ASK & DISCUSS
INDEXIs this a joke?
12 years ago - Matt Jamie
I'm assuming the article posted here, via Raindance, and online here: (http://www.indiewire.com/article/17-reasons-why-chicks-actually-make-better-directors) in which director Jill Soloway described why "Chicks" make better directors than guys, is a joke. Unfortunately not a very successful one, which in attempting to parody gender stereotypes really just re-enforces them... (she basically says the reasons women are better than men at making films are because they played with dolls as children, know how to organise dinner and shop, are better at "feeling", have better hygiene and their maternal instincts help with the on set "family" and so on). I think satire is all well and good, but given that a lot of people won't read the article, will only see the title (perpetuating a 'them and us' gender divide), and it's being pushed around by serious film making resources like SP, Raindance and Indiewire it can't be a positive thing.
A much better way to support and encourage women film makers might be to back this documentary project on kickstarter which is looking at the first female director and film making pioneer, Alice Guy-Blache, who made one of the first narrative films and ran her own studio from 1897 - but who's heard of her!? Have a look: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/benatural/be-natural-the-untold-story-of-alice-guy-blache
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12 years ago - Stephanie Walton
Number 9 is my favourite where she explains women are better at making films because we can birth children. I'd like to apply that to everything. Trust me I'm better at rock climbing because I can grow a tiny human inside me. Trust me I'm better at synchronised swimming because I can grow a tiny human, and so on.
:)
It's definitely a joke, but I don't think it's funny some people don't realise that eek.
12 years ago - Claudette FLINT
Too simple!
Gender is a binary system with a spectrum with shades.
12 years ago - Kays Alatrakchi
Claudette,
That assumes that we consider gender as a binary system rather than a spectrum with many shades as science is beginning to confirm. Perhaps we should begin attributing gender in the form of percentages rather than as an either or value.
12 years ago - Matt Jamie
Yeah I think that's the issue - not that I've had a sense-of-humour-lobotomy, but just something about the way the article was presented meant the headline (and even perhaps the first point) might make one think it was a serious piece. And obviously men have short attention spans so wouldn't read beyond point one usually... I mean if you read some of the comments from men under the post you can see what I mean. Obviously in part that's the point - to stoke some interest and flag up people's preconceptions. Like this article entitled "I Hate Strong Female Characters" http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2013/08/i-hate-strong-female-characters
But somehow that seems better thought out (if epic)...
12 years ago - Suzanne Smith
I don't think it is a joke, but it's definitely tongue in cheek. She recognises that for a lot of women they are still a little insecure about the fact there arnt many female directors, so what she is doing here is pointing out that there is no foundation for their insecurities by challenging them. I'm someone who works as a cinematographer and have done for several years, and it's hard! You look around and the people that trained you are a different gender, it's difficult to relate to them in some ways. Obvious stupid little things, like men's voice is deeper than a woman's, how can I convey authority and be the head of a department? You need to see that for the stupid, unfounded insecurity that it is, and keep re-enforcing confidence in yourself. And if that means reminding yourself that you have a natural ability to multitask then great! Go for it. The lady is definitely doing something right. It's refreshing to hear a humorous take on sexism.
12 years ago - Claudette FLINT
Not a joke, a misunderstanding. The fact that people think women are better at directing is because they are not used to see women's artwork. They are kind of patronising.
What is particularly interesting and great at women's arts is that they offer a point of view often very different from men and a different approach. We don't see frequently women's paintings, sculptures, films, composed music, etc...In fact they used to be repressed and even considered as insane.
For instance, it is difficult to admit that we can produce babies and be as good as Rodin for sculpture.(Camille Claudel and the film with Isabelle Adjani)
I love Jane Campion's approach in The Piano. As for Kathryn Bigelow, I would not be able to say if it was a man or a woman who shot The Hurt Locker. On the other hand I dislike Catherine Breillat because she makes films about sex more disturbing than men's.
12 years ago - philip ilson
I posted the link on Facebook, and a woman filmmaker responded:
"my take is that it's a tongue-in-cheek list kind of poking fun at the idea that being a great director is linked to gender at all. 'The industry' seems to imply - through stats on who gets the work - that men make better directors than women, and by flipping it she's showing that it's ridiculous - right? Because great filmmakers are defined by their work, not their gender."
This is a great response, argueing that it's a tongue-in-cheek piece, but I'm pretty sure Raindance published it as a legitimate list.
12 years ago - Matt Jamie
Perhaps chicks are actually better at writing satirical blogs than I appreciated...
12 years ago - Radar Music Videos
I saw the headline, thought 'oh god that's not the way to do it' and didn't bother reading.
So I'm glad to find out it's a spoof. Agreed the New Statesmen headline is much better, clearly going to be an interesting read.
Hurrah re all articles surfacing the astonishing gender imbalance amongst directors. But the Jill Soloway approach didn't reel me in unfortunately.
12 years ago - Tom Johnson
Imagine if someone posted an article saying men made better directors than women?