Hello! My name is Milena and Feminists Rate Films is my first ever blog project. Now is as good a time as ever to start it, as I quarantine myself at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. I have wanted to start a blog about the fight for representation of women and other traditionally underrepresented groups in media for years now. At last, I am here!
I want to explain why this project is important to me. I grew up in the 90s and 2000s watching a lot of TV and movies. I loved Xena: Warrior Princess and my sister loved Elisa Maza in Gargoyles. Both had strong female leads who didn’t let anyone stand in the way of justice.
Seeing these and other strong female characters in Disney productions, like Pocahontas, Mulan, and Jasmine, showed us that women can really do anything. Overall, with the full support from our parents, my sister and I grew up with some pretty great heroines to look up to. We never believed our gender precluded us from doing anything we dreamed of. Thank you, Mom and Dad!
However, female representation in media was far from perfect in the 90s, and we still have a long way to go. Although top grossing films featuring a female protagonist increased in 2019, only 34% of speaking characters were female and “onscreen depictions of most women of color actually decreased,” according to findings from San Diego State University’s Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film.
This all matters to me because I am an avid San Diego Comic-Con goer and midnight movie premier lover. I will watch as many superhero/Disney/Harry Potter spin-offs as I can because I love them all so much. I also understand that the historically male-centered storylines and behind-the-scenes hiring practices in most of these productions is not okay. Luckily, people are doing something about this; some of the most inspirational people that led me to start this blog are the people behind the diversity and inclusion initiatives I have learned about at Comic-Con panels. I also highly recommend checking out the 2011 documentary Miss Representation, currently streaming on Netflix (as of this writing in June 2020). This film helped me begin my journey as an activist for female representation in the media.
There is no comparing the feeling like the one I had, accompanied by chills and happy tears, watching Wonder Woman cross ‘no man’s land’ for the first time on the big screen (even though the scene almost did not make it into the movie!) I can imagine that Black moviegoers felt the same way when they watched Black Panther for the first time. Having someone that looks like you in the media validates your experiences. Representation is important.
I hereby dedicate this blog to all the kids looking for themselves in the media they consume because even at a young age, it makes such a big difference in their lives if their existence and the experiences they have are validated. I endeavor to celebrate and track feminist progress in Hollywood by spreading awareness of the films that get it right. To determine if a film is appropriate for progressive audiences, as we are now in the second decade of the 21st century, I will rate films through a feminist rating system I developed. It is similar to the rating system for parents you know from the Motion Picture Association (G, PG, PG-13, R, etc.), but I have updated it to reflect what is appropriate for moviegoers if they are concerned about representation of women, BIPOC (Black, Indigionous, and People of Color), LGBTQIA+ people, and people with diverseabilities (essentially, anyone who is not the traditional white, cis, neurotypcal, or physically typical male) in the media.
With this blog, I hope to cultivate a positive space of learning, inclusivity, and enjoyment. Someday, I would love to have other writers contribute ratings and reviews of movies to this site. Experiencing and supporting the work of others is the best way to foster diversity and inclusivity, in my opinion.
On that note, please feel free to share this blog with anyone you think would be interested in this work. I want to have a diverse audience so we can have fruitful discussions from all types of people with varied experiences.
I look forward to seeing you here again soon. Thank you for stopping by!
Feminists Rate Films 