Reese Witherspoon was in New York last week to accept WSJ Magazine’s Entertainment Innovator of the Year award. She spoke for nine minutes about women’s representation in the entertainment business. Reese commented on the fact that we aren’t getting a broad scope of women’s stories in entertainment because women are relegated to a few niche markets. Reese vowed to bring to screen as many women-driven stories as she could with her Hello Sunshine production company. She’s discussed her mission to make more stories for women before but really drove this point home in her WSJ speech.
“I don’t know if you guys heard, but there has been a lot of stuff going on in Hollywood. We’ve been dealing with some really ugly truth of sexism and sexual harassment, and it has been rampant for far longer than I have been an actress, and it’s brought back a lot of painful memories for people.
“It’s been a real time of reckoning for us, and there is a definitely a growing realization that we need to take the time to really examine the biases that exist in our industry and make much-needed change. Because this is not an issue about actors and actresses, this is a bigger issue about power. I think we have to turn a critical eye about female leadership in Hollywood and whether that’s encouraged or even allowed, because you can’t have accountability or awareness of different perspectives if women are not at the decision-making table.”
“I don’t really believe that we’ve been seeing the full spectrum of the female experience, and that is simply because women’s stories are not prioritized. I’m not talking about mommy blogs and 14 ways to cook a turkey.
“Women want real substance and premium thought-provoking, well-made content, and they want it now. Women want to be entertained where they are, running errands, going to the doctor, on their mobile phones, their laptops. We need to stop expecting them to come to us, and we need to go to them because they want to see themselves onscreen, and that’s the most important thing.
“I’ve had an incredible career as an actress, and it’s my first love. I love being an actor, but now it’s become abundantly clear to me that I have a new mission, and that’s to do more for others in my industry. I’m determined to create more opportunity for other women and people of color. To help them tell their stories. To encourage CEOs to take chances on high-level female executives and champion new female voices on film, because the stories we tell have to got change. And sometimes change is about something small, sometimes change starts in a room like this with people like all of you.”
[Transcribed by Buzzfeed and Huffington Post]
Overall, I really like Reese’s comments. I agree that it would be nice to see something other than a select few archetypes allowed in stories. I’d love to see a sea of women and people of color on screen that represent the people I know in my world. I remember watching No Reservations starring Catherine Zeta-Jones and thinking, “Is there any other profession for a female protagonist than ‘chef’?” For a while, it appeared to be the only job screenwriters could think to give to a woman. I agree that women and POC’s stories are not prioritized. And if Reese wants to run around finding those stories, more power to her. I’ll leave a couple on my doorstep for her to collect. Because she’s right, they’re out there, it’d be great if they were given the green light.
I can’t tell if I am just overly sensitive today but I was taken aback by Reese’s jab at “mommy” and food bloggers. I don’t read either but that doesn’t mean they aren’t valid. And when I do need 14 ways to cook a turkey, I’m glad those women are there to show me how to do it. I don’t dislike Reese so I want to believe that she didn’t mean it the way it came off. Maybe she meant that many women want to do something other than write or read mom advice and recipes and they should be allowed more opportunities to do so. If that’s what she’s saying, I agree with her. If she’s belittling a predominantly female genre, I’m going to need to get out my tsking finger.
Photo credit: WENN Photos
Chef and running an art gallery. There are a lot of women in movies that run art galleries.
If there is a female engineer/scientist, then she is also SUPER SEXY GUYS DON’T WORRY SHE’S STILL HOT and there is another male scientist/engineer who actually does the work.
No, they all write for glossy magazines.
The pee pee pose!
No, but I liked her speech. I nodded the whole time reading it. I’m not so hot on her, but if she’s REALLY going to do this, and not just talk about it, good for all of us.
I think she meant that women aren’t only mommy bloggers and cooking hints. I didn’t take it as a slam of those things but more of a slam on the singular focus on those things as rolls and views for/of women.
I liked her speech, and if she does this and really focuses on women and all women including women of color then great. There are a lot of really interesting stories and people will watch them if they are told.
That’s honestly how I took it. Women’s lifestyle is a lucrative genre, and good for writers who can get paid doing it—but there just HAVE to be more opportunities out there.
I didn’t see it as a jab, but I do not frequent mommy or foodie blogs. Mostly I think she is pointing out women actually care about things not related to kids and food.
Like shoes n gossip. We like those things too!
I think this is a good fit for Reese, and I wish her well.
I loved BLL, but I find Reese so ego driven, and I realize that that that can be taken as an potentially anti-feminist stance, I like that she is not afraid of power, but she is always centered in everything she does, and her James Draper line is the epitome of Southern housewife imagery that I don’t think even exists anymore??, (does it even make pants?).
To me she is peak white feminist, I want to like her, but I just can’t with the cutesy instagram
There is a screaming need for women’s voices in our cultural content. I agree, blogs only show a limited side of womanhood, but it so often lacks a critical analysis. However, if you seek variety in your media, it’s out there. It takes some searching though. Reese isnt the first person to spout this message. Shes just the first pretty white lady with an existing platform.
I like what she said, and interpreted it as saying women are other than things besides chefs and mommy bloggers, no shade at all. It reminded me that many years ago, the two major professions for women were teachers and nurses. I’m not kidding you, either. Nothing wrong with either of those honorable professions, but it was very limiting to women with other passions and skill sets. Really, how could anyone harp and find fault with what she said here?
I don’t like her and I don’t buy her as the voice of Hollywood’s Female Empowerment. She’s capitalizing on it to promote her productions. I still think drunken Reese shouting “Don’t you know who I am” is the real Reese. PS: I notice the sexism doesn’t prevent her from promoting her mini me daughter into the industry