Women and Hollywood

Sexism Watch: Comment from Critic in Cannes

Blogs

Here's how Financial Times critic Nigel Andrews ended a recent piece on Cannes Film Festival

By Melissa Silverstein
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May 23, 2012 9:40 AM
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Cannes 2012: Sexism Watch Continues

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One of the things I am proud of regarding the work many people have done to raise awareness about the lack of opportunities for female directors is how we were able to interrupt the narrative which is usually all about the clothes, stars and the glamour. For example, look at what the women of La Barbe did last night. They got up in the rain before the premiere of the evening and staged a protest in their beards and showed again that this issue is not going away.

By Melissa Silverstein
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May 21, 2012 12:30 PM
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Cross-Post: Cannes 2012: The Stories Aren’t By Women but They’re About Women

Blogs

It’s hard not to notice sexism when it is everywhere. After dealing with a person named Chris for three years trying to find lodging in Cannes I was stunned to find out that Chris was a woman. I’d assumed she was a man and all of this time I thought I was communicating with a man. I trusted “him” that he wouldn’t rip me off, that he knew what he was doing — and once I discovered “he” was a “she” I had to rethink my expectations. Suddenly I worried whenever the wi-fi went out that “she” wouldn’t know how to fix it.

By Sasha Stone
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May 20, 2012 12:00 PM
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Cannes Film Festival Slammed By Feminist Group La Barbe For Excluding Women Directors

Blogs

The French feminist group La Barbe which was started several years ago in response to the sexist media treatment of Segolene Royal in her race against Nicholas Sarkozy, has taken on one of the most sexist film establishments, the Cannes Film Festival for its exclusion of female directors from this year's competition. They are kind of like the Guerilla Girls in that they dress up in beards and as they say "crash high level meetings to protest male supremacy."

By Melissa Silverstein
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May 14, 2012 12:00 PM
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The Guthrie Theatre Announces Its 50th Anniversary Season With No Female Playwrights on the Program

Blogs

The Guthrie Theatre is one of the most prestigious regional theatres in America. Next year it will be celebrating it's 50th anniversary season. Joe Dowling, the 7th Artistic director of the theatre (which by the way has never had a female artistic director) recently announced the program for this very important upcoming season and there is not a SINGLE female playwright on the list for the main stages. (I also just consulted Wikipedia and the Guthrie also had no female playwrights in the 2011-2012 season.) And not only are there no women, there are also no plays by any people of color. So their whole celebratory season marking this seminal anniversary will be populated completely by white men.

By Melissa Silverstein
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April 30, 2012 10:11 AM
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Female Reviewer Gets Attacked for Avengers Review

Blogs

While I am not usually that interested in boycentric blockbusters, I am very into seeing The Avengers. I want to see how an open feminist man like Joss Whedon makes a big budget Hollywood film. Will the women be more than window dressing? Too bad The Avengers only has one female lead -- Scarlett Johansson -- and she wears a skin tight suit, but hey maybe she has some good lines and kicks ass like Whedon's Buffy.

By Melissa Silverstein
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April 25, 2012 11:09 AM
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Four Steps Back - NO Women Directors in Competition at Cannes

Blogs

I'm sitting in my hotel room in Cologne, Germany having arrived yesterday at International Frauen Film Festival for the second year in a row. I came back this year because I had such a great time last year meeting and talking with so many women directors and I really love the people who run this festival.

By Melissa Silverstein
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April 19, 2012 7:18 AM
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Ashley Judd Continues the Conversation on the Misogynistic Media

Video

Here's what she said:

By Melissa Silverstein
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April 12, 2012 10:35 AM
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Hollywood Feminist of the Day: Ashley Judd

Blogs

I can count on one hand -- even one finger -- an actress with a show up for renewal (btw you should watch Missing it's great and Eddard Stark is alive on that show) who spoke back against the tabloid media in a big, smart way and all of us for the recent press about her how her face looks.

By Melissa Silverstein
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April 10, 2012 2:27 PM
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Sports Diversion - Sexism Watch: The Masters

Blogs

Here we are again. Nine years after Martha Burk tried to get the August National to allow a woman member we are still at a place where there is still not a female member since the club's founding in 1933. In 1990, the club let in an African American member, but in 2011 there is still no female that we know of. (Augusta is famous for not speaking on the membership policies because it is a private club.)

By Melissa Silverstein
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April 5, 2012 12:15 PM
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