The New York Film Academy chose to take a further look at the relationship between females and the film industry soon after the female-led The Hunger Games: Catching Fire became one of the highest-grossing films in the United States.
According to the study, while there have been some advances in the most recent decade, there is still a misrepresentation of the female gender in films. For instance, women are cast in fewer roles, are given fewer lines and are more often sexualized in movies. Behind the scenes, the story is no different. Forbes stated that among the top ten highest paid actors and actresses, men collectively make $465 million whereas women make $181 million.
There is no doubt that women have come a long way in the turn of the 21st century with more female-led movies, and films written and directed by females. As the infographic shows, there have been several inspiring roles and influential women in the film industry. Kathleen Kennedy is one of the most successful producers in the industry with films like E.T. and The Sixth Sense on her resume, and Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker beat the highly prosperous film Avatar for Best Picture. Bigelow was also the first female to win Best Director at the 2008 Academy Awards.
Despite the success of these women, Hollywood still has a long way to go for films to truly represent half of the audience members who pay to see these movies.
