No Female-Led Blockbusters?

(Note: this is old news, but I’m discussing it to prove a point.)

Remember Jennifer Lawrence? Remember her big breaks in the Hunger Games and X-Men franchises? Remember how she stopped caring about those after winning an Oscar, and only kept them for paycheques? And remember how she went quiet following Harvey Weinstein’s outing in 2017, only to rebrand herself recently? I do.

I remember all of it. Jennifer Lawrence was the female movie star of my 20’s, right with Margot Robbie, so I saw her rise, peak and fade in real-time. Still, I’m glad she’s been rebranding lately, enough to reflect on her career. And she did, as she was recently interviewed by Variety alongside Viola Davis for their Actors on Actors series. The interview was filled with many insights, but one point in particular caught people’s attention:

“I remember when I was doing Hunger Games, nobody had ever put a woman in the lead of an action movie because it wouldn’t work — we were told girls and boys can both identify with a male lead, but boys cannot identify with a female lead…”

Oh no!

Two points: one, Lawrence was referring to a mindset in Hollywood at large. And two, Lawrence said other stuff that’s worth discussing more. But even ignoring that, Variety received plenty of backlash for this clip, such that they took down their Tweet. But it wasn’t enough, as people used that as an admission of guilt. They also named off examples of female-led action movies to prove how “dumb” Lawrence was.

Female-led action movies do exist, but they’re still relatively rare. It’s not unlike the number of female-led movies in general, though those exist too. The problem here is a combination of there not being enough women in crucial parts of the filmmaking experience and women being told they’re not worthy of telling their stories. They’re interconnected and circular problems, and it’s why there are so few women-centric stories. That’s what this is about.

It doesn’t even stop at movies! The godmother of novels, Mary Shelley, had to use a pseudonym so that Frankenstein could market to general audiences. Many female authors have had their stories centre around male figures so as to sell better to readers. Even TV shows have this issue, such that, you guessed it, there aren’t many female-led stories there either. This is bigger than an actress opening her mouth and saying something, admittedly, incorrect.

Yes, there are exceptions. The Hunger Games series, which stars Lawrence, is one of them. But even if you name examples, that doesn’t mean there are a lot of them. It also doesn’t mean they counteract her claim. Because Lawrence was commenting on “an all-boys club” mentality that’s plagued Hollywood for the longest time. It’s made equitable portrayals difficult, and it’s caused these assumptions in the first place.

So yes, Lawrence wasn’t technically wrong. Why the backlash, then? It’s not like other celebrities haven’t run their mouths off in the heat of the moment, right? Why should Lawrence be any different? It boils down to the same culprit for Brie Larson’s harassment a while back: sexism.

There, I said it. Sexism was to blame for Lawrence’s backlash. Never mind that her critics listed Ellen Ripley and Sarah Connor as immediate counter-examples, it doesn’t mean there wasn’t sexism. Besides, I doubt their examples would hold the same reverence without the nostalgia factor. Prove me wrong.

I don’t even see why this is an issue! Remember how male figures in Hollywood have said worse? Remember how they received the same backlash? No? Is it only me? Well, let’s start criticizing them, if you’re so interested in accuracy.

You know how this has gotten out of hand? Lawrence later clarified her remarks for The Hollywood Reporter:

“That’s certainly not what I meant to say at all. I know that I am not the only woman who has ever led an action film. What I meant to emphasize was how good it feels. And I meant that with Viola — to blow past these old myths that you hear about … about the chatter that you would hear around that kind of thing. But it was my blunder and it came out wrong. I had nerves talking to a living legend.”

See, it was nerves. Was that really so difficult?

This is why it’s important to not jump on a mistake and blow it out of proportion, especially when it’s been righted. It’s equally important for people, women in particular, to make those mistakes and learn from them, especially if they address greater issues. But since this is the internet, which never forgives and never forgets, I guess that’s impossible. Because we like getting angry over inconsequential details. C’est la vie!

Besides, Lawrence’s original remarks don’t warrant an obnoxious “gotcha” anyway. Why do they bother you? So you named female-led action movies, big whoop! How many are there in relation to male-led ones? Think long and hard before answering that.

I think it’s time to let this go. It was cute in the moment, but that’s it. It changes nothing, it hasn’t negatively impacted anyone, and it was a mistake. I’ve also heard worse. Move on.

As a final note, I don’t think Variety should’ve panicked. They should’ve posted a follow-up or retraction instead. I know singling out that one snippet was intentional, as it lures eyes and traffic, but owning up to it is the right course of action. As it stands right now, this looks like they have something to hide. It makes them look guilty, and that’s not needed.