Hollywood invested primarily in male-dominated films last year as the number of female protagonists in movies hit its lowest level in a decade.
Researchers at the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative tracked the top 100 box office films from 2007 to 2023 to reveal who controls the Hollywood film industry on and off screen.
The results remove the “Barbie mania” that had led Hollywood to call 2023 the “Year of the Woman,” with what lead researcher Stacey L. Smith called “a devastating setback for girls and women in film.” revealed something.
According to researchers, only 30 of the top 100 films of 2023 had a female lead or co-lead role. This is the lowest number in 10 years and is down 14% from the previous high of 44 cases in 2022.
The representation of the woman on the other side of the screen was even worse. Of these 30 of her films, only 36.7% were directed by women.
Mr Smith said the findings were “remarkable and contrary to the Hollywood narrative that 2023 is the year of the woman”.
“These numbers aren’t just an indicator of how often girls and women are in leading roles; they represent the career opportunities available to women in the film industry,” Smith said. Ta.
“This year we’ve seen those opportunities severely limited. Even with films postponed to 2024 due to strikes, the collapse of female leads/co-leads in 2023 means that this I can’t explain it other than to say it’s a failure of the industry.”
underrepresented groups
Starting in 2023, Hollywood films will increasingly feature people from underrepresented racial or ethnic groups. Of the top 100 movies, 37 starred or co-starred underrepresented racial or ethnic groups, compared to 31 in 2022, about half of them. (51.3%) were supervised by underrated directors.
However, the number of women of color starring in films starting in 2023 has been worryingly low. In 2022, there were 18 films in 2022, compared to just 14 films starring or co-starring women of color.
Katherine Neff, lead author of the study, said she was disappointed in the findings that women of color were significantly underrepresented.
“The film industry continues to not focus on girls and women, and it’s unfortunate that women of color have been left behind in leading roles,” Neff said.
“This applies not only to young women of color, but also to middle-aged and older women, who are underrepresented and whose stories are often completely erased.”
Who is making the most progress?
Along with Walt Disney and Warner Bros., smaller film studios listed as “other distributors” in the study had the highest percentage of underrated leads or co-leads in their films. .
Stacey L. Smith said, “There is a clear connection between those working behind the camera and those on screen, but opportunities for women and people of color continue to be limited.” ” he said.
Last year, Paramount Pictures and Lionsgate films had the most underrated lead or co-lead roles at 22.2 percent and 20 percent, respectively.
But Smith and researchers found that not a single Hollywood studio met proportional representation according to the U.S. Census figure (41.1 percent).
She said that following several social movements calling for changes in policies and laws, “storytelling is more important than ever.”
“The entertainment industry can play an important role in our democracy to champion diverse and inclusive voices, both on screen and behind the camera. But that’s not what’s happening this year. No,” Smith said.
“Change is needed, and let’s quickly make entertainment just another institution that falls into outdated, biased, and exclusionary rhetoric.”
