From Lois Weber to Kathryn Bigelow, and the “Chick- Flick” Reputation

Where are All the Women? From Lois Weber to Kathryn Bigelow, and the “Chick- Flick” Reputation

Cathy Kostova, 9 March 2015 I. Intro Manohla Dargis argues[1] that Kathryn Bigelow’s two-fisted win at the Academy Awards, in 2009, for best director and best film, for “The Hurt Locker”, has helped dismantle stereotypes about what types of films women can and should direct. As much as I agree with her that this was a historic and exhilarating moment for women filmmakers all around the world, I find the fact that the Oscar was granted to a movie with no female point of view whatsoever and to a director who tries her best not to be identified as female when it comes to her job, proves that films with strong female characters, and women directors who create such characters, remain very rarely recognized. 1. The Academy Statistics There have been only 4 women nominated for best director, out of the 424 nominations in the history of the Oscars:

 1976: Lina Wertmüller for “Seven Beauties” (1975),  1993: Jane Campion for “The Piano” (1993),  2003: Sofia Coppola for “Lost in Translation” (2003), and  2009: Kathryn Bigelow for “The Hurt Locker” (2008)

A 2012 survey conducted by the Los Angeles Times found that overall, academy members are 94 percent white and 77 percent male, and that their median age is 62.

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WHERE ARE ALL THE WOMEN? From Lois Weber To Kathryn Bigelow, and the “Chick-Flick” Reputation, 9 March 2015 Women make up 19 percent of the academy’s screenwriting branch and 18 percent of its producers branch, but only 9 percent of its directors branch.

To the question whether those statistics mirror those of the industry, the Academy says, because it’s an honor society it only recognizes people who are getting jobs in Hollywood. And people who are getting jobs in Hollywood are older white men[2]. 2. The Chick-Flick Stigma Films about women of all genres are continuously dismissed as “chick-flics”, a pejorative term for a film genre mainly dealing with heavy emotions and romance and designed to appeal to a largely female target audience[3].

And chick flicks, as Dargis points out, are often the only movies that offer female audiences stories about women, female friendships and female characters who are not standing on the sidelines as the male hero saves the day[1].

My question is, why in order to survive in Hollywood, women filmmakers have to either create sugar-full rom-coms (like Nora Ephron, Nancy Meyers and unfortunately Sofia Coppola) or go to the other extreme and take femininity completely out of the picture (like Kathryn Bigelow)?

Looking back in history, it seems something happened in the mid-1920s, and with the arrival of the talkies, the female voice got lost. 3. The Silent Era While Hollywood was starving for content and the audience was predominantly female, there seemed to be little gender bias in getting film jobs. Both men and women were welcome behind the camera and women were active at all levels of the industry[4].

Beginning in 1895 and continuing until 1919, Alice Guy-Blaché - the first female filmmaker in history, who was originally from France but eventually ended up in Hollywood - directed and produced nearly 300 films in all genres. She was amongst the first to make a science fiction film, titled In the Year 2000 (1912), in which women rule the world. She was the first director in movie history to make a narrative film (a fictional story put to film), The Cabbage Fairy (1896). She made one of the first movies shot in color, The Spring Fairy (1906) and around 100 sound movies, between 1906 and 1907; each movie ran one to two minutes in length using an early sound device called the “Chronophone”, which combined sound recorded on a wax cylinder with the filmed image.

Mary Pickford (1894-1979) was the first actor - male or female - to become a millionaire. She also led the most successful independent production company in the early years of Hollywood, United Artists, along with Douglas Fairbanks, and Charlie Chaplain.

A study done by the Writers Guild of America revealed that from the beginning of the 20th century until the mid-1920s, women outnumbered men as screenwriters by 10 to one.

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WHERE ARE ALL THE WOMEN? From Lois Weber To Kathryn Bigelow, and the “Chick-Flick” Reputation, 9 March 2015

From that period, one of the highest-paid screenwriters and studio executives was June Mathis (1892-1927). Within seven years of starting her screenwriting career, she had become so valuable to the MGM Studio that owner Samuel Goldwyn insured her life for $1,000,000. Her talent revealed itself when she took a popular war novel, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and adapted it for film after every other major studio had tried and determined it was impossible to adapt.

She persuaded MGM to pay $20,000 for the rights, promising she could turn it into a successful screenplay. Released in 1921, it became one of the most profitable silent movies ever made.

Writer/Director Lois Weber (1879-1939) was the best-known and most prolific female filmmaker of this period, responsible for writing, directing, and sometimes acting in hundreds of shorts made between 1911 and 1916, and at least 44 feature films from 1914 through 1934, including The Merchant of Venice (1914), the first American feature directed by a woman[5].

At her peak in 1920, this remarkably talented woman was under contract by Paramount Studio for $50,000 per picture plus half of the profits[6].

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WHERE ARE ALL THE WOMEN? From Lois Weber To Kathryn Bigelow, and the “Chick-Flick” Reputation, 9 March 2015 II. Lois Weber (1879–1939) Director, Writer, Producer, Actress

Lois Weber on the set of The Angel of Broadway (1927) with cinematographer Arthur Miller

Lois Weber (center) on the set of The Angel of Lois Weber (left) with actress Billie Dove Broadway, 1927

Carl Laemmle, founder of Universal: “I would trust Miss Weber with any sum of money that she needed to make any picture that she wanted to make… She knows the motion picture business as few people do.”[6]

At a time when many remained wary of cinema’s cultural impact, Weber believed in the medium’s narrative and dramatic power. Her “ideal picture entertainment,” she once said, was “a well assorted shelf of books come to life”[7].

She often talked of using motion pictures as a means of achieving political change, aspiring to produce work “that will have an influence for good on the public mind”[8][9].

Weber wrote and directed a series of high-profile films on social issues of the day, including religious hypocrisy in Hypocrites (1915), capital punishment in The People vs. John Doe (1916), drug addiction in Hop, the Devil’s Brew (1916), poverty and wage equity in Shoes (1916), and contraception in Where Are My Children? (1916) and The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1917). Her name was routinely mentioned alongside contemporaries like Griffith and DeMille as one of the top talents in Hollywood.

