Aren’t there enough leading women in Hollywood already? The answer is no.
That’s because, historically, men have been the money makers in the entertainment industry and the ones that have been given the opportunities of wholesome, interesting lead roles. As the world edges into the 21st century, women started to receive leading roles in genres other than chick flicks, romantic comedies, etc. In other words, they began landing roles in movies that appealed to everyone rather than just women.
According to Forbes.com, in 2014, women only made up 21.4 percent of actors in the year’s 100 best movies. Even worse than that, only 21 of those women had leading or co-leading roles.
If you look at most of the sci-fi or dystopian movies that have been produced in recent years, there is a common factor: a strong female presence. Everything from "The Hunger Games" series to the "Divergent" movies to "The 5th Wave," has a strong, young female lead with something to fight for. These roles give something to young girls and women to look up to and pull strength from, different from the historically demeaning role of a female supporting character whose only true purpose is to further the story for the male lead.
Comedy is another area where women have just recently broken into the male scale of things. Women like Melissa McCarthy have done wonders for women in comedy. She’s played the craziest characters and has made the funniest, raunchiest, most intelligent jokes without apologizing if they’re vulgar — because men usually aren’t criticized for vulgarity.
Don’t get me wrong — men aren’t undeserving of high profile roles. There are just as many stories that should be shared that have a man as the protagonist. They deserve the opportunities just as much as women. The fact of the matter is that only recently are women being given the same amount of roles as men — or close to it.
Give women a break. We’re just trying to catch up to you guys.
As the new "Ghostbusters" movie gains traction for its impending release on July 15, people have begun to question if actresses playing originally male roles are going to work out. That’s just ridiculous, though. Number one, the women in the 2016 "Ghostbusters" movie are some of my favorite comedians ever. Shout out to Leslie Jones for being my favorite of the bunch, Melissa running a close second. Their skills shouldn’t be compared to the original "Ghostbusters" because, as so many have said, this is an entirely different film. It is a reboot, not a remake. Look at it as being similar to Shakespeare’s "Twelfth Night" being made into "She’s the Man" — same plot and ideas but set in different generational periods and character personalities.
I want to see more female superheroes, and once they arrive, I want to see both men and women supporting them as much as characters like Iron Man and Batman are supported throughout the Marvel and DC realms. I want more strong women being represented in movies with other strong women playing them. Whether you are close with your mother, sister, grandmother, cousin, significant other or best friend, think of how important it is for them to be represented in one of the biggest industries in the world. The industry that reaches so many people. Stop complaining about the increasing amount of women in movies and start complaining about the lack of women in movies still.
