Geena Davis Is Still Locked And Loaded

[boston bean]

Thelma Dickinson, as in Thelma & Louise, is the best role Geena Davis ever read. She got the part, lucky stars be thanked, and when the film came out, 24 years ago this May, critics loved it, too. The idea was that Davis and Susan Sarandon would inspire a new era for women onscreen. But the forecasted flood of lady buddy movies did not materialize. In fact, Davis says, public reaction was more like the opposite, with folks—mostly male folks—near distress at the prospect of armed and rebellious women. (She tartly summarized the response: “The world is ruined now, because women have guns.”) The following year, Davis starred in A League of Their Own, and people predicted a crop of female sports movies. Again, not so much.

Davis began to discern a pattern—minor boom, bigger bust. In the summer of 2008, Mamma Mia and Sex and the City came out; three years later brought us Bridesmaids and The Help. Each time, the papers said that the conversation would change. But the industry is stubborn. “Even when there’s a movie like The Hunger Games, that’s wildly successful and stars a female character,” Davis said, “this shadow hangs over Hollywood, this idea that women will watch men but men won’t watch women.” Jennifer Lawrence herself may not have the translational momentum to assassinate gender bias.

Speaking in a glass conference room adjoining a green room, sleek in black, white, and silver hoops, Davis might have been a still from the Getty Images Lean In collection. It was an all-day events marathon, from the glass offices of Bloomberg LP to the nearby United Nations, but she smiled broadly. I wondered where she got all the stamina and cheer.

Really good read:

http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-03-16/geena-davis-is-still-locked-and-loaded

[TexasProgresive]

1. My consciousness was raised as how men and women are portrayed in movies

after I had granddaughters. I really like The Princess Bride but I thought that Buttercup was just not a woman I would want to know. She was weak and when you get down to it an ornament. Then one of my granddaughters introduced me to Hayao Miyazaki's Kiki's Delivery Service. Here was a young girl who had to find her place in the world. All the female characters were strong. This seems to be a theme in all of Miyazaki's films that I have seem.

Good for Ms. Davis that she is guiding Disney to portray girls and women as strong and able.

[boston bean]

2. I didn't know she founded The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media.

http://seejane.org/

Looks like a great cause!

[CrispyQ]

3. Rec, rec, rec. Great article!

I love this:

Davis told me she uses “mitigating language” while watching movies with her kids, posing questions like, “Why do you think she’s wearing that, if she’s going to rescue someone?” Her kids roll their eyes, she laughed. But they seem to get it.

[mercuryblues]

4. What was

the pressing need to describe her appearance? I's not like she showed up in wrinkled clothes her hair uncombed, and mascara running down her face.