Trailblazer Appreciation: Amy Schumer

Ever hear that women can't be funny? Ever hear that women can't be on late night TV? Ever hear that only certain kinds of women can be sexy?

Amy Schumer doesn't give a fuck.

This week the third season of Amy Schumer's sketch-comedy show called Inside Amy Schumer premiered on Comedy Central. Lets be honest, that in itself is an achievement worth celebrating, since the prevailing theory is that women aren't funny. Amy's comedy is provocative and pushes the limit's of what can be shown on TV.

The Inside Amy Schumer premiere included the viral sensation "Milk, Milk, Lemonade" and the epic collaboration of Julia Louie-Dreyfus, Patricia Arquette, and Tina Fey celebrating their "Last Fuckable Day." Her show takes a massive undeniable stand against the physical standards that Hollywood has set for women. A fantastic season opener to a show that often takes a critical eye to the way women are treated in society.

Amy's hilarious comedy also lead her to this year's MTV Movie Awards as the host. Between Shailene Woodley winning literally every award, and buff action movie stars standing in front of pyrotechnics instead of speaking, Amy stood out for her hysterical monologue.

Amy also wrote her first feature film called Trainwreck,  a romantic comedy that she is starring in along with SNL alum Bill Hader. The movie was directed and produced by star maker Judd Apatow. The trailer is up, and with such a funny, talented cast, it looks like it will be a hit this summer.

Are you exhausted yet? You should be. Amy Schumer has been paving the way for women in comedy, and isn't slowing down now. She's been able to take the stereotypes that hold back women, and use them to push herself forward. For her inspiring perseverance and fearless comedy, we are grateful to have such outstanding idol carving her own path. 

In 2014 Women kept disappearing.

If you're not already familiar with the Center for the Study of Women in Television & Film from San Diego State University you should be. They do annual reports of the representation of women in front of and behind the camera.

In 2014 among the top 100 grossing movies 
Women represent 12% of the protagonists. The number of women who were represented as major characters and speaking characters were the same as last year,  both figures were about 30%. A staggering 74% of all women characters were white. 

If you further read the study there are interesting statistics regarding the decrease of female characters from their 30's to 40's compared to the increase of male characters in the same age range. There are also statistics regarding the role of women in leadership positions, whether their marital status is known, and whether they were identified via a work related role (ie, doctor, lawyer) vs a personal role (ie, mother, sister.) It's a pretty clear analysis of the ways in which women are marginalized on film.

Their study for the role of women behind the camera looked at the top 250 domestic grossing films in 2014. 
Specifically they looked at the roles of directors, writers, producers, executive producers, editors, and cinematographers.

"38% of films employed 0 or 1 woman in the roles considered. 23% of films employed 2 women, 29% employed 3 to 5 women, 7% employed 6 to 9 women, and 3% employed 10 to 14 women. In contrast, no films employed 0 or 1 man in the roles considered, and 69% employed 10 to 27 men."

A whopping 93% of films had no female director, and 79% of the films had no female writer.

The figures for women working as cinematographers or composers? Even more depressing.

Women looking to work in these industries should see these figures as empowering. Awareness can change views. These are opportunities for women to break into these new markets. It might be a challenge to find someone out of the ordinary for roles in front of and behind the camera, but we need unique voices to keep movies alive.

Some fantastic films came out this year that told the stories of women, and by women including The Hunger Games, Wild, Maleficent, Selma, Cake, Gone Girl, Camp X Ray, Obvious Child, and more. If you want more films like those, get out there and make those movies.

• It's a Man's (Celluloid) World: On-Screen Representation of Female Characters in 2014
• Celluloid Ceiling: Behind the Scenes Employment in 2014
• The Hollywood Reporter - Major Film Roles for Women drop in 2014

87th Annual Academy Awards Wrapup

The 2014 award season is finally coming to an end, and last nights ceremony seemed to show that one topic was getting ripe on the vine; Hollywood sexism.

#AskHerMore

Reese Witherspoon

The night started before the ceremony with Reese Witherspoon, nominated for her role as lead actress in Wild, demanding one thing: #AskHerMore

The last few years, women have been showing a distinct annoyance with the Red Carpet treatment. Men who walk the red carpet get asked questions about their co-stars, their upcoming projects, philanthropy, anything really, women get ask a series of condescending questions about frivolous topics, usually clothes hair, nails, shoes, etc. 

Photo posted by @ReeseWitherspoon 

❤️ this movement #AskHerMore..have you heard of it? It's meant to inspire reporters to ask creative questions on the red carpet. I love the Oscars AND fashion like many of you - & am excited to share #WhoAmIWearing later tonight. (not yet!!) But I'd also love to answer some of these Qs....And hear your suggestions?! (Share em below!) There are so many amazing, talented nominees this year..! Let's hear their stories! Spread the word. #AskHerMore #Oscars #Countdown
@ReeseWitherspoon 

Last October at the Women in Hollywood event, Jennifer Garner compared notes to her husband, Ben Affleck who both had similar press junkets scheduled on the same day. She was asked questions about making time for her family, while he was asked about models.

Elizabeth Moss showed her frustration at the Golden Globes. She was asked to use the "E! Mani Cam" where famous celebrated women are asked to walk their fingers up a miniature red carpet "like children." While many other celebrities including Jennifer Aniston and Julianne Moore, opted out, Moss received a lot of praise for showing the camera her manicure - on her middle finger. The Mani Cam did not reappear at this years Oscars.

The #Oscars red carpet is open! Let's #AskHerMore and re-direct the conversation!! 🙌🎉
— AmyPoehlerSmartGirls (@smrtgrls) February 22, 2015

Patricia Arquette 

Best Supporting Actress

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Patricia Arquette

And then of course, the scene stealer herself. Patricia Arquette. She won her Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Richard Linklater's Boyhood. A fantastic movie, and a fantastic role she spend 12 years filming. With a prepared speech, she hit some major talking points during the 30 seconds or so winners are given.

“To every woman who gave birth, to every taxpayer and citizen of this nation, we have fought for everybody else’s equal rights. It’s time to have wage equality once and for all. And equal rights for women in the United States of America.”

Congratulations Patricia. Very well said.

Julianne Moore 
Best Actress

Julianne Moore

One of our favorite women, Julianne Moore was also awarded an Oscar for her work in the moving drama, Still Alice. This was her fifth time nominated and her first win. She gave a beautiful speech as well.

"There is no such thing as Best Actress as evidenced by the performances of my fellow actresses."

We're with you, Julianne. Women supporting women is what the world needs more of.



Let us know what you thought of the 2015 Academy Awards in the comments below.

Further Reading...

• The Hollywood Reporter - Is Red Carpet Coverage Sexist?
• The Independent - #AskHerMore: Patricia Arquette, Reese Witherspoon and Julianne Moore back red carpet campaign to take women seriously

What to see this weekend

Do you want to see...

A female lead?

-The Last Five Years 

-Fifty Shades of Grey
-The Boy Next Door
-Jupiter Ascending

Written or co-written by a woman? 

-Fifty Shades of Grey
-The Boy Next Door
-Jupiter Ascending

Directed by a woman?

-Fifty Shades of Grey
-Jupiter Ascending