This is just another reason why I have such trouble with the NY Times reviews. A.O. Scott put his subjective look at the “great” films from 2000 to now, and not surprisingly, only a lone female filmmaker (Claire Denis), and not one female centric film are mentioned in his list.
Sigh.
Women get no respect in Hollywood and from the NY Times, as Scott mentions at the end of his piece:
Movies seem to be, increasingly, for and about men and (mostly male) kids, with adult women in the marginal roles of wives and mothers, there to be avenged, resented or run to when things get too scary.
The piece had a lot of opportunities to include women. While he talked about comedies he could have mentioned Nicole Holofcener’s films which have true and original womens voices in them. I also think that Kelly Reichardt has a very original and interesting voice. And that’s just off the top of my head.
What movies by women over the last decade would you include?
It is incumbent upon the NY Times to see the bigger picture beyond the typical names that we always here or else they are dooming us to fulfilling the prophecy of having fewer and fewer woman on screen, and quite frankly that would be a full-fledged cultural disaster.
Screen Memories (NY Times)
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Yes, I agree he could have included more than one women, but I generally like AO Scott’s reviews. And nothing is funnier than Manohla Dargis getting her hands on some terrible Hollywood romantic comedy. Michael Cieply seems to be just learning about the film business. The subjects of his articles are good (although somewhat innacurate), but they lack the perspective of someone who’s been involved in film long enough to sift through the bullshit. The NYT’s has featured women directors, the problem is there needs to be more films made by women that make it to distribution. The New York Times could do a fantastic investigative piece on the ongoing and sometimes increasing discrimination against women in the film industry. That is a story.
Melissa, I just had an idea. Start posting the internal anti-discimination policies of these corporations on your website, along with the details of their “Diversity Programs” and exactly what the companies are doing to reverse the historic descrimination against women. It is illegal to desciminate against an entire class of people, especially if your reason is that you think you will make more money only hiring white men. The only time Hollywood claims to be making art is when they refuse to hire women (African Americans, Latinos), the rest if the time it’s a BUSINESS!
did you see the Hollywood Reporter’s Writers Roundtable? Like the producer one, there were no women? What the heck?
Great catch, Melissa, as always! I can’t tell you how painful it was the read the comment you quote above (“Movies seem to be, increasingly, for and about men and (mostly male) kids…”). He says it so boldly, as if such a view can’t possibly be challenged AND as if he isn’t personally implicated in any way in such a clearly dispicable outcome :-(
So here’s my own immediate reply, with names of films in the past decade which have actually been posted on my own TEN BEST lists (or, in the case of THE HURT LOCKER, soon will be):
http://www.thehotpinkpen.com/?p=1072
You Go, Girl!
Jan
Women missing in a list about ‘greatest films’ or ‘greatest actors’ – or ‘greatest directors’? Nothing new, but makes me fume whenever I see it all the same.
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