I’m just going to say it: It’s been a little awkward lately being a male primate in the world of communication and entertainment arts. So many of the men we admired, or at least respected, now exposed, shamed and gone, baby, gone. We don’t need to run down the list—each week brings a new head-shaking revelation. And now the gymnasts’ rapist-doctor…what the hell!?
My default reaction to political or social controversy is normally to find some humorous pathway into the discussion, whether at work or in the barroom. But I know instinctively that approach is a non-starter in the era of #MeToo #TimesUp #OscarsSoWhite. #ButtonItLyle would be my better option generally. Still, in the context of this historic moment for gender equality Natalie Portman’s introduction “And here are the all-male nominees for Best Director” at the Golden Globes was a brilliantly barbed hook. I laughed. At how smart it was.
I’m old enough to remember when the Oscars felt more like a song and dance variety show. As easy to watch as the Super Bowl, but with wine and cheese instead of nachos and beer. But not in recent memory. Not for me. Not with the country so divided, so convulsed, opposing “sides” primed as if on methamphetamine. Do I want to hear what Hollywood’s elite presenters and winners have to say about the state of the Universe? Not terribly—it’s 11PM and I already read the news!
But there it is. Time for #ButtonItLyle. (We do have the Red Carpet for a bit of comic relief and sartorial envy, so there.)
Ok, maybe one good thing about globally televised ceremonies is that they’re like human pie charts. If people of color, or women, aren’t in the mix, it’s right there, for the world to see. Not so obvious in the corporate world, where you’d have to do the deeper research to see how the boardrooms and executive hierarchies are divided—and whether the boys and girls are bring paid equally at each level.
So let’s revisit the Oscars in the context of the name of this column—Earwitness. And let’s look for women! In the category for Best Original Score we have five (5) distinguished nominees. All male. Hans Zimmer for Dunkirk; Jonny Greenwood for Phantom Thread; John Williams (of course!), Star Wars: The Last Jedi; Alexandre Desplat, The Shape of Water; and Carter Burwell for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
In the Sound Editor category there are nine (9) names listed for five nominated films (Baby Driver, Dunkirk, Blade Runner 2049, The Shape of Water and Star Wars: The Last Jedi). No women. In the category Best Sound Mixing, sixteen (16) names are listed for the same five films. Of the sixteen, there is one (1) woman in the mix: Mary H. Ellis for Baby Driver.
Now we must have some “fair balance” in this reporting: women do make a strong showing in the Oscars’ Original Song category. Of the ten (10) composers listed for the five nominated songs, four (4) are women:
Mary J. Blige and Taura Stinson (along with Raphael Saadiq) for “Mighty River” from the movie Mudbound.
Kristen Anderson-Lopez (along with husband Robert Lopez) for “Remember Me” from the movie Coco.
And Diane Warren (with Lonnie R. Lynn aka Common) for “Stand Up For Something” from the feature Marshall.
In recent years, according the the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, the percentage of female directors and cinematographers working on the top 250 grossing films has been well below 10%. For female composers in film, that number is closer to 2%. That’s messed up.
Every composer, male or female, knows how brutally difficult it is to “break into” the film business. It’s a small, closed circle of legitimately brilliant professionals who do the majority of the big budget work. And we know directors want to work with “their guy”—Spielberg with John Williams, Burton with Danny Elfman, the Coen brothers, Carter Burwell, etc. And that’s understandable—we all have our favorite creative collaborators. So revealing the lopsided numbers (whether by ethnicity or gender) doesn’t solve the problem, though it’s a good start. Next comes the “Let’s make some noise” phase. Which brings us back to the women on stage, telling it on a mountain (thumbs-up emoji for you, Oprah), and the call-to-action hashtags. (Is #ScoreToSettle too strong?)
Oh, and one more thing. Sometimes the big studio just needs to unlock the door: Have we thought about a woman for this?
Note: Observations + commentary on the 60th Annual Grammy Awards presentation coming next week. Be sure to tune in!
