Assimilation and gender.

I was on another user's blog last night and the discussion was brought up on female representation within film. I'm all for feminism and am well aware that to a large number of males, and females, that the term paints an overly incisive form of dogmatism -- which is not to imply the term is always applied favorably; it's problematic when it becomes a form of recompensation and starts echoing the same fundamental disputes as nationalism (placing ideals of one's culture/self over another's, etc). Anyway, so within the discussion comes up the question of "why are so many female characters just there to subvert the centralized male characters rather than actually drive the narrative on their own terms"? It's a multi-faceted question (duh!) and the tangents just waiting to erupt from it really make me want to soar around naked in Paris, fingers grasping -- but never letting up -- on Shaw's "Sain Joan." OK, not really, but you get the point.


So essentially this next segment(s) will attempt to justify a few things:

a. Which directors are "getting it right" and why.
b. Which directors aren't and why.
c. An idea of what needs to be done in order to promote female-centric narratives as well as suggest how to avoid the stereotyping of supporting/limited role female characters.
d. How homosexuality and race have something to say about this.
e. TBA

[will be updated later]