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WHERE ARE ALL THE WOMEN? From Lois Weber To Kathryn Bigelow, and the “Chick-Flick” Reputation, 9 March 2015 In 1916, she became the first and only woman elected to the Motion Picture Directors Association, a solitary honor she would retain for decades[10].

She continued to write and direct films heavily influenced by moral issues until the very end of her career, but already in the early 1920s, the American audiences were tired of these “sermons” and Weber’s continuous and explicit critique of Hollywood’s glamour didn’t serve her good either. E.g. the heroine in “Angel of Broadway” (1927) rejects stardom and artifice in favor of a more genuine engagement with life[11].

The dissolve of Lois Weber’s first marriage to Phillips Smalley in 1922 is often thrown as reason for the abrupt shift down in her career, and there have been multiple attempts to devalue her achievements by attributing them to her ex-husband. However such statements have been countered by multiple historians by taking a look at Smalley’s career after the divorce, which shows no behind the camera action from his part while Weber continued directing until 1934.

Starting from the early 1920s, Weber’s focus on urban social problems, rather than entertainment, and on the complexities of marriage, rather than romantic comedies, was increasingly perceived as outdated, overly didactic, and dower. America’s rising attraction to escapism is a more likely reason for the demise of Weber’s directing career.

“Why does Miss Weber dedicate herself, her time and her equipment to the construction of simple sermons?”[8][12] 1. Bio Born: Florence Lois Weber June 13, 1879 in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, USA (since 1907 Pittsburgh's Northside neighborhood)

Died: November 13, 1939 (age 60) in Hollywood, California, USA[13][14]

Lois was the second daughter of George and Mary Matilda Weber. George Weber was an upholsterer and decorator, who headed a deeply religious family. The Weber name was prominent in the religious development of Western PA. The first church in Pittsburg, The German Evangelical Church was organized by Reverend Johann Wilheim Weber in 1782.

Despite being the son of a preacher, George Weber did not match the stereotype of a Victorian father imbued with religious fanaticism. His hobby was to write stories for his two daughters and anxious that they might appreciate as much as he the beauty of a landscape or sunset, he would often take them out to the country. George Weber loved music as much as his daughter did and encouraged her to study piano.

At the age of sixteen, Lois Weber because a professional concert pianist and for the first time left the family home and Pittsburg[14].

After an unfortunate incident when a piano key broke during a recital, Weber decided to retire from the concert stage and in the hope of purifying the midst of the theatrical

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WHERE ARE ALL THE WOMEN? From Lois Weber To Kathryn Bigelow, and the “Chick-Flick” Reputation, 9 March 2015 profession, she took up acting in New York City in 1904. She met her future husband and collaborator Phillips Smalley in a Chicago-based touring company she was a part of.

In 1908, Lois Weber was hired by American Gaumont Chronophones, which produced phonoscènes where she was discovered and mentored by Alice Guy-Blaché[15].

2. Where Are My Children? 1916 2.1. Writer Screenplay: Lois Weber and Phillips Smalley

Story by: Lucy Payton and Franklin Hall. 2.2. Cast Tyrone Power Sr. ... DA Richard Walton

Helen Riaume ... Mrs. Richard Walton Where Are My Children? 1916: a baby angel comes to tell Mrs. William Carlo that she’s pregnant Marie Walcamp ... Mrs. William Carlo 2.3. Full Movie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwrkAyH0-8A 2.4. Length 1 hour 4 minutes 2.5. Synopsis The film starts with a waiver from Universal Film Mfg. Company, alerting the audience of its current but controversial subject – birth control. The message, however, advises that although unaccompanied children shouldn’t watch this film, if parents bring them along, “it will do them an immeasurable amount of good”.

The film’s introduction lays out a classification of unborn babies in heaven: the chance babies, the unwanted souls, and the ones in the secret place of the Most High - granted to those who prey for their arrival. Lois Weber uses animation and double exposure effects to visualize the connection between the babies in heaven and the characters from down-earth (e.g. the above figure).

Next we are introduced to District Attorney, Richard Walton, who has a case against Doctor Homer, arrested for promoting contraception amongst families with too many children to bear. Despite the moving stories of woe and poverty that the doctor relays on the witness stand, “A jury of men disagreed with Dr. Homer’s views.” And so, by a group of men, it is decided that birth control was an evil that should not be tolerated.

DA Walton, however, is somewhat taken with the idea of birth control, if it was used to weed out the poor and unfit, evaluating that it would reduce crime levels. He is also Cathy Kostova 6

WHERE ARE ALL THE WOMEN? From Lois Weber To Kathryn Bigelow, and the “Chick-Flick” Reputation, 9 March 2015 enamored with eugenics, the belief and practice which aims at improving the genetic quality of the human population[16]. At the same time, Walton has a great desire to have children, unassuming that the reason why this hasn’t happened is because Mrs. Walton doesn’t share his desire.

Mrs. Walton’s beliefs on motherhood are so strong that, after she sees her best friend, Mrs. William Carlo, troubled with her “condition”, she doesn’t hesitate to advise her on where she can get an abortion and she even drives her to and back from the office of Dr. Malfit, who secretly performs the procedure.

In the second act of the movie, we are introduced with a couple of new characters – Mrs. Walton’s brother, Roger and the housekeeper’s teenage daughter, Lilian. Disrespectful of the poor girl’s virtue, Roger quickly takes advantage of Lilian’s naivety and seduces her with empty promises. As a result, another one of the “unwanted” souls is called to earth.

In the meantime, out of love for her husband, “Mrs. Walton decides to conquer her selfishness and to prepare for motherhood”.

Roger seeks assistance from his sister in regards to his troublesome situation. In spite of her discontent with her brother’s behavior, she advises him of Dr. Malfit’s Practice.

