of his world, stood shoulder to shoulder with her male counterparts. Actresses received Academy Nominations and Wins for playing loving mothers, witty, funny romantic leads, and female hero saviors of their world. Women's issues--women's roles were aplenty.

 

And then things changed.

​

For an actress to be nominated for Best Actress in a role without some nudity or hot and heavy sex scenes became harder and harder to achieve. For an old-fashioned romantic movie to receive more than two and a half stars from critics or be in contention for Best Picture became light-years away from the beginnings of Hollywood. Not that movies with sexual themes weren't out there--they were. But they were kinder to women, less demeaning, less exploitative.

 

Over time, stories of loving mothers and stories centered on a woman's world drifted into the shadows; many times, actresses receiving Academy Nominations for Best Actress starred in films slanted in a more male direction.

 

Today, many women's roles are actually men's roles given to women. Actresses now star in films where they outkill, outfight, and outsmart men; often appearing on talk shows and receiving national acclaim. Fine. But actresses starring in films that enhance a woman's world, particularly loving mothers, seldom receive this same recognition; such films are often regarded as less worthy of Academy recognition--until box office receipts go off the charts in an upward direction. Even Titanic (1997) opened to mixed, often negative reviews before winning the Oscar for Best Picture. 

​

This loss of honor toward romantic films boldly manifested itself at the 2011 Golden Globes Ceremony honoring the Best Movies of 2010, when cruel and demeaning jokes toward actresses hinted at prostitution and casting couch repertoire. Insults flew at actors, actresses, and movies, including a thorough trashing of The Tourist, a modern love story filled with beauty, but without nudity or over-the-top sexual scenes. Nominated for Best Picture of 2010 by the Foreign Press, the very persons to be honored were insulted and humiliated.

​

Without realizing he had gone over the edge, the Master of Ceremonies lost control of that beacon within that stops us from inflicting pain on another human being. The cruel jokes toward all women zeroed in on a most celebrated actress, with hurtful connotations. I watched at home, holding my breath in disbelief.​

​

When Robert Downey Jr. came to the stage as a presenter, he spoke eloquently in his brilliant manner, with words that went something like this: "Aside from the fact that it's been hugely mean-spirited with mildly sinister undertones, I'd say the show is going pretty good so far, wouldn't you?" 

 

The audience of actors, writers, cinematographers, artists, directors, producers, and costume designers--the individuals whose passions and sacrifices had given so much to me through years of great motion pictures--got it. Mr. Downey's need to speak up in recognition of what was taking place, allowed everyone in the audience ​​to know they were not alone in their feelings of disbelief. The sigh of relief and outburst of laughter reverberated like a lion’s roar.

​

After Mr. Downey made his brilliant and kind remark, with no malicious undertones toward the comedian, the Golden Globe audience was able to go on watching the show in a kinship of knowing Ricky Gervais had gone over the edge. That night at the Golden Globes, people came together as one, acknowledging that Ricky had no idea how cruel his jokes were coming across, nor how demeaning his jokes were to women.

 

When Robert Downey Jr. brought to light an awareness of what everyone was feeling, he not only defended Angelina Jolie and all the other women present, but women like me, watching at home.

​

Unenlightened media reporters attributed Mr. Downey’s remarks as “get-back-at” remarks towards what had been said about him. And in this oh-so-big country where headlines constantly reflect how Americans stand up for the rights of women, the reporting of the hurtful jokes towards women on that infamous night, dismissed as trivial, exposed America to the fact, women were fair game as targets for mean, chauvinistic jokes, without consequence or change.​

​

The 2011 Golden Globes became the catalyst for my writing, The Changing Image of Women in Film...and a little bit more.

​

Relevant now, as a changing mode has brought forth persons, such as Pamela Anderson,  standing up to the image the media deems women should be, with an image of the true beauty in the reality of real women.  And with the use of AI's generated perfect woman image, which further distorts the reality of real women into a version of a James Bond play girl image (that hopefully young girls will not try to emulate), increases the relevance of my book,   ​The Changing Image of Women in Film.  

 

Chapters Include: Powerful Women's Movies, The Importance of Cinderella Films and the Wars that Women face, The Best Romantic Films of the 30s, 40s, 50s to Covid, Mesmerizing Men, Mesmerizing  Women (profiles of Actresses and Actors holding the title of a Leading Man or Leading Woman for over thirty years) intermixed with my love for movies, as a movie truly changed my life.​

​

​

​

​

​

 

 

​

​

.

 

​​​​​​​​​

 

​

​​

​

 

​​. ​ 

​

 

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​​