Kathryn Bigelow’s victory for best director in Sunday night’s Oscars’ ceremony provided a surprising moment for millions of those who tuned in to watch. Undoubtedly the 3,400 attendees seated inside Hollywood’s Kodak Theatre knew that Bigelow’s victory, if it came, would be a first, but the majority of all those far removed from the business of the film industry were most likely surprised to learn that not only was the Bigelow award a first, but that she was just the fourth woman to ever be nominated in this prestigious category.
“Celluloid Ceiling,” which is an annual review issued by San Diego State University detailing employment opportunities for women in the supposedly liberally minded field of film production, reported that out of the 250 top grossing films released in North America during 2009, women directed only seven percent of them. That represents a decrease of two percent form 2008, and more remarkably, it indicates that there has been no change in the percentage of women directing major films since 1987.
How many fields have shown no growth in women assuming a top executive position over the last 22 years? It just doesn’t seem possible, but when Bigelow was nominated for her film, The Hurt Locker, which also took the night’s top honor, as best picture, she joined a short list of just three other women who had been nominated in the past for best director: Sofia Coppola for Lost in Translation (2004), Jane Campion for The Piano (1994) and Italian director Lina Wertmuller for Seven Beauties (1977).
Martha Lauzen, who authored the San Diego State study explains that Hollywood is in denial about the lack of women behind the camera:
“I’ve heard editors of major trade publications as well as the heads of studios simply say there is no problem. They’ll either say no celluloid ceiling exists or they’ll rattle off four or five names of high-profile directors who happen to be women and then with a shrug say, ’see – there’s no problem. Well that’s incredibly misleading. Just because you can name four or five women directors doesn’t mean no problem exists. If you don’t think there’s any problem then you’re not going to be looking for a solution and that perpetuates the status quo.”
Greatly pleased by the Bigelow win, one British film festival director, Amy Mole, told the BBC “Her win feels like a momentous occasion – by putting the spotlight on fabulous directors like Bigelow and making her a role model, I hope women and girls can see the role of a film director as something more attainable.”
Bigelow herself made no mention of the gender gap in film direction and production during her first acceptance speech for director, or moments later when she came back on stage to accept the award for best picture. Rather she graciously acknowledged the essential role of our “men and women in uniform” in Iraq, Afghanistan, and here at home.
Nevertheless, it is safe to say that Bigelow’s win, especially when one considers that her subject was a tension filled, gritty portrayal of urban combat, will reverberate throughout Hollywood studios and lead to a reconsideration of the enormous talent that women can bring to a world long dominated by a line of famous men from Hitchcock to Scorsese, from DeMille to Cameron.
