"THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING" A RETROSPECTIVE

HOW MUCH DID IT REALLY CHANGE?

photo courtesy of Netflix.com

    In 2018, a documentary film titled "This Changes Everything" was released on Netflix. The film featured a number of familiar faces from the silver screen. The likes of Meryl Streep, Geena Davis, Taraji P. Henson and Natalie Portman were present in the film as well as producers Jill Soloway, Shonda Rhimes and many other prominent female figures in Hollywood. The film centered in on gender inequality both on screen as well as behind the camera. According to the Gina Davis institute, in 2017 of 100 top-grossing films of the year, only 24% featured a female protagonist. If that wasn't bad enough, they also found that women average about half the screentime of their male counterparts. And the statistics for female directors were even more bleak. Of 1114 top-grossing films from 2016 to 2017, only 4% were directed by women.

    Though the main message is undeniably poignant, there have been some criticisms levied against the film. One point of frustration for some was the failure to include or represent a number of successful film-making females in Hollywood. Jodie Foster, for example, has directed 4 films and a number of television episodes. Others, like Elizabeth Banks, have also had substantial success with production and direction. Neither actress is mentioned in the film. Another critique of the film was that it unnecessarily politicized a non-partisan issue. The film at one point centers in on Donald Trump and the women's marches that followed his election. Though these marches were important to the women's movement in the US, the central point of the film was women in Hollywood, not the plight of women in the US as a whole. A third cause for concern was the director of the film. "This Changes Everything" was directed by Tom Donahue... a dude. Many have argued, that the documentary as a whole would have been more succinct if it were directed by a woman.

Sadly it would seem that not much has changed in Hollywood as far as female on-screen representation and direction since the film was released. Though it was met with relative critical acclaim, it may still take some time for the facts to sink in where it really counts.