When we watch movies such as Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Mean Girls, and Smurfs, we are not aware of the subtle gender discrimination that goes on. That being said, This Changes Everything, by Tom Donahue debuted in 2019 to discuss the issue of gender discrimination in the entertainment industry. This film dives into this issue by bringing in different actresses and directors personal experiences in this industry. In addition, history and statistics are mentioned in order to tackle the issue of the overall portrayal of women on screen and the lack of women and opportunities for them behind the scenes.
The film begins by discussing the issue of how women are portrayed in the media. It was stated that "of the top grossing films of 2018, 85% of writers were males (Donahue, 2019)." That being said, most movies and T. V. shows portray women through the eyes of a man. This then leads the film to shift towards personal experiences from many famous actresses such as Reese Witherspoon, Chloe Grace Moretz, and Taraji P. Henson. By incorporating these stories, Donahue does a great job highlighting how difficult it was for these actresses and directors to feel comfortable in their work space.
The film then goes on and discusses the misrepresentation of women in a variety of ways, touching on how there is a lack of ethnic backgrounds in women characters, sexualization of women and how women are bound to certain characteristics and roles in movies and T. V. shows. The statistics that were mentioned in this portion of the film was shocking. It would be hard to argue with the statistics that Geena Davis had discovered. This is especially true when she had mentioned that "out of the 1010 top grossing g rated movies from 1990-2005, 72% of all speaking roles were male (Donahue, 2019)." It really makes you wonder what we are teaching our children and the generations to come.
Another strong point this film was able to integrate was the male perspective, specifically that of the fox chairman, John Landgraf. When Landgraf appears on screen, the audience is able to see an example of how change can happen when one begins to realize the extent of the issue. Landgraf also serves as an example to other male figures in this industry. He is used to help inspire other men to step in and help women have a voice and fight this battle.
In all, the film did a very good job incorporating a variety of actresses' opinions and personal experiences, along with statistics that are big and clear on the screen. However, the film lacks intersectionality, thus resulting in a less persuasive argument. Intersectionality is a term that was created by Kimberle Crenshaw in order to explain how there are a variety of categories that play a role in a discrimination, therefore, bringing up the point that discrimination is not rooted from one place.
Although the film includes actresses such as Taraji P. Henson, Sandra Oh and Amandla Stenberg, most of the actresses and directors were white. Therefore, Donahue had failed to include testimonies from those with different backgrounds. In addition, the film does not include those with disabilities, those of different sexual backgrounds, those of different age groups and those who have different appearances. Let alone, it does not even include statistics about how these different backgrounds play a role in gender discrimination. Without the inclusion of these individuals, the argument that is being made seems one-sided. Therefore, those in the audience that cannot relate would question whether or not this topic is worth getting involved in.
If the film had incorporated an intersectional lens, they would have been able to instill a deep sense of inclusion and be able to tackle the issue of gender discrimination at all angles. It would also elicit greater emotions and improve the directors use of pathos because the film would be more relatable to those in the audience that are not white, skinny or even heterosexual. If this film wants to inspire people to break the gender discrimination in the entertainment industry, it must first touch the heart of all.
Works Cited
This Changes Everything. Dir Tom Donahue. 2019. Netflix. Web. 8 September 2021.
