Poll: Is there sexism in Hollywood?

[Chairman Miaow]

lol, oh my God I love you guys, hahaha. If I bring bangers and mash, can I come in too?

Anyone with bangers and mash is a friend of mine, welcome to our bunker.

What if I bring gravy? We can make mash volcanoes!

Spoiler

 

[BRex21]

The "Bechdel test" does not prove that womens stories aren't being told but rather that not all stories prominently feature women.
So why DO all stories need to prominently feature women?

All? Who said "all"?

People have pointed out that most do not, that is not to say they are demanding that all do.

The video does actually: That the entire industry is built upon creating films and movies that cater to and about men.
it selected movies that would have had no benefit with additional female characters and chastised them for failing to have female characters. For the love of god she put The Shawshank Redemption in there, would the movie have been better off were it set in a coed prison for some tie in female characters? That would just be stupid.
Hollywood makes movies. They make movies with target audiences. Not all of these target audiences are men or women. and if, quite frankly, the only way you can enjoy a movie is if it has enough women chatting about things unrelated to men than I think it says far more about you than Hollywood's "inherent sexism".
This video completely ignores the plethora of "women oriented" movies that do largely this in reverse which again does not prove sexism, simply that not every story needs a set amount of well formed male characters.
By discounting womens stories and stating that the industry simply "caters to men" then selecting "male oriented" material you are not arguing that there is a lack of female material but rather that the selection of male oriented material is in fact male oriented. Ergo that the existence of male oriented material proves discrimination.

 

[burningdragoon]

As long as there are no follow up questions, then yes.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Honestly the Bechdel Test is really only applicable to contemporary movies not about war that are also set in contemporary times. Why in the hell would Lord of the Rings have any female characters in it at all really? It is supposed to be a modern Epic Greek Poem a la The Illiad. In History women have not been very present in war, and the stuff they actually did do during wars would be incredibly sexist if shown since whores generally followed around troops wherever they went. I am horribly sorry that women can't get drafted and aren't usually as physically strong as men and have only really been able to do much of anything worth noting that isn't sexist for about the last 50 years but honestly the Hollywood that tries to appeal to smart men generally makes films that are way beyond sexism. To show sexism you would need to get rid of the historical bias which when movies are set in the future or today will generally have pretty strong female leads. Here is a list that meet her criteria that were set in contemporary or future times - Alien (series), Ferris Bueler's Day Off, American Beauty, American Psycho, Clue, Million Dollar Baby.

Firstly, Lord of the Rings is a fantasy story. If you're worried about reality, you might want to do something about those elves and dwarfs.

Secondly, that's a very Euro-centric view of history, women have had different roles in different cultures.

 

[Xan Krieger]

My problem with women in movies is how in fight scenes one woman can beat up like 15 men. I'm trying to think how to explain how much of a problem that is, it's just so unbeleivable. It seems to me that in movies women are super strong and can take out dozens of attackers or super weak and get knocked out in one hit. Very few movies do a man/woman fight scene in a way that's realistic (doesn't make either gender look weak).

 

[Thaluikhain]

My problem with women in movies is how in fight scenes one woman can beat up like 15 men. I'm trying to think how to explain how much of a problem that is, it's just so unbeleivable. It seems to me that in movies women are super strong and can take out dozens of attackers or super weak and get knocked out in one hit. Very few movies do a man/woman fight scene in a way that's realistic (doesn't make either gender look weak).

That sounds like a form of "benevolent sexism" there. They are still saying that women are totally different from men, only in a way that might look positive at first glance.

 

[Vault101]

Who cares? If hollywood is sexist then there are women who make it happen. You know: the female actors? And if that is the case then the only ones to blame are themselves.