Lilian dies, following an abortion Roger forces on her, but not before confessing everything to her mother.

Mr. Walton is enraged with his brother-in-law and shows him the door. Still not realizing his wife’s involvement in all of this, the DA’s revenge continues and he pursues a criminal case against Dr. Malfit.

The desperate practitioner doesn’t hesitate to threaten exposing Mrs. Walton to her husband if she doesn’t convince him to drop his prosecution. Mrs. Walton’s plea to her spouse, however, is unsuccessful and Dr. Malfit is convicted. Following his sentencing, he keeps his promise to bring Mrs. Walton down with him, and he points out the evidence of his wife’s continuous prescriptions to the devastation of the DA.

Full with anger and sense of betrayal, he returns to his home, to find his wife entertaining many of Dr. Malfit’s female patients, who he now sees as guilty of manslaughter. Mrs. Carlo attempts to talk him out of his rage, but with evidence in hand, he manages to scare her off and that leaves Mrs. Walton alone with her husband.

He demands: “Where are my children?” and accepts no appeal for forgiveness from his wife.

The film leaves Mrs. Walton asking herself that very question, while regretting her inability to become a mother, which the story blames on her numerous attempts to avoid it.

The last scene is of Mr. and Mrs. Walton, aging through time, while translucent images of their potential children appear and disappear, ultimately leaving the couple to die alone.

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WHERE ARE ALL THE WOMEN? From Lois Weber To Kathryn Bigelow, and the “Chick-Flick” Reputation, 9 March 2015 2.6. About Birth control was fully embraced by the US medical profession after 1945 and it was finally determined legal in the USA by the Supreme Court in 1965, in the case of Griswold v. Connecticut, for married couples and in 1972, in the case of Eisenstadt v. Baird for unmarried couples[17].

Since the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (23 March 2010) and its contraceptive mandate (effective for insurance plans from 1 August 2012) took effect, the contraceptive coverage requirement has faced several challenges, including a case in 2013 by the religious charity Little Sisters of the Poor. The Supreme Court said the government couldn't enforce the contraceptive mandate.

Religious-based groups sought delays in the requirement, saying that signing the form would force them to choose between what the Little Sisters of the Poor - a Denver- based home for the elderly run by Catholic nuns - called "onerous penalties or becoming complicit in a grave moral wrong"[18].

Although, Where Are My Children?’s female characters might seem weak by today’s metrics, Weber’s choice of subject matter did open a much needed discussion about women’s rights and the consequences of denying those rights. She used a very intricate story to introduce multiple points of views about contraceptives, and she presented the issue not only as a woman’s issue, but one that needs to be agreed upon by both partners.

The stand point of Weber’s protagonist, DA Walton, does seem imposing and the film is certainly judging his wife, but Mrs. Walton is not punished by a separation from her loved one. Regardless of their betrayal to one another, there is room for forgiveness and development of an honest relationship, sometime in the future.

At least that’s my interpretation, but what makes this and most other Lois Weber movies unique, and what is usually missing in Hollywood productions to this day is that the question remains open. Because different answers apply to different circumstances. There is no one right answer. 3. The Blot 1921 3.1. Writer Lois Weber, Marion Orth

3.2. Cast Philip Hubbard ... The Professor, Andrew Theodore Griggs

Margaret McWade ... The Professor's Wife, Mrs. Griggs

Claire Windsor ... The Professor's The Blot 1921: the neighbor families hover over Daughter, Amelia Griggs Amelia Griggs after she passed out

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WHERE ARE ALL THE WOMEN? From Lois Weber To Kathryn Bigelow, and the “Chick-Flick” Reputation, 9 March 2015 Louis Calhern ... The Professor's Pupil, Phil West

Marie Walcamp ... The Other Girl, Juanita Claredon 3.3. Full Movie http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x22h0cx_the-blot_shortfilms 3.4. Length 1 hour 30 minutes 3.5. Synopsis “Men are only boys grown tall.”

The Blot opens on poorly paid college professor Andrew Griggs who begs his disorderly students to show more appreciation for his efforts to teach them. Among the most disrespectful are a spoiled trio led by Phil West, whose father is the school's wealthiest benefactor; Bert Gareth, a congressman's son; and Walt Lucas, a 23-year-old who must graduate to receive his inheritance.

Phil has a concealed interest for the professor's daughter, Amelia and he frequently drops by the public library, where she works, just to be able to speak to her. She, however, is unimpressed by him and his wealth.

The professor Griggs’ family struggles for money are especially evident in how well-worn their household is and in Mrs. Griggs’ daily trial to put food on the table, shoes on their feet, and clothes on their backs. The family’s despair is mirrored in the life of their hungry pets, a family of housecats, who Mrs. Griggs is forced to secretly feed from the neighbor’s trash bin. And at the same time, their hardship is contrasted with the prosperity of their next-door neighbors: shoemaker Hans Olsen is sympathetic to their circumstances, as is his eldest son Peter (Amelia's secret admirer), but his wife strongly dislikes, what she considers, Mrs. Griggs' pretentiousness.

One day, Phil finally manages to persuade Amelia to let him drive her home after work, as it is raining, and her shoe has a hole in it. He drops her off at the same moment as young Reverend Gates is visiting the professor. When Amelia introduces the two gentlemen, Phil notices the mutual affection she and the reverend have. Curious about his competition, he offers Gates a ride home as well.

Phil’s curiosity about reverend Gates leads him to witness his generosity, his wisdom and they even find a common interest for art. Phil’s curiosity quickly turns into admiration and a growing friendship.

Juanita Claredon, another of the country club set, considers herself Phil's girl. Noting a change in the now more thoughtful and considerate man, she follows him one day to the library and sees her rival. Eventually, she realizes that his love for Amelia has matured him, and wishes him well.

