There are many people in the film (and television) industry that I greatly admire, respect and gain inspiration from. I wrote about Tarantino a few weeks ago, as he is one such example, but I find it difficult to think of females who have that same sort of impact upon me. That’s not to say that there aren’t talented filmmakers that are women, because clearly they are but the industry is one that is still very male dominated.
Sofia Coppola and Jane Campion are two of my favourite directors – but that’s only two out of who knows how many. As someone aspiring to become a part of this brilliant industry, it becomes difficult to imagine it really happening when so few women have actually made a name for themselves.
I find it such a relief when a film that is written or directed by a woman is actually a good piece of cinema, as we need to prove that we are more than capable of creating great works of art, because we are. This is why women such as Catherine Hardwicke irritate me so much, because I feel that her lack of talent reflects badly on female filmmakers. Others may disagree, but it’s my blog and that’s my opinion!
All too often, female roles are written by males – how are they going to be a satisfactory exploration if the role hasn’t even come from a female in the first place? There have been some good female roles written by men and Ellen Ripley (played by Sigourney Weaver) from Alien is certainly a great example but I feel that it’s something that doesn’t happen enough.
I think another quote from Jane Campion is suitable to finish with:
“I would love to see more women directors because they represent half of the population – and gave birth to the whole world. Without them writing and being directors, the rest of us are not going to know the whole story.”
(And a picture of Ellen Ripley being awesome)
Great post! Catherine Hardwicke really is to filmmaking what Stephanie Meyer is to writing. In fact both of those women should be charged with crimes against females.
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