Hold Those Cheers

“After almost 50 years of paucity, the number of female writers, directors and producers is once again nearing critical mass,” Cari Beauchamp proclaims in “Silent Partners” (April 4). Beauchamp’s optimistic conclusion echoes the conventional wisdom that the number of women employed in the film industry has increased dramatically over the years.

I can understand why she would come to this conclusion. After all, annual issues of the entertainment trades and the popular press tout the achievements of high-profile women in the film industry. When women and men are interviewed about the current state of women in the business, their comments are almost uniformly upbeat. However, these positive stories ignore the reality for most women in film’s behind-the-scenes community today.

Last year, Women in Film commissioned me to conduct a study of these women. The findings came as a surprise to almost everyone: Only 15% of all producers, directors, writers, cinematographers and editors working on the top 100 films (by domestic box-office gross) of 1997 were women.

Broken down by role, women accounted for only 13% of all writers, up from 7% in 1987. Is that progress? Yes. Have women achieved critical mass? Hardly. Fully 86% of the top 100 films in 1997, 1992 and 1987 had no female writers. Not one.

We should celebrate the accomplishments of women (and men) in the film industry. However, their success should not blind us to the very real fact that women remain uniformly under-represented in powerful behind-the-scenes positions.

MARTHA M. LAUZEN

Professor, School of Communication

San Diego State University