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WHERE ARE ALL THE WOMEN? From Lois Weber To Kathryn Bigelow, and the “Chick-Flick” Reputation, 9 March 2015 In the meantime, Amelia becomes sick and her doctor prescribes nourishing food, such as “chicken or another delicacy”. Mrs. Gibbs shows desperation as she knows she can’t provide such things to her sick child...

Phil’s regular visit to Amelia’s workplace and Revered Gates inform him that she is ill and he instantly goes to visit her in her home.

Mrs. Griggs, knowing who he is, decides to spend what little she has on some fancy sandwiches, cakes and tea in an attempt to put up a brave front. She is heartbroken to find, when she brings them in, that Phil has departed and Reverend Gates is to be the recipient of her expensive bounty. On top of that, as a result from that spree, Mrs. Griggs is forced to go into debt in order to be able to buy food.

But at the market, Mrs. Griggs is refused to buy a chicken for Amelia on credit (a scene observed by Phil). In desperation, she steals one from her neighbor’s open window. This is witnessed by the horrified Amelia. While Amelia does not see her mother change her mind and put it back, Mrs. Olsen and Peter do. When Mrs. Olsen threatens to make this theft known, Peter insists he will leave home if she does.

Meanwhile, Phil sends anonymously a basket of food (including a chicken) to the Griggs. Believing it was stolen, Amelia refuses to eat it.

The next day, though she is still ill, she goes to work, as it is payday. Afterward, she goes to apologize to Mrs. Olsen and to pay for the theft. Her emotional attempt to make amends moves her neighbor, who denies she lost a chicken. But the strain is too much for Amelia and she faints. Phil and Mrs. Griggs rush over and take her home. There, Phil confesses it was he who sent the chicken. Amelia is more than relieved that her mother remained honest after all and her admiration for Phil grows.

At the end of the movie Mrs. Griggs and Mrs. Olsen find common ground and the rich family take Mrs. Griggs for a night out, driving off together in their new car.

Phil writes to his father about the inadequacy of teacher salaries, calling it a "blot on the present day civilization". Astonished, Philip West Sr. comes to see his reformed son and agrees that something must be done.

In the meantime, Phil champions the professor’s services to his friends and the three go for extra tutoring in the evenings. During that night's session, Phil, unashamed, shows his affection for Amelia in front of his two rich friends and her father, who smiles in approval.

The love story, however, remains unresolved, as the film leaves Amelia undecided between Phil and Gates[19][20]. 3.6. About Aside from its main message that educators should be respected and rewarded appropriately, there are many other subtly spoken values, put out by Lois Weber in The Blot.

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WHERE ARE ALL THE WOMEN? From Lois Weber To Kathryn Bigelow, and the “Chick-Flick” Reputation, 9 March 2015 Although a little confused about who its protagonist is, this film strikes me as a delicately told story of the daily struggles of a middle-class family through the eyes of a mother in America in the 1920s.

It also prophesizes the unnaturalness of the divide by class or cast, via the relationship between Amelia and Phil, but also through the budding friendship between Gates and Phil and by the end of the film, between Mrs. Griggs and Mrs. Olsen.

The life of Amelia in The Blot can easily be taken as a possible backstory for Mildred Pierce[21], a 1941 book (and two same-titled screen adaptations of it) set in the 1930s, about a middle-class housewife who tries to maintain her family's social position during the Great Depression and who ends up becoming an extremely successful entrepreneur in a time of crisis.

This comparison between the two unrelated fictional characters might be a bit of a stretch, but again, the beauty in Lois Weber’s piece is that she offers endless possibilities for her characters.

Amelia’s honesty, as opposed to her mother’s, remains unshaken. Out of love for her family, in order to bring them out of debt, she considers joining a rich partner, she doesn’t necessarily love, but again, as opposed to her mother who sits at home endlessly worrying about the unknown future, Amelia is ready, herself, with the use of her education and hard work, to find a way to build her family up, without compromising her values. 4. Giving back After Lois Weber retired from directing, she wrote freelance scenarios while she tried to interest the educational community in the use of films as learning tools and visual aids. It was reported that she managed an apartment building in the 1930s. By the end of her life, she worked as a script doctor.

Not only was her career exceptional, but she also helped other women get started in the industry. Directors Lule Warrenton, Elsie Jane Wilson, Cleo Madison, and Jeannie Macpherson all started their careers with Weber. Frances Marion, perhaps the most prominent writer of the silent era, began her career with Weber in 1914 at Bosworth Studios[6].

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WHERE ARE ALL THE WOMEN? From Lois Weber To Kathryn Bigelow, and the “Chick-Flick” Reputation, 9 March 2015 III. Kathryn Bigelow (1951–) Director, Producer

Kathryn Bigelow on the set of The Hurt Locker 2008

Mark Boal (left) and Kathryn Bigelow on the Kathryn Bigelow with her Academy Award for Best set of The Hurt Locker 2008 Director in 2010

James Cameron (Ex. Husband and Friend): “I think, the idea of war and conflict fascinates her and so it’s something that it’s out there in the world that she’s trying to understand, but I think she also takes pride in the fact that she can outgun the guys! That just in pure technique, just pure game, she’s got more game than most of the male directors out there.”[22]

Jeremy Renner (Sargent James): “She likes to watch and she captures, she’s a painter!”

Kathryn: “I’m drawn to provocative characters that find themselves in extreme situations and I think I’m drawn to that consistently”.

Kathryn Bigelow is an independent filmmaker (apart from Zero Dark Thirty 2012, all of her films were funded independently[23]), who continuously depicts the muscular, violent side of the world in her movies. She stays as gender neutral as possible in her storytelling, and her choice to ignore the relevance of her femininity has brought her criticism by some[24] but at the same time it has brought her repeated success in the male dominated cinema realm.

