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Women’s History Month is drawing to a close with little fanfare. There were no PSA’s touting the historic achievements of women on the network channels, no major television event, not even a holiday marking some major historical event in the history of the women’s liberation movement. At the end of every March, I always hearken back to my sophomore year of high school, when I was facing the prospect of reading Black Boy for the third time for English class (I don’t care how groundbreaking and pertinent you think a book is- three times in three years is two times to many!). After class was dismissed I respectively approached my English teacher (whose name escapes me now) and enquired whether we could perhaps read a book by a woman instead. I was met with a confused stare and a curt dismissal, and that, I’m afraid, was the end of that.
In defense of my public school education, we did eventually cover women’s literature, but it was in my Advanced Placement English course, one that the vast majority of the student population did not have access too. The closest the general population got to a consideration of women’s literature was Maya Angelou, and the discussion of her work veered inevitably to racial rather than gender considerations. I discovered “Phenomenal Woman,” one of my favorite Angelou poems and a beautiful affirmation of the feminine, only by reading beyond the assigned poetry in our text book.
And don’t even get me started on the lack of women’s history taught in the high school curriculum. I may never stop.
So I thought I might take a tiny (really tiny!) stand in the last week of Women’s History Month, and draw your attention to this rather handy Wikipedia list of female directors. Jump in, browse, and maybe rent a film you may not otherwise have seen in celebration of the achievements of women:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Female_film_directors
While I’m certain that this list is not exhaustive, it is still depressing that there are only 171 entries.
I would also like to call you attention to this article by Michelle Goldberg on Salon.com, which considers the dearth of women directors and some of the factors that may account for it. It is outdated, but I think the points are valid, and I doubt there has been a drastic change in the last 6 years:
Where are the female directors?
Finally, before I step off my soap box, I would like to invite all of you to name one female director that you think deserves the spotlight. I’ll start:
Shirin Neshat rocks my socks.
Hm…female directors? There are a lot of them that I like.
Anyway. I’ll go with…
Margarethe von Trotta
Sophia Coppola
Julie Taymor
Jane Campion
Well Kathryn Bigelow did direct one of my favorite movies, Point Break, however her body of work after that wasn’t too awesome.
One of my favorites has to be Sophia Coppola. Lost in Translation is one of the very few movies that really spoke to me, especially during my last semester in college.
Mary Harron (who did American Psycho)!
Suzanne Bier – just for her sublime ‘After the Wedding’….
Mary Harron gets credit, too, for American Psycho, but I don’t much like Sophia Coppola…
ah, also Mira Nair… Monsoon Wedding was wonderful, richly comic, yet also tragic, and I enjoyed her scandalous Kama Sutra, as well.
Ida Lupino (Hitchhiker, Trouble with Angels) and Penny Marshall come to mind…
I gotta love Penelope Spheeris for Wayne’s World and her punk movies. And Amy Heckerling gets points for Clueless.
The situation’s even bleaker for animators. Of the few women animation directors that the Academy has recognized over the years, my favorite is Caroline Leaf.
Caroline Leaf – The Street (1976)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54dm0Z99VOY
I am embarassed to say I have never seem American Psycho. I really ought to get on that.
But I am so afraid!
Mary Harron kicks ass. All of her movies are phenomenal! Sophia Copolla
sucks balls(Patrick says: you guys can come up with better insults! Gimme some gusto!) and the only thing great about Lost in Translation was Bill Murray. Being born into the industry doesn’t warrant talent. I like Penny Marshall, but more as Laverne than as a director. Penelope Spheeris should get some recognition and I forget the name of the director, but a woman did “Pet Semetary” which scared the everloving crap out of me so i must give her props for effective filmmaking.I hated her film “The Safety of Objects” (based on one of my favorite books) but Rose Troche directed some episodes of Six Feet Under and I loved that show so she gets a tip of the hat. Oh, and the wonderful Kathy Bates directed a few episodes too.
Let’s also say hey to the ladies behind “Married: With Children” as many women wrote, produced, and directed it including Marcy D’arcy.
Jee, everyone beat me to SoFia Coppola (no ph, guys. Yeah, I am a snob). And not just for Lost in Translation. I don’t think she’s just milking her connections, and like it or not, she has an extremely distinct, precise, original, and I would argue beautiful, POINT OF VIEW. It is very personal and unmistakable. I’m like the only person who loved Marie-Antoinette. Sigh.
Tatiana, Rollerson and I are both really into Marie Antoinette. So you are not alone my friend! I love her sensibilities, She’s not afraid to make the movie she wants to see but is also really good at distancing herself from it so that its not purely all in her head. I think (although not a woman) Michel Gondry is very good at this as well.
I hate women! Schettizzo! <33