An exciting new study from Dr Martha Lauzen, executive director of the Center for the Study of Women in TV and Film, gives us a deeper look into diversity trends from the last few years. What lessons does it hold? Today, BLAKE & WANG P.A Entertainment Attorney takes a closer look.
Brandon Blake- Managing Partner at Blake & Wang P.A.
Sadly, the initial news is nothing to write home about. After 2 years of solid growth, we see a sharp decline in featured female protagonists- a drop from 40% to 29%. This sets us back to 2016 levels, undoing some very significant progress.
We also see men over 40 taking up 52% of the roles in the top 100 grossing films. Women of the equivalent age only take 32%. There’s also an uncomfortable decline in female characters matching the 40 and over demographic- the 31% of roles for females in their 30s drops to just 13% for the 40s.
So, despite the rising profiles of specific mature actresses, the general ageism for which Hollywood is often lampooned is very much still (disappointingly) in play as well. The trend continues through cooperative and group casts. Only 17% of the top-grossing films had more female than male characters, and only 5% roughly equal numbers. The remainder sees men outnumber women significantly.
The news is not all bad, however. The specific percentages for women as major characters did see a slight uptick from 37% to 38%, and speaking roles from 34% to 36%. This is definitely great progress.
How does this fit into what we’ve seen from the tumultuous last year? It certainly matches with a noted drop in female protagonist-focused films nominated at the upcoming Oscars, although we have seen a female-dominated lineup regarding directorship for this awards season.
What’s the best lesson to take from this study in demographics? While it’s easy to get disheartened, great progress has been made. It’s simply time to refocus on the end goal and keep working to target across the industry.