Her films include the vampire Western horror film Near Dark (1987), the action crime film Point Break (1991), the controversial science fiction action thriller Strange Days (1995),

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WHERE ARE ALL THE WOMEN? From Lois Weber To Kathryn Bigelow, and the “Chick-Flick” Reputation, 9 March 2015 the mystery thriller The Weight of Water (2000), the submarine thriller K-19: The Widowmaker (2002), the war film The Hurt Locker (2008), the action thriller war film Zero Dark Thirty (2012), and the short film Last Days of Ivory (2014). The Hurt Locker won the 2009 Academy Award for Best Picture, won the BAFTA Award for Best Film, and was nominated for the 2009 Golden Globe Award for Best Drama.

In 2009, Kathryn Bigelow won the Academy Award for Best Director, for The Hurt Locker (2008). This film also brought her the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing, the BAFTA Award for Best Direction, and the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Director[25]. 1. Bio Born: Kathryn Ann Bigelow November 27, 1951 in San Carlos, California, USA[26]

Kathryn Bigelow: “I grew up in the San Francisco Bay area. I started painting at around 6 or 7 and loved it. I imagined, I would somehow, without knowing how I would survive, I would paint my whole life.

So, I completely immersed in art. I went to the San Francisco Institute once I graduated from high school, still protesting the war. Then I went to New York. There’s this interesting program developed by the Whitney museum, where they take 15 students, at that time, that’s 1973-4, from around the country and they give you your own studio in New York City and at the end of the year you have group show at the Whitney. It’s kind of incredible!

So I find myself in a studio, in the 3rd floor down in the off-track bedding building at the corner of Reed and Chambers. I don’t know if you know New York in the mid-70s but there were gunshots. I slept in the bank vault. That was my studio and where I lived. I had my own little sleeping bag... but Susan Sontag was my creative advisor. And even then she was just a God! So it was well worth living in the bank vault with gunshots going up in the 3 floors above me…”

“So I kind of translated those ideas to film, thinking it crossed all cultural lines. You could nestle inside this very accessible form, maybe more complicated ideas, that can either be accessed or not.”

“It’s got to be truthful… and honest and succeed on its own terms, whatever those terms are. And also, the great thing about Mark’s screenplay [The Hurt Locker] on this was the opportunity to work on something that’s topical and relevant. And as we said earlier, sadly its relevancy isn’t ongoing relevancy and that’s been very meaningful to me personally. So it’s going to be interesting to move on from here and how important topicality and relevance will remain. For me I feel like that’s where I need to stay right for a while.”[27]

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WHERE ARE ALL THE WOMEN? From Lois Weber To Kathryn Bigelow, and the “Chick-Flick” Reputation, 9 March 2015 2. The Hurt Locker 2008 A scene from The Hurt 2.1. Writer Locker Mark Boal 2.2. Cast Jeremy Renner ... Sergeant First Class William James

Anthony Mackie ... Sergeant JT Sanborn

Brian Geraghty ... Specialist Owen Eldridge

Guy Pearce ... Staff Sergeant Matt Thompson 2.3. Full Movie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZQ3KwMYCic 2.4. Length 2 hours 11 minutes 2.5. Synopsis "If a bomb goes off, you're going to be in the hurt locker. It's somewhere you don't want to be." [28]

--- Mark Boal, New Yorker, 2009

"The rush of battle is a potent and often lethal addiction, for war is a drug."

--- “War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning”, Chris Hedges 2002

Sergeant First Class William James, a battle-tested veteran, arrives as a new team leader of a U.S. Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit in the Iraq War, replacing Staff Sergeant Matthew Thompson, who gets killed by a radio-controlled improvised explosive device (IED) in Baghdad. His team includes Sergeant J.T. Sanborn and Specialist Owen Eldridge.

James' maverick methods and attitude lead Sanborn and Eldridge to consider him reckless, and tensions mount. When they are assigned to destroy some explosives in a remote desert area, James returns to the detonation site to pick up his gloves. Sanborn openly contemplates killing James by "accidentally" triggering the explosion, making Eldridge very uncomfortable, but Sanborn does nothing.

Returning to Camp Victory, the team encounters five armed men wearing shemagh scarves over their heads, standing near a vehicle, which has a flat tire. After a tense encounter, the men reveal themselves to be “on the same side” of the war British mercenaries. They have captured two prisoners featured on the most-wanted Iraqi playing cards. The entire group suddenly comes under fire, and when the prisoners attempt to escape in the confusion, the leader of the mercenaries (Ralph Fiennes) remembers the bounty for them is "dead or alive" and shoots them. Enemy snipers kill three of the mercenaries, including the leader. Sanborn and James borrow the Brits’

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WHERE ARE ALL THE WOMEN? From Lois Weber To Kathryn Bigelow, and the “Chick-Flick” Reputation, 9 March 2015 Sniper Kill Shot to eliminate three attackers, while Eldridge kills a fourth. This life and death experience “breaks the ice” Sanborn and Eldridge previously foster towards James and the ice is replaced by team spirit and trust.

During a raid on a warehouse, James discovers the body of a young boy, which has been surgically implanted with an unexploded bomb. James believes it to be "Beckham", an Iraqi teenager he had previously befriended. During evacuation, Lieutenant Colonel John Cambridge, the camp's psychiatrist and a friend of Eldridge's, is killed in an explosion; Eldridge blames himself for Cambridge’s death. Later, James leaves the military compound seeking revenge for Beckham and breaks into the house of an Iraqi professor, but his search reveals nothing and he leaves.

Called to a petrol tanker detonation, James decides on his own to hunt for the ones responsible, guessing they are still in the immediate area. Sanborn protests, but when James heads out, he and Eldridge follow. They split their search and insurgents capture Eldridge. James and Sanborn rescue him, but accidentally shoot him in the leg. The following morning, James is approached by Beckham, who James believed was dead. The young boy tries to play soccer with James and sell him more DVDs, but the soldier walks by without saying a word. Before being airlifted for surgery elsewhere, Eldridge angrily blames James for his injury.

