Women reign on Emmy favorites, but few are involved in making them
It’s easy to tell how many women are starring in our favorite TV shows, but what’s going on behind the camera? The Guardian analyzed the credits for the latest seasons of the nominees to determine what percentage of directing, writing, and editing credits went to female filmmakers. Transparent, American Crime, The Night Manager, and Modern Family had female directors for 50% or more of their episodes. The bottom rung of pathetic female representation is shared by Game of Thrones and Fargo.
“Behind the camera, the industry that produces the shows we love looks nothing like the world we see reflected on screen. The television industry remains a man’s world. … As dismal as these statistics are for the Emmy nominees, they are in line with the rest of the television industry. According to the unions for directors and screenwriters, women directed 17.1% of television episodes in the 2015-2016 season and accounted for 28.7% of employment on TV shows.
These massive disparities have drawn the attention of the American Civil Liberties Union of southern California, which has been campaigning to investigate discriminatory practices in the film and television industry.
In May, the Los Angeles Times reported that the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is investigating gender discrimination in the industry. If the EEOC finds evidence of systemic discrimination, it could file commissioner’s charges against major studios, potentially leading to lawsuits.”
Jill Soloway’s shout out to “Topple the Patriarchy!”, after winning the Best Director Emmy for Transparent, was a fabulous moment and great TV. And while the Transparent team continues to dismantle the patriarchy, the CALA team has been working hard behind the scenes too; if you have Emmy or Oscar aspirations there’s something here for you:
WRIT1-CE9411 Screenwriting: An Exercise-Based Approach
WRIT1-CE9626 Advanced Screenwriting
WRIT1-CE9644 Writing a TV Series
WRIT1-CE9691 Writing Your TV Pilot
WRIT1-CE9661 The Screenwriter’s Craft
WRIT1-CE9692 Writing a Screenplay in 10 Weeks
WRIT1-CE9224 Writing Great Characters
WRIT1-CE9150 Writing Film Dialogue
WRIT2-CS9018 Writers and Filmmakers-Building Your Audience…
PERF1-CE9611 Beginning Acting Boot Camp
FLMM1-CE9921 Digital Filmmaking 1
CNMT1-CE9087 Digital Cinematography
And for inspiration: