Stepy Kamei

With ‘Wild’, ‘Big Eyes’, Women Take the ‘Cake’

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(this article originally appeared on City of Tenants, a site which unfortunately is now defunct).

The call of critics demanding strong female roles in the media has fallen on the deaf ears of Hollywood studios for some time now. Too often, the response from production companies arrives in the form of cliché, one-dimensional characters, hastily drawn up in half-assed attempts to appease the audience’s desire to see relatable, dynamic, and complex female characters.

Fortunately, these next few weeks promise to usher in a positive step forward for women in media. Already, three well-hyped movies feature female characters with a lengthy screen time in engaging, three-dimensional roles. Critics have already begun widely praising the performances of three A-list actresses in what most are considering enormously brave and risky roles: Reese Witherspoon as a recovering heroin user in Wild, Amy Adams as a talented yet repressed housewife in Big Eyes, and Jennifer Aniston as a car crash survivor addicted to painkillers in Cake. Judging by the Oscar buzz circulating around these actresses’ performances, it’s clear that the risk has more than paid off for each of them.

While the success of these films is great for the actresses involved, it’s even better for those of us, women and men, who will see their performances. It cannot be denied that pop culture and media has an incredibly strong influence on how we communicate, live together, and understand each other as a society. Most, if not all, mediums of art impact our lives in some significant way. The more we see films in which women in nameless roles are merely used for sex and/or to serve as the male protagonist’s ‘prize’ to be won at the end of the film, the more we will walk out of the theater beginning to believe that, in real life, a woman’s sole purpose is to please or serve a man.

Unfortunately, Hollywood has a disappointing track record for churning out movies in which women are delegated to the most simplistic, basic roles that can possibly exist. If you haven’t heard of the Bechdel Test, you’re in for a rude, and surprisingly shocking, awakening. The next time you’re watching a movie, ask yourself these three questions:

1. Does the movie have at least two female characters?

2. Does the movie have a scene in which they speak to each other?

3. Do they talk to each other about something, anything, other than a man?

They seem like simple enough questions, right? Yet as you begin to use this test on your favorite movies, your heart will sink at how few films can actually successfully pass the Bechdel Test. Even films that seem to cater to the test end up merely throwing a disguise over the problem. For example, consider the hit 2012 movie The Avengers. Well-known actress Scarlett Johansson plays Natasha Romanoff, a.k.a Black Widow, a highly trained spy working for S.H.I.E.L.D. She fights with the boys, and is even able to break the villainous Loki’s mind control. What a strong female role! Right?

Wrong. So very, very wrong. Take a closer look at the film and you’ll notice that not only does Romanoff’s character serve as a romantic foil to Hawkeye, and not only does her character strut around in skintight clothing, heels, and flawless hair and makeup, but also, no two named female characters ever have a conversation with each other. Seriously. Meanwhile, the many, many male characters chew the fat with each other throughout the film.

It hasn’t always been like this, which is important to keep in mind for optimism’s sake, if nothing else. The rise of ridiculously awesome exploitation films in the 70’s, as well as the unapologetic Riot grrl movement of the 90’s, introduced the world to some pretty kick-ass characters (many of which do pass the Bechdel test).

Ridley Scott’s classic 1979 horror movie Alien not only passed the Bechdel Test; it endeared audiences to a wonderfully strong and heroic, yet realistically feminine, female character. Sigourney Weaver’s star-making performance as Ellen Ripley ushered in an era of female characters with agency, autonomy, and depth. Up until Ripley’s creation, movies, especially those within the horror genre, had heavily relied on women requiring rescue. This classic damsel in distress trope was widely accepted, and even expected, by most filmgoers. Ripley absolutely annihilated that convention. Smart enough to outwit the ferocious, and majorly Phallic, Alien, Ripley successfully rewrote the rigid gender roles that had plagued movies for so long.

Just a few decades later, an even younger generation was being introduced to fantastically well-written female characters. While a good amount of films from the 90’s passed the Bechdel Test, some of the more encouragingly feminist films appealed directly to young boys and girls; namely, 1998’s Mulan. This Disney animated feature centered on the story of a young woman who, rather than passively accepting the limitations placed on her by society due to her gender, decides to creatively work around the system so that she may be an active member of society. Young girls watching Mulan’s brave quest were inspired to challenge the perceived gender roles placed upon them from birth. If that’s not girl power, what is?

While it has been difficult to find new Ripleys and Mulans in contemporary depictions of women, perhaps we are now at the cusp of a burgeoning Renaissance for positive female representation in film. Reese Witherspoon, portraying the real life Cheryl Strayed, takes us on an arduous journey through the landscape of her soul as she hikes the Pacific Crest Trail. This film doesn’t use her weaknesses to prove she is in need of rescue; rather, her weaknesses are highlighted as the ultimate catalysts for her growth as she learns how to heal her damaged spirit. No man saves Strayed; Strayed saves herself.

Amy Adams portrays another nonfictional female, artist Margaret Keane. While Keane is initially persuaded to resign herself to the shadows by allowing her husband to take credit for her work, she begins to gain a quiet strength within herself, which ultimately manifests in her courageous decision to reveal the truth about the authorship of her art. It’s a fascinating period piece, as Keane decides to come forward with the truth during the revolutionary era of second-wave feminism in the 1970’s, making her a true trailblazer in the trend of women learning to stand up for themselves.

Finally, Jennifer Aniston plays a fascinatingly complex and brutally honest fictional character. As Claire Simmons, Aniston haunts us with her portrayal of a woman marred, both physically and mentally, by tragedy. While many films feature women confined to ridiculously sexualized costumes and inappropriately applied makeup, Aniston’s Claire Simmons is about as authentic as a tragic female figure can get. She looks the way a real woman would look after a physical tragedy, and the result is real, raw, and exactly the type of woman audiences should be empathizing with. It’s nice to see a fictional character that, for once, isn’t confined to the trope of still needing to look pretty in spite of severe personal tragedy.

While 2014 had its fair share of pop culture disappointments (Ray Rice beating his wife, Robin Thicke’s pathetically sad album ‘Paula’, meant to woo his wised-up wife back into his arms), the year seems to be ending on a great note for women. However, it is imperative that we as audience members do not get complacent in the face of these achievements. Yes, it’s great that women are having a fantastic, if not long overdue, revival within the film industry. Unfortunately, the three characters achieving the most praise from critics and audiences are all Caucasian and mostly conventionally attractive.

If 2014 ends up being remembered as the year of the female film renaissance, let 2015 be the year we demand to see the stories of women of color, and women who stand outside conventionally ideas of beauty. It was done with 2009’s critically lauded film Precious. It can be done again, if we want it.

Remember, Hollywood is ultimately a business, and is therefore rendered powerless without your financial support. Withhold your hard-earned cash from movies that degrade women, and choose to fiscally reward the films that advance the portrayals of realistic women. Better yet, write your own female-centric script!

Let’s all make a bold and empowering New Year’s Resolution: In 2015, if Hollywood won’t listen to our voices, let’s make them listen to our silence. If they remain deaf to our repeated calls for better female roles, make them see where the dollars are headed – not to the Bella Swans of the cinema, but to the Ellen Ripleys, the Katniss Everdeens, and the Sarah Conners. It’ll be a quiet revolution, but it’ll work.

Who knows – maybe someone will make a movie out of it.