James and Sanborn's unit is called to another mission in their last two days of their rotation. An innocent Iraqi civilian has had a bomb vest strapped to his chest. James tries to cut off the locks to remove the vest, but there are too many to undo in the time available before the bomb will detonate. He has to abandon the man, who is killed when the bomb explodes. Sanborn is left distraught by the man's death. He confesses to James that he can no longer cope with the pressure, and he wants to return home and have a son.

After Bravo Company's rotation ends, James returns home to his ex-wife, Connie and their infant son who both still live with him in his house. However, he feels disconnected from routine civilian life, with its ordinary family dinners and shopping at supermarkets celebrating abundance. One night, James confesses to his son that there is only one thing that he knows he loves. Shortly thereafter, he starts another tour of duty serving with Delta Company, U.S. Army EOD unit as they are starting their 365-day rotation[29]. 2.6. About James Cameron: “I think, it’s an irresistible story to finally be able to award the very first directing Oscar to a woman, and Kathryn, I’m sure, she’ll be very ambivalent about this, because she’ll be out of her mind “Wait a minute, I want to win for the work, I don’t want to win because I’m a woman” but I think it’s irresistible at the moment of voting, that story...”[22]

It’s needless to comment on the reception of The Hurt Locker – its numerous awards speak heaps.

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WHERE ARE ALL THE WOMEN? From Lois Weber To Kathryn Bigelow, and the “Chick-Flick” Reputation, 9 March 2015 But the fact that a movie with no female characters or perspective was chosen to award the Best Director Oscar to a director of female gender for the first time, makes me questions whether this was a real win, or if it wasn’t actually a slap on the wrist.

Yes, a female director can be acknowledged for her talent and work, but only if she steers clear of women topics. 3. Zero Dark Thirty 2012 3.1. Writer Mark Boal 3.2. Cast Jessica Chastain ... Maya

Jason Clarke ... Dan

Reda Kateb ... Ammar

Kyle Chandler ... Joseph Bradley

Jennifer Ehle ... Jessica 3.3. Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxC_JNz5Vbg 3.4. Length 2 hours 37 minutes

3.5. Synopsis The film starts with a note saying it’s based on firsthand accounts of actual events followed by a compilation of sound recordings from World Trade Center victims and newscasts on September 11, 2001.

Next, we are transported in 2013 on a black site near Islamabad, Pakistan, where U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (C.I.A.) officer, Dan, and his team are performing continuous enhanced interrogation tactics, a.k.a. torture, on Ammar al-Baluchi, detainee with suspected family ties to hijackers in the 9/11 attacks.

Along with Dan, we’re introduced to a younger C.I.A. agent, Maya, who we later on learn, has spent her entire career and life, since graduating from high school, focused solely on gathering intelligence related to Osama bin Laden, leader of al-Qaeda.

Dan and Maya continue to guiltlessly subject Ammar to torture, including waterboarding, sexual humiliation, sleep deprivation and folding him inside a box smaller than a coffin, to no result until they decide to try bluffing instead.

They trick him into believing that he had already confessed details about the attack in Khobar, Saudi Arabia on May 29th, 2004, and saved the lives of innocent people. But the attack in question had already happened.

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WHERE ARE ALL THE WOMEN? From Lois Weber To Kathryn Bigelow, and the “Chick-Flick” Reputation, 9 March 2015 Being rewarded with fresh food and fresh threats of torture, Ammar divulges that an old acquaintance, who is using the alias Abu Ahmed, is working as a personal courier for bin Laden. Other detainees corroborate this, with some claiming Abu Ahmed delivers messages between bin Laden and a man referred to as Abu Faraj, a senior member of the al-Qaeda organization.

In 2005, Abu Faraj is apprehended by the C.I.A. and local police in Pakistan. Maya interrogates Abu Faraj under torture, but he continues to deny knowing a courier with such a name. Maya interprets this as an attempt by Abu Faraj to conceal the importance of Abu Ahmed.

Maya continues to sift through masses of data and information, using a variety of technology, hunches and sharing insights. She concentrates on finding Abu Ahmed, determined to use him to find bin Laden. During a span of five years, she survives the 2008 Islamabad Marriott Hotel bombing as well as being shot at in her car by armed men.

Dan, departing on reassignment, warns Maya that due to the new administration, change of politics may lead to prosecutions against those officers who had been involved in torture.

Maya's fellow officer and friend Jessica is killed in the 2009 Camp Chapman attack.

A Jordanian detainee claims the man previously identified from a photograph as Abu Ahmed is a man he personally buried in 2001. Several C.I.A. officers – Maya's seniors – conclude the target who could be Abu Ahmed is long dead, and that they have searched a false trail for nine years.

A fellow analyst researching Moroccan intelligence archives comes to Maya and suggests that Abu Ahmed is Ibrahim Sayeed. Maya agrees and contacts Dan, who is working at the C.I.A. headquarters. Maya has found that Ibrahim Sayeed had a brother, Habib, and theorizes the C.I.A.'s supposed photograph of Abu Ahmed was of Habib, as he bore a striking resemblance to Ibrahim and was killed in Afghanistan.

Dan uses C.I.A. funds to purchase a Lamborghini for a Kuwaiti prince in exchange for the telephone number of Sayeed's mother. The C.I.A. traces calls to the mother. One caller's persistent use of tradecraft to avoid detection leads Maya to conclude the caller is Abu Ahmed.

At Maya's behest and with the support of her supervisors, numerous C.I.A. operatives are deployed to search for and identify Abu Ahmed. They locate him in his vehicle and eventually track him to a large urban compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, near the Pakistan Military Academy.

As Maya leaves her residence one morning, she is attacked by multiple gunmen, but the bullet-proof glass in her car saves her. Knowing that she has been blacklisted by al- Qaeda and there will be more attempts on her life if she stays, her superiors remove her from the field and send Maya home to Washington, D.C.

