According to a survey published on YouGov this Monday, January 4, 52% of French people questioned approve of the fact that the film roles of 007 and Zorro are played by women. But can we speak of progress when actresses take over the roles of men in films directed by men?
Lashana Lynch and Sofia Vergara, two names that may ring a bell or have heard of recently. If this is not the case, then perhaps you have seen the controversy that ignited the web a few weeks ago on social networks… Norman Thavaud, aka Norman makes videos, in his latest one- man show “The show of maturity”, comments on the fact that the British actress, Lashana Lynch, plays Agent 007 in the next episode of the saga James Bond.
“So the last bullshit they found to fight racism is in the next one James Bond that they turn there. The next character of James Bond, Agent 007, will be played by a nasty woman. Have we not gone too far in the fight against racism? “My name is Bond, Fatoumata Bond”. The excerpt was taken up by figures like the singer Yseult and the account Décolonisons-nous, shocked by the comments of the comedian.
???????? Racist comment, misogynist with impunity, normal #Norman. AND @NormanDesVideos pic.twitter.com/NimJPSBpoP
– Y (@yseultofficiel) December 26, 2020
On December 28, the latter sent a message to Internet users on his account Instagram to apologize for his clumsiness and defend himself from any racism. Colombian actress Sofia Vergara will play the lead role in the new series of Zorro. The main female roles played by men in the past are disturbing. And yet, this is not the first time that this has happened. In 2018, Ocean’s Eight, the spin-off of the trilogy Ocean by Steven Soderbergh, caused a sensation by offering a 100% female cast : Anne Hathaway, Rihanna, Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett…
Films that favor the female point of view
Sometimes the covers of so-called “Male”, with female main characters, are successful. This is the case of Patti Cake $ de Geremy Jasper et The preys by Sofia Coppola, as explained France Culture. Both released in 2017, these new adaptations of films embodied by men, reverse the trend by favoring the female point of view. Patti Cake$ is kind of a remake of 8Mile, the famous documentary on rapper Eminem. She uses the same codes of the hero who tries to make a place for himself in the world of rap, with the fear of being perceived as a ” white trash », while having to meet the needs of his family. Almost the same scenario, but this time the director shows the problems of a young woman (she does not correspond to the canons of beauty and has a toxic relationship with her mother).
Sofia Coppola achieves a master stroke with her Prey, film adapted from the novel by Thomas P. Cullinan and produced in theaters for the first time in 1971, by Don Siegel. The story is the same: a Northerner soldier wounded during the Civil War is taken in in a boarding school for young girls located in the heart of a former southern plantation. While in Siegel’s film, the hero played by Clint Eastwood, perfectly represents the cliché of ” male gaze », with the soldier’s body at once dominant, sexualized, provoking in women a surge of uncontrollable passions, Coppola’s adaptation is quite different. Feminine desire is not this time perceived as something monstrous, but revealed with finesse. On screen, it is the point of view of women that most accurately shows the question of impeded desires.
Feminization of films, publicity stunt?
So yes, seeing more women on the screen is a big step forward. There is something laudable and interesting about honoring women in sagas considered “chauvinist”, where they usually have secondary roles and are mostly objectified. And who knows? Maybe the female gente will identify with the new agent 007 or the female Zorro.
But in reality, is this feminization of films really progressive? Who says that the new James Bond will not be reproduced, shaped according to the wishes of men? We can go further and wonder if there is not a commercial side in all this, since it is well seen today to wear the colors of feminism. Maybe women deserve new heroines, 2021 version Wonder Women.
More directors and actresses
So instead of taking again blockbusters and feminizing them, we should put forward female directors who create real feminine roles, interesting, strong and deep. Actresses and directors have things to say, to bring to the societal debate. A recent example that shocked many spectators is Portrait of the girl on fire, directed by Céline Sciamma and released in 2019. On the screen, a model and a painter, devoured by a dazzling love. Here, there is no question of a muse subject to the desire of the artist who paints her. We are witnessing a gentle, egalitarian love that was prevented in this 18th century society. The director takes a new look at female issues and succeeds, through this lesbian love, in questioning the relationships between men and women in heterosexual relationships.
For those who are not convinced, a study of the Creative Artists Agency et de Shift 7 showed that between 2014 and 2017, 105 films directed by women garnered more revenue than 245 feature films directed by men. In the $ 100 million blockbusters that starred in a female lead, revenue averaged $ 586 million, compared to $ 514 million for male-led films.
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