WRONG....I'm pretty sure hollywood is still male dominated in terms of writers/directors/general target audience
[quote/]If you don't want to be viewed as a dumb sex object I suggest you don't don't play the role of one.[/quote]

its [i/]really[/i] not that simple...kind of reminds of Michelle Rodriguez hwo said she never went for those roles...and instead always got the tough chick who died...even then I doubt you can afford to be that picky in this game

I feel like your very quick to harshly judge women...kind of like me saying

"if I meet a guy...and it turns out he watches/masturbates to porn then I'll see him as a disgusting pig"

 

[mega48man]

lets get one thing straight here; when i was watching Hurt Locker, i got really confused at the scene when the main characters were drinking and wrestling with their shirts off. the scene was pretty pointless, didn't build on anything, and made me feel like i was watching gay porn (them boys was RIPPED). I then decided to look up who the director was: Kathryn Bigelow http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000941/

and immediately i thought "why in hell did you compromise the integrity of the movie to get a rush?" still a good movie, but geez that scene stood out. i guess Hawkeye's got a gay side, w/e.

so i guess sex plays a role on both sides of the fence. it's not just dicrimination against women, it's everyone thinking with their playthings.

 

[ImperialSunlight]

The question is in the title. Do you think Hollywood potrays women in a good or bad light?

No, the question is not in the title. You're asking in the title, "Is there sexism in hollywood?". You asked in your post, "Do you think Hollywood portrays women in a good or bad light?". Saying that these are the same thing implies that sexist portrayal cannot possibly happen to both sexes and that women are the only sex we should ever care about. I personally percieve a common stereotype of men in media depicting them as arrogant, ignorant, lazy fools who are often dominated by or dependent on women (or serial killers. Just pointing out that almost all serial killers are depicted as white men these days). But apparently men are immune to stereotyping.

Note that I do not deny the prevalence of sexually manipulative and demeaning depictions of women. I'm just tired of people denying the value of discussing similar topics in regards to men. Men do suffer sexual objectification and stereotyping. These are issues worth exploring, just as much as those of women.

 

[aba1]

There is and in mostly one big way and it has less to do with hollywood and more to do with people. People judge actors and singers and other women in the industry on looks before the quality of there work. I have never really understood this I mean I get having attractive people generally most guys tend to be fairly attractive but for women people get really viscous about it.

 

[Kahunaburger]

Is there sexism in [insert industry here]?

YES

 

[Something Amyss]

well you are speaking very broadly there...you'd have to be more specific

What I mean is, even in movies where you would expect character development, women are often treated as scenery or plot points. That is, the women in the story don't have the same level of development as the men, and are often ONLY there to be the wedge between two "bros," or to lead a dude away with temptation, or to eventually betray him.

I like to use Supernatural as an example, because it's almost the worst possible scenario. If a woman appears on the show, it's most likely she is either going to be:

-Bait
-a damsel in distress
-a traitor
-dead
-a wedge between Sam and Dean

-two or more of the above.

They rarely have any role outside this and almost never gain any character definition. I can only think of one who gets any sort of actual character arc.

 

[Vault101]

[snip.

sadly that is true...

somwhat unrelated but I also kind of hate "Femme Fatale" type charachters...how they substitute "sexy" for interesting and all they do is screw around with the male lead

also do you suspect lack of good charachterisation in thease things is part of the reason some guys don't aparently "get" girls?

 

[Something Amyss]

somwhat unrelated but I also kind of hate "Femme Fatale" type charachters...how they substitute "sexy" for interesting and all they do is screw around with the male lead

Which is unfortunate, because it doesn't have to be that way. of course, the femme fatale dates back to the early days of cinema and never really evolved.

also do you suspect lack of good charachterisation in thease things is part of the reason some guys don't aparently "get" girls?

I suspect it's probably for a number of reasons, but the primary one is that most media is written for guys. It's assumed that women will be able to handle identifying with men more than men with women, which may go right to the concept that they supposedly don't "get" women. So yeah, that may be a big issue.

But also, men are considered the big consumer market, particularly 18-35 or whatever that demographic is. I think, simply put, women aren't really even considered a lot of time.

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

How many movie posters can you think of that has either the busts or butt of a woman can be clearly seen and eye catching?

How many movies have a male lead?

How many movies have a female lead?

How many male leads are fat?

How many female leads are fat?

How many of those fat female leads aren't black?

How many times are women captured?

How many times are otherwise strong female characters captured?

How many times are stronger than the men females characters are killed?

How many times have you seen the naughty parts of a woman in film (besides comedies)?

How many times have you seen naughty bits of a man in film (besides comedies)?

Can you see the trend here in your mind?