Zellweger, Jolie and Larson. The three actresses have in common having starred in blockbuster films in the United States last year.
And they are therefore partly responsible for the record of representation of female protagonists in successful films that occurred in 2019, something that concludes an investigation by the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Cinema (Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film) of the University of San Diego in California.
But black women and other racial and ethnic minorities in the country are being relegated from the sector, the report clarifies.
The feature films appearing on the list include Avengers: Endgame, Captain Marvel (“Captain Marvel”), Joker and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (“Maleficent, mistress of evil”).
With information compiled by the specialized website Box Office Mojo, the study indicates that 43% of the highest-grossing films had a male protagonist, while the titles with equal protagonists (a woman and a man, or a group) constituted 17 %.
Film critic Rebecca Harrison told the BBC that the increase in female leads is “wonderful” for megastars like Larson, Jolie and Zellweger, who took home the best actress award for “Judy” at the Union of Actors of the United States.
And also for Scarlett Johansson and Margot Robbie, who received two nominations each January 7 for the British Academy of Motion Picture and Television Arts (Bafta) awards.
But “for women of color,” she added, “representation is still appalling.”
The women who played the leading roles were 68% white, compared to black colleagues (20%), Asian women with 7%, and Latinas, with 5%.
Awkwafina won a Golden Globe for “The Farewell”, but Cynthia Erivo (d) who played a slave-turned-abolitionist in “Harriet” was not considered for a Bafta nomination.The survey, which began in 2002, when only 16% of the leading roles were for women, was published after a week of criticism of the low presence of women and minorities on both sides of the camera.
The study recorded that in movies with at least one writer and/or director, 58% of the main characters were women. The percentage decreased to 30% when it came to films made by men.
“Very disappointed”
On January 5, it was a man who won the best director award again at the Golden Globes. The British Sam Mendes was the winner with his war epic, “1917”.
And a week later, no woman was nominated in that same category for the seventh consecutive year in the Baftas.
Amanda Berry, director of the British Academy of Motion Picture and Television Arts, admitted being “very disappointed” at the lack of diversity.
The deputy director of the academy, Krishnendu Majumdar pointed out that the absence of nominated directors was “a wide problem in the industry” and that the institution “is trying intensely to do something about it” with programs like Elevate, which supports the talent of “underrepresented groups ”
In 2018, the academy announced new diversity quotas or “eligibility criteria” for two of the award categories; Best British Film and Best Debut by a British Screenwriter, Director or Producer, in order to “support an open, accessible and inclusive industry”.
Film critic Harrison believes that while it is okay for institutions to express disappointment, they now have to “actively work to change the rules” of how the industry operates. “Otherwise, they are just headlines without content .”
“One of the arguments is that the representation in front of the camera improves when the diversity behind the camera improves as well, ” he said.