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WHERE ARE ALL THE WOMEN? From Lois Weber To Kathryn Bigelow, and the “Chick-Flick” Reputation, 9 March 2015 The C.I.A. puts the compound in Abbottabad under heavy surveillance for several months, using a variety of methods. Although they are confident from circumstantial evidence that bin Laden is there, they cannot prove this photographically. Meanwhile, the President's National Security Advisor tasks the C.I.A. with producing a plan to capture or kill bin Laden if it can be confirmed that he is in the compound. An agency team devises a plan to use two top-secret stealth helicopters to secretly enter Pakistan and insert members of the US Navy SEAL Team Six operatives to raid the compound. Before briefing President Barack Obama, the C.I.A. Director holds a meeting of his top officials, who assess only a 60–80% chance that bin Laden rather than another high- value target is living in the compound. Maya, also in attendance, states the chances are 100%.

The raid is approved and is executed at 0:30 (a.k.a. O Dark Thirty or Zero Dark Thirty) on May 2, 2011. Although execution is complicated by one of the helicopters crashing, the SEALs gain entry and kill a number of people within the compound, among them a man on the compound's top floor who is revealed to be Osama bin Laden. They bring bin Laden's body back to a U.S. base in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, where Maya visually confirms the identity of the corpse.

The film leaves Maya as the only passenger aboard the vast interior of a US military aircraft. The pilot asks her where she wants to go but she does not reply. He leaves for the cockpit and she weeps[30]. 3.6. About The film’s subject matter and its intended release date let some early critics deem it as a mere boost on President Obama’s reelection campaign[31].

On the other hand its without-pardon attitude in regards to torture has enabled others to label it as sanctioning revenge and pro-torture[32][33].

Both Boal and Bigelow have stated on multiple occasions that their only intent has been to stay true to the history, and not including the enhanced interrogations would have meant white-washing it[34][36][37].

But putting the politics aside, the film's main character clearly mirrors how the director carries herself in a world surrounded by men. 3.7. The Female Lead Kathryn Bigelow was surprised (and surprised that she was surprised) with the research that commented on the predominance of women in intelligence, and that a woman was in the center of the CIA investigation (Zero Dark Thirty) which led to the murder of Osama Bin Laden.

Did it occur to her that people would think of it as a feminist statement – yes, but she decided that what’s most important is to be faithful to the research. There was no agenda that was part of the thinking behind Zero Dark Thirty. Simply put - the research happened to revolve around many people, many of whom were women[35].

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WHERE ARE ALL THE WOMEN? From Lois Weber To Kathryn Bigelow, and the “Chick-Flick” Reputation, 9 March 2015 Jessica Chastain: “I’m playing a lead female who’s not defined by a men. And that’s very rare, I find in cinema, to not have a man define the female character. She’s capable and intelligent. She completely stands on her own, without having to deal with some weird issue. And I find that it’s a good representation of this generation of women. So to make that statement, in this film, with Kathryn Bigelow directing! [Speechless]

She’s surrounded by men, but she doesn’t define herself based on what they think of her, or by a boyfriend, or she’s not the victim... Although of course there’s Osama, always there, she’s not the victim to him. She’s someone who no matter what, will get what she needs, and she will do a great job!”[38] 4. Giving Back During the filming of the Hurt Locker (2008), Kathryn Bigelow created a trainee program from the local Jordanian film school, Red Sea Institute of Cinematic Arts, employing students in the AD and other departments[23], in hopes of giving back to the local industry and making Jordan an even friendlier place for filming.

Kathryn Bigelow [on being the first female director to have won the Academy Award]: “It’s exciting, it’s thrilling. There’s no question about it, it’s thrilling, and if that in and of itself, just this whole process, if that is useful to somebody else and motivating, then it’s wonderful. But I’d say, for me, personally, it’s just so gratifying to be recognized for a film [The Hurt Locker] that puts a magnifying lens on a hellish situation. That’s what I think moves me and certainly speaks to me.”[27]

I am still happy, that Bigelow let a little bit of her own strength enter into her filmmaking and that shines through Maya (the protagonist in Zero Dark Thirty, 2012), who is an inspiration herself. But from the above statement, it’s evident that apart from inspiring female filmmakers from a far, Bigelow isn’t particularly planning on taking other aspiring female directors under her wing in an effort to grow the relevance of the female point of view in cinema.

Let that not be a judgment to Kathryn Bigelow but let’s hope that inspiration from a far will be enough to cradle another Alice Guy and Lois Weber and that they will motivated to give back and bring on more and more female talent into this unjustly male dominated industry.

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WHERE ARE ALL THE WOMEN? From Lois Weber To Kathryn Bigelow, and the “Chick-Flick” Reputation, 9 March 2015 IV. Summary Jeremy Renner (Sargent James in The Hurt Locker): “What does having a set of ovaries have to do with directing a film? It’s through her eyes that she sees, not through her memories or anything else that defines her as a woman, right?”

Kathryn Bigelow: “There’s really no difference between what I do and what a male filmmaker might do. We all try to make our days, we all try get the best performances we can, we try to make our budget, and we try to make the best movie we possibly can, so in that sense it’s very similar.

On the other hand, I think the journey for women, no matter what venue it is, politics, business, film, it’s a long journey…”[22]

What both Weber and Bigelow aspire to with their films, is to open people’s eyes and minds around difficult but important and relevant topics. And while Lois Weber’s peachiness can no longer be swallowed by today’s audiences, a Kathryn Bigelow style show-rather-than-tell approach has proven successful.

With the increasing amount of distribution streams, quality content is in shortage again. Now is the time to turn our backs to the old white men world of Hollywood, and take part in the growing independent community, where quality matters more than gender bias.

