The end of gender-based genres in film

I haven’t written a blog post in a long time.  This is what happens when you’re either a. too busy, b. too exhausted or c. so drained from extending your creativity elsewhere.

Note: this isn’t me.

There also has been a constant fear that there will come a point where you can’t think of anything to write, from another fear that it will either become a rant or an opinion piece with no conclusion.

But this has been on my mind for a while, so what better time to write about it than seven or so months after I first thought about it?

There was a long time that films appeal to different genres.  This is reflected in specialised marketing campaigns, merchandise, emphasis on certain characters (e.g. Mark Darcy in Bridget Jones‘ Diary) and sometimes, the soundtrack.  And for a while (nay, an even longer time), it worked.

Yes, I’d love to get together with you but only after two awkward weddings…

Women went to see romantic comedies where either the bumbling hero/heroine or the hapless romantic found love while fending off other admirers and the disdaining opinions of their peers, while blokes went to see films with cars, guns, swords and superpowers.

Let’s make this point clear – all of this ‘you shouldn’t watch that‘ is bollocks.

There is no rule in history saying that certain audiences cannot enjoy a diverse genre of films.  Personally, I know more girls who prefer films about guns, fast cars and superheroes than cheesy, superficial encounters in the rain.  For instance, the past weekend: I offered my other half a choice of films to watch at the cinema: Mad Max: Fury Road and Pitch Perfect 2.

I wanted to watch the former.  He, the latter (I ended up watching both but enjoying the former more).

But, why does it feel that when it comes to girls watching action films, it’s weird? 

As a female film fan, there have been times when I feel judged when I want to talk about action or martial arts films.  Whenever someone needed an actor/director/character’s name from a film in the past, I would say who it was but they didn’t hear me.  When a bloke says it, they would hear them – like my ‘contribution’ didn’t count.

No guns were required in the making of the subsequent fight scene.

Additionally, there are occasions when it comes to reviewing certain genres, the opinions of female film writers are not considered at an equal level than their male peers, which is worrying considering genres such as the romantic comedy is dwindling in popularity.

An example is one of the sites I write for is having a special 100 Essential Action Scenes season during May and June, where a selection of site writers vote and write about key scenes in action films.  These vary from car chases, heists, martial art fights and shootouts.

Yet, from a team of a site that covers films, TV, games and comics, I am the only girl contributing to this project.

So, what gives?

I am sure that there are loads of budding female writers out there who want to geek out about Marvel vs. DC, the feminism angle in Mad Max: Fury Road and enthusiastically talk about action films from the 1980s.  From the continuous discussions about sexism in the film industry to the increasing influence of female film creatives, there has never been a better time to be heard.

If you are a female film writer and are looking for an outlet, please get in touch.

Thanks for reading.