Instead of submitting to the male gaze, these feminist horror flicks and thrillers pave a way forward for the genre, one that encourages complex female relationships, destigmatizes female sexuality and fights to avenge patriarchal society that has oppressed these female heroines for ages.
“The U.S. military is one of the most dangerous places for women to work because of sexual violence,” said Kara Ellerby, author of “No Shortcut to Change: An Unlikely Path to a More Gender Equitable World.” “Even though they have been including more women and promoting them into positions of power in different branches and in the Pentagon, that hasn’t really stymied the issue of sexual violence. There is still something very deep-seated in the culture of the military that’s damaging to women.”
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, speaking before The Wrap’s Power Women Summit, encouraged everyone to stop dragging their feet if they want to take the Road to 50/50 by 2020, and instead “just look, just measure and just act.” He added, “And to the few men that might be in this room, don’t own this issue because you have a wife or you have a mother — everybody has a mother. Own it because you are a human being who wants to see a just world and a place in which 50 percent of our brilliance should never be left behind."
“This columnist will be expected to navigate the full array: how gender intersects with sexual identity, race and class; how power relationships play out in the workplace, the home and other settings; how gender is represented in popular culture and the rest of society,” read a job description. “Our goal is to publish a thoroughly reported and wide-ranging column that will explore what has emerged as one of the defining social issues of our time, here and abroad.”
“Mary Shelley has inspired countless filmmakers with her tale of the wretch brought to life by science gone wrong, but very few have fully captured her insightful reflections on society in the myth she left behind,” added Howard. “Few know of her struggles due to gender inequities, her additional writings, her influence on other historically significant individuals and society at large. Showcasing someone like Mary Shelley and her amazing intellect, compassion and fortitude is exactly what this series is for.”
Sole female protagonists were more likely to appear in independent films (65 percent) than studio films, while sole male protagonists were more likely to appear in studio features (54 percent). Females were also more likely to appear in comedies and dramas (30 percent), followed by action and horror films (17 and 13 percent). Males were most likely to appear in action features. Females also remained younger than their male counterparts — the majority of female characters were in their twenties and thirties, while the majority of males were in their thirties and forties.