Let’s take the next step! Brave women out there, unashamed to voice our point of view, now is the time to come out! V. Notes 1. Manohla Dargis, "How Oscar Found Ms. Right ", The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/14/movies/14dargis.html?_r=2&, 10 March 2010 2. John Horn, Nicole Sperling and Doug Smith, "Unmasking the Academy Oscar voters overwhelmingly white, male", http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/oscars/la-et-unmasking-oscar- academy-project-20120219-story.html#axzz2uTrQtpaf&page=1, 19 Feb. 2012 3. WikipediaA, "Chick flick", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chick_flick, 5 March 2015 4. Shelley Stamp, "Women and the Silent Screen", The Wiley-Blackwell History of American Film, 2012, p.1-2 5. Victor Parachin, "Fragments of History: Female Film Pioneers", 50 Plus Senior News: http://50plusseniornewspa.com/news/2013/dec/04/fragments-history-female-film- pioneers/, 4 Dec. 2013 6. Denise Lowe, "Weber, Lois (1879 Allegheny, PA-1939 Hollywood, CA)", An Encyclopedic Dictionary of Women in early American Films, 2005, p.554-555 7. "Lois Weber on Scripts.", Moving Picture World, 19 Oct. 1912, p.241 8. Shelley Stamp, "Lois Weber", Women Film Pioneers Project: https://wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu/pioneer/ccp-lois-weber/, 27 September 2013

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WHERE ARE ALL THE WOMEN? From Lois Weber To Kathryn Bigelow, and the “Chick-Flick” Reputation, 9 March 2015 9. Photoplay, Sept. 1913, p.73 10. Shelley Stamp, "Women and the Silent Screen", The Wiley-Blackwell History of American Film, 2012, p.8 11. Shelley Stamp, "“Exit Flapper, Enter Woman,” or Lois Weber in Jazz Age Hollywood", Framework 51, No. 2, Fall 2010, p.358–387 12. "The Screen", New York Times, 14 Nov. 1921, p.22 13. IMDb, http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0916665/ 14. Anthony Slide, "Early Years", Lois Weber: The Director Who Lost her Way in History, 30 Sept. 1996, Chapter Two 15. WikipediaA, "Lois Weber", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lois_Weber, 9 March 2015 16. WikipediaA, "Eugenics", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugenics, 7 March 2015 17. WikipediaA, "Birth control movement in the United States ", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birth_control_movement_in_the_United_States, 13 Sept. 2014 18. Bill Mears and Tom Cohen, "Supreme Court Women Lash out at Birth Control Decision", CNN: http://edition.cnn.com/2014/07/04/politics/supreme-court- women/, 5 July 2014 19. WikipediaA, "The Blot", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blot, 17 Feb. 2015 20. Gone Gonzo, "The Blot (1921)", The Movie Review Warehouse: https://moviereviewwarehouse.wordpress.com/2012/02/05/the-blot-1921/, 5 Feb. 2012 21. WikipediaA, "Mildred Pierce ", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mildred_Pierce, 22 Dec. 2014 22. CBS, "60 Minutes: The Hurt Locker and Bio", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqY0WWV93to, 12 July 2010, Recorded Interview 23. DP/30: The Oral History Of Hollywood, "The Hurt Locker, director Kathryn Bigelow, writer/producer Mark Boal ", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-O9v4sgHyR4, June 2009, Recorded Interview 24. Martha P. Nochimson, "Kathryn Bigelow: Feminist pioneer or tough guy in drag?", Salon: http://www.salon.com/2010/02/24/bigelow_3/, 24 Feb. 2010 25. WikipediaA, "Kathryn Bigelow", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathryn_Bigelow, 22 Feb. 2015 26. IMDb, http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000941/ 27. DP/30: The Oral History Of Hollywood, "The Hurt Locker, Director Kathryn Bigelow", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcMVGQphEw8, Feb 2010, Recorded Interview 28. Avi Zenilman, "Inside the Hurt Locker", The New Yorker: http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/inside-the-hurt-locker, 10 July 2009 29. WikipediaA, "The Hurt Locker", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hurt_Locker#Plot, 7 March 2015 30. WikipediaA, "Zero Dark Thirty", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero_Dark_Thirty#Plot, 9 March 2015

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WHERE ARE ALL THE WOMEN? From Lois Weber To Kathryn Bigelow, and the “Chick-Flick” Reputation, 9 March 2015 31. Daniel Bates, "We’re so excited': Secret emails reveal how Obama backed bin Laden film to help win reelection", Mail Online: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2195346/Zero-Dark-Thirty-Secret-emails- reveal-Obama-backed-bin-Laden-film-help-win-reelection.html, 29 Aug. 2012 32. Frank Bruni, "Bin Laden, Torture and Hollywood", The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/09/opinion/sunday/bruni-bin-laden-torture-and- hollywood.html?_r=2, 8 Dec. 2012 33. David Edelstein, "Epic Pileup: Zero Dark Thirty and The Hobbit compete for your three hours.", New York Magazine Movie Review: http://nymag.com/movies/reviews/zero-dark-thirty-hobbit-2012-12/, 10 Dec. 2012 34. Popcorn with Peter Travers, "Kathryn Bigelow discusses controversial torture scenes in Zero Dark Thirty ", ABC News: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRnFcr7JeKg, 11 Jan. 2013, Recorded Interview 35. Popcorn with Peter Travers, "Kathryn Bigelow on Making 'Zero Dark Thirty'", ABC News: http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/video/dark-thirty-director-kathryn- bigelow-latest-film-18188084, 11 Jan. 2013, Recorded Interview 36. Sheila Roberts, "Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Jessica Chastain, and Jason Clarke Talk ZERO DARK THIRTY, the Decision to Include Enhanced Interrogation Scenes, Filming the Raid, and More", Collider: http://collider.com/kathryn-bigelow-jessica-chastain- zero-dark-thirty-interview/, 17 Dec. 2012 37. Jane Mayer, "Zero Conscience in “Zero Dark Thirty”", The New Yorker: http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/zero-conscience-in-zero-dark-thirty, 14 Dec. 2012 38. DP/30: The Oral History Of Hollywood, "Zero Dark Thirty, actor Jessica Chastain", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YsKU4QrUww, Dec 2012, Recorded Interview

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WHERE ARE ALL THE WOMEN? From Lois Weber To Kathryn Bigelow, and the “Chick-Flick” Reputation, 9 March 2015