Why 2020? A Manifesto on Women in Hollywood
It is 2020. Hollywood has barely budged an inch. Girls are still flocking over Leonardo as if it were 1999.
It is 2020. The Oscars finally allowed for Parasite, an international film, to win best picture. A huge win after The Oscars were only boycotted a few years ago for being incredibly white. (Remember #SoWhiteOscars?) THE male director Bong Joon-Ho won the coveted Best Director award. Diversity, as it appears, has been brought to the forefront with a Korean male director. Someone that is not a white male? Shocking that another Tarantino or Scorsese didn’t take home the heteronormative award.
It is 2020. AND Hollywood still treats female directors as disposable. Greta Gerwig broke into the coveted director’s circle. Isn’t that enough of an inspiration for female filmmakers? At least one of us is being recognized for our talent. It only makes sense that 4% of the top 100 grossing movies were directed by women. Male directors win the prize so they shall receive all the credit.
It is 2020. The lack of female directors is not the only issue. Hollywood tends to forget about us. We can handle the jobs in marketing, HR, and casting but give us a seat at the table? We would run, right? Actually, we don’t want a seat at your table.
It is 2020. And we want our own f*cking table.
It is 2020. And we are tired of sitting at the white man’s table. A table that is built on the principles and ideas of white supremacy and exclusion. A table that promotes the hypermasculinity culture that Hollywood has become accustomed to for decades now.
It is 2020. Women are over the sexual assault and harassment in the workplace. Women are tired of being treated as less than men. The boy’s club culture that continues to exist in Hollywood is old. Honestly, who wants to see the same 5 white men directing movies for the next 30 years? Sorry, Tarantino.
It is 2020. Women are empowered. #MeToo and #TimesUp are not temporary phases. If anything, these movements just kickstarted the momentum. Why should we stay quiet? We deserve better treatment and honestly, more opportunities.
It is 2020, and we want to direct those blockbuster movies. We don’t want to be the assistant to the CEO, but the CEO. We want to change the pathway for females working in the entertainment industry. To enter with confidence instead of fear.
It is 2020. And we need everyone — not just the men to know why we deserve more than just one shot. We also want to be authentic to ourselves. We are tired of the BS and the oversexualizing. We try our best to not come off as a “b*tch” in leadership roles but then may become too “passive” and are not deemed worthy for the spot.
It is 2020, and women are advocating more for each other now than they ever have. So, why aren’t you? Why are we forced to be the ones to come up with mentorship programs, writing inclusion reports, and having to back up one another? Why do we barely have any other advocates?
It is 2020, and barely anyone is listening.
But, we will be heard.
