ARTICLES RELATED TO BRAINWASHED - SEX, CAMERA, POWER:

Inclusion in the Director’s Chair: Analysis of Director Gender and Race/Ethnicity Across the 1,600 Top Films from 2007 to 2022

USC ANNENBERG, Jan 2023, By Dr. Stacy L. Smith, Dr. Katherine Pieper & Sam Wheeler

Each year, we examine specific demographics (gender, race/ethnicity) of directors across the 100 top domestic fictional films in North America. Directors are singled out in our work as they occupy the top leadership position in movie production.

Actor Judith Godrèche urges French film industry to face up to sexual abuse

The Guardian, Feb.23rd, 2024, By Kim Willsher

Star tells audience at prestigious César awards that they need to challenge powerful and abusive men whatever the career risk.

Women-Led Films Fell Close To 30% In 2023, Near A 10-Year Low, Per Study

DEADLINE, Feb.21st, 2024, By Tom Tapp

Barbie may have rescued the box office in 2023, but she could not tip the balance for representation of women in films.

For Female Creatives, Hollywood Is Still Just as ‘Bleak’ as Some Fear, but It Doesn’t Have to Be

IndeWire, Feb. 15th, 2024, By  Samantha Bergeson

Proven creators like Sofia Coppola, Jennifer Lopez, and Diablo Cody have all shared their struggles to find financing. If they're concerned, we all should be.

Major Studios’ Pledges to Hire More Female Filmmakers and People of Color Were ‘Performative,’ Study Finds

Variety, Jan.2nd, 2024, By Brent Lang

Despite successful films like "Barbie" and "Cocaine Bear," female directors in Hollywood still face limited opportunities compared to their male counterparts. A recent report from USC Annenberg's Inclusion Initiative labels industry diversity pledges as "performative acts" with little actual change. Despite breakthroughs like "Barbie," the highest-grossing film directed by a woman last year, major studios continue to favor male directors, as revealed by another study from the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University.

DGA Finds Little Progress on Diversity in Feature Film Hires

Variety, Dec.21st, 2023, By Gene Maddaus

Over the past five years, film director diversity has seen minimal improvement, with a significant decline in the total number of features, reports the Directors Guild of America. In films released since 2018, women directed 16%, and non-white directors accounted for 17%. The DGA-covered theatrical releases dropped from 292 in 2018 to 162 in 2022, impacting diversity hiring opportunities.

Progress toward parity for women on movie screens has stalled, report finds

APNEWS, Aug.17th, 2023, By Jake Coyle

NEW YORK (AP) — A new study on inclusion in film shows just how much of a rarity “Barbie” is. For every woman as a speaking character in the most popular films of 2022, there were more than two men, according to report by University of Southern California’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative.

To All The Films I've Loved Before

To All The Films I’ve Loved Before, July 11th, 2023, By Kiele Head

A FILM ANALYSIS OF HOW FEMALE PROTAGONISTS ARE PORTRAYED THROUGH SHOT DESIGN IN NETFLIX ORIGINAL FILMS

HBO’s ‘The Idol’ Is ‘Hostile to Feminism,’ Media Experts Say

The Wrap, June 27, 2023, By Kayla Cobb

“Regressive.” “Hostile to feminism.” “A male fantasy.” “Totally disempowered.” “Women as toilet paper.” “Sleazy and tawdry.” “Porny.”

Adèle Haenel Stopped Making Movies Because Industry Is ‘Reactionary, Racist, and Patriarchal’

IndieWire, May 15, 2023, By Christian Zilko

"By leaving this industry for good, I want to take part in another world, in another cinema," the actress said.

Don’t Doubt It, The Film Academy And Its Inclusion Allies Mean To Change The Business

DEADLINE, April 21, 2023 By Michael Cieply

The 96th Oscar cycle is upon us, and with it, something new—the mandatory representation and inclusion standards that require filmmakers and/or their storylines and/or their distributors to meet elaborate racial, sexual, and disability guidelines.

Mandy Walker Becomes First Woman to Win American Society of Cinematographers Feature Competition

The Hollywood Reporter, March 5, 2023 By Carolyn Giardina

Elvis cinematographer Mandy Walker cracked a glass ceiling on Sunday, becoming the first woman to win the American Society of Cinematographers Award in the feature competition during the 37th ASC Awards.

Teen girls ‘engulfed’ in violence and trauma, CDC finds

The Washington Post, February 13, 2023 By Donna St. George

Teen girls across the United States are “engulfed in a growing wave of violence and trauma,” according to federal researchers who released data Monday showing increases in rape and sexual violence, as well as record levels of feeling sad or hopeless.

It’s No Wonder Teen Girls Hypersexualize Themselves When This Is How Media Portrays Them

Medium, March 8, 2022  By Katie Jgln

One psychological study found that the more girls consume such images, the more likely they will suffer from low self-esteem, depression and eating disorders. This then leads to premature sexuality, alcohol and drug abuse and difficulty developing a healthy sexual life. Teenage girls who do fall into the trap of self-sexualisation — either as a result of mainstream media or as a trauma response to sexual violence — tend to have higher levels of body surveillance and body shame than those with low levels of internalised sexualisation.

Another study revealed that the constant sexualisation of girlhood on-screen also leads viewers to be desensitised to the victimisation of girls in real life. And it translates into an increased tolerance for sexual violence and harassment.

Nine out of 10 People Found to be Biased Against Women

Almost 90% of people are biased against women, according to a new index that highlights the “shocking” extent of the global backlash towards gender equality.

The Guardian, 5 March 2020 by Liz Ford

#biasagainstwomen #genderequality

Self-Objectification and Disordered Eating: A Meta-Analysis

Overall, results from the first meta-analysis to examine the relationship between self-objectification and disordered eating provide support for one of the major tenets of objectification theory and suggest that self-objectification may be a meaningful target in eating disorder interventions, though further work is needed to establish temporal and causal relationships.

National Library of Medicine, June 2019. By Lauren M. Schaefer and J. Kevin Thompson.