The Struggle for equality in the film industry
This section of the blog will be covering some of the more recent catalysts for change within the film industry.
One of the main subjects will be the #MeToo movement and how it has helped create a better working environment for women within Hollywood. I shall address some of the more high-profile cases within the movement, such as Harvey Weinstein.
Another topic in this section will be the wage gap between males and females in the industry, going through some of the ways this has been changing in the last decade.
#MeToo
Origins
The phrase was first used in the context used today by Tarana Burke (pictured above[1]), a sexual harassment survivor and activist, in 2006[2]. Burke’s goal was to promote “empowerment through empathy”. The idea behind the phrase was to let those who have experienced sexual harassment that they were not alone.
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It was not until 2017 that the movement was revived when the phrase was reused by actress Alyssa Milano (Interestingly she was unaware of the origins of the term). Similarly, to Tarana Burke, Alyssa Milano’s goal was to encourage people to share their stories and make others feel less alone in their situation. Milano’s reintroduction of the phrase was spurred by the New York Times article about Harvey Weinstein and his alleged sexual misconducted. After tweeting about the idea behind the phrase it went viral and in the coming weeks was used over 12 million times.[3]
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Weinstein Effect
Harvey Weinstein was once called one of the most powerful men in Hollywood however, during the end of 2017, numerous accusations of sexual harassment, assault and even rape came out against the film producer in a New York Times article[4]. This article resulted in Weinstein’s immediate dismissal from his production company and in the following weeks many other actresses such as Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie released similar stories about the man.
The event was dubbed as a “tipping point[5]” as it showed victims that their abusers were not invincible and thus triggered countless allegations to come out about many other powerful or famous men such as Amazon’s Roy Price, Louis C.K and Kevin Spacey to name a few. This was dubbed the “Weinstein effect” and was one of the inspirations for the resurgence of the MeToo movement.
Time's Up Organization
The MeToo movement was catalyst for change within all industries and led to the creation of organisations such as ‘Time’s Up’[6]. Time’s Up is a charity dedicated to raising money for support victims of sexual harassment. The organisation has the backing of many high-profile people from Hollywood, with actresses such as Reese Witherspoon and Ashley Judd being involved in the organisation. Pictured below are some of these supporters showing their solidarity by wearing black at the Golden Globes.
With its creation, Time’s Up announced the initiatives it would strive towards. With a legal fund of over $13 million, it aims to assist lower-income women in need of legal assistance when seeking justice for sexual harassment; pushing for more men and women to come forward with their stories; advocating for legislation to prevent things such as nondisclosure agreements which prevent employees speaking out against employers and finally they aim to close the pay gap as “on average, women make 82 cents to every dollar paid to men”[7].
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Wage Gap
The gender wage gap has been ingrained within society for men and women have been able to work, but with the rising push for equality, this is slowly changing. Hollywood is one of the worst industries for this wage disparity, with instances such as when Michelle Williams was paid 1,500 times less than her co-star Mark Wahlberg during reshoots of the film “All the Money in the World” being all too common. With the Michelle Williams example, due to outcry on social media, Mark Wahlberg rectified this situation by donating the money he earned from the reshoots to the Time’s Up organisation[8] . While women may be paid less than their male counterparts, with the power that social media has in the current age, these happenstances will not go unnoticed by the public anymore, which will hopefully bring out change within the film industry and beyond.
Bibliography
[1] North, A. (2019). 7 positive changes that have come from the #MeToo movement. Retrieved from https://www.vox.com/identities/2019/10/4/20852639/me-too-movement-sexual-harassment-law-2019
[2] Me Too movement. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Me_Too_movement#2006_(Tarana_Burke)
[3] Gordon, S. (2020). Everything You Need to Know About the #MeToo Movement. Retrieved from https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-metoo-movement-4774817
[4] Kantor, J., & Twohey, M. (2017). Harvey Weinstein Paid Off Sexual Harassment Accusers for Decades (Published 2017). Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/05/us/harvey-weinstein-harassment-allegations.html
[5] The Weinstein Effect as a Tipping Point : Networks Course blog for INFO 2040/CS 2850/Econ 2040/SOC 2090. (2017). Retrieved from https://blogs.cornell.edu/info2040/2017/12/04/the-weinstein-effect-as-a-tipping-point/
[6] TIME'S UP Now. Join Us. Retrieved from https://timesupnow.org/
[7] Time’s Up, Pay Up - TIME'S UP Foundation. Retrieved from https://timesupfoundation.org/work/times-up-pay-up/
[8] Mark Wahlberg will donate his $1.5 million reshoot earnings for 'All the Money in the World' to the Time's Up initiative. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.businessinsider.com/ap-after-outcry-mark-wahlberg-donates-15-million-film-fee-2018-1?r%20=US&IR=T