A Rey of Light? Women in Film, 2015 and Beyond

(There will be no outright spoilers, but those who wish to see Star Wars: Episode VII blind are advised to do so before reading)

It’s probably weird that this was one of my first thoughts upon exiting a screening of freaking Star Wars, but I was delighted to see another mainstream franchise giving audiences an action-oriented female lead character among the main trio.

“From the beginning of discussions [with writer Lawrence Kasdan]. the notion of a woman at the centre of the story was always something that was compelling and exciting to me.” — J.J. Abrams

Rey seems like a genuine response by the filmmakers to criticisms both of past Star Wars films and director JJ Abrams’ own Star Trek Into Darkness. I’ll leave discussion of her character, role, and agency to others with more experience (If you’re willing to be spoiled, I quite like the takes of Charlie Jane Anders and Tasha Robinson), but what I will say is there’s a pair of sequences which seem like they were each designed to bust a couple of specific tropes (both of which are frequently used in a misogynistic way). To have that in probably the biggest film of the year is fantastic, because it shows that the backlash against tired stereotypes can find a home in big studio tentpoles as well as indie circles.

For me, though, it wasn’t just a great move by those behind Star Wars, but a sign of positive steps we’ve seen throughout the film industry during 2015. Most notably, the moment I mentioned female leads in action movies, your mind ought to have gone to the critical darling Mad Max: Fury Road, a film which is currently topping end-of-year lists and featuring a highly-praised performance by Charlize Theron. Alternatively, you might have recalled the final Hunger Games film, Mockingjay: Part 2, which currently sits at #9 on the worldwide grosses of the year despite performing under expectations.

“She doesn’t have to be one thing to embody a woman in a film. It just so happens she’s a woman but she transcends gender. She’s going to speak to men and women.” — Daisy Ridley on Rey

Another genre which saw recognition when it came to women was comedy. Whether it was the Melissa McCarthy-led Spy, which accrued an impressive 93% on Rotten Tomatoes as well as $235m at the box office, or the Amy Schumer vehicle Trainwreck (which she co-wrote and starred in), 2015 served as a good rebuttal to the argument that women can’t be funny. Behind the camera, too, Elizabeth Banks stepped in to helm another hit, comedy sequel Pitch Perfect 2, and Sam Taylor-Johnson directed another box office hit, the Fifty Shades of Grey adaptation.

There was also the fantastic Inside Out, the latest Pixar outing; as has been noted by many, the film took Pixar’s traditional buddy-comedy format and gave it to two female characters, while featuring a main human character whose tomboyish traits are not judged by other characters in the film in either direction. Currently the #5 film at the worldwide box office (though presumably set to be displaced by Star Wars), Inside Out deserves to be mentioned alongside Star Wars and Hunger Games — they all feature role models for young girls that have been previously been overlooked by Hollywood.

So that was the good. What about the bad?

Well, for starters, Hollywood continues to face criticism over issues of intersectionality. The release of the film Suffragette attracted controversy over the actions of its stars, who were seen to be belittling the issues faced by women of colour, as well as the content of the film itself. 2015 also saw the premiere of The Danish Girl, a film about trans pioneer Lili Elbe, which has been condemned by many progressives for reasons including: casting a cis man to play a trans woman; erasing the experiences of trans people; and being based on a fictionalised account. Roles for women of colour, too, continue to be harder to come by.

One example to zoom in on is the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which continues to give with one hand and take away with the other. While the announcement that the Wasp will be a title character in an Ant-Man sequel was encouraging, it was accompanied by another delay for the previously announced Captain Marvel film, which is now not set to hit screens until 2019. It may seem harsh to pick on Marvel but their dominance of the cultural landscape means that we must examine their lead — and twelve films in, their track record on diversity still gets a ‘could do better’. That said, with Stephany Folsom announced as a co-writer of Thor: Ragnarok (as well as rumours that Valkyrie will take a key role) — as well as the release of Jessica Jones and Agent Carter— there are encouraging signs there as well.

“It’s about damn time.” — Hope Van Dyne, post-credits scene from Ant-Man

Indeed, there is much to look forward to in 2016, not least the reboot of Ghostbusters (brought to you by Paul Feig, who directed and wrote the aforementioned Spy) which is, (in)famously, featuring a gender swap of the main roles. There’s also Wonder Woman’s long overdue first film appearance in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice; Pixar’s Finding Dory, while Jennifer Yuh Nelson is stepping back behind the camera for Kung Fu Panda 3, having also helmed the previous film in the franchise.Behind-the-camera representation continues to be a big issue, so here’s hoping that studios don’t get complacent.

On the whole, though, I think that Rey’s role in Star Wars is the perfect gesture to end a year that’s seen progress in female representation — as well as a sign how far there is to go. She isn’t perfect — I found myself reminded of Doctor Who’s Clara on occasion, both the good and the bad— but that’s just fine, because there is always room for improvement. The fact that progress is being made is encouraging — and with sequels to The Force Awakens already greenlit (and much talk of similar for Fury Road), who knows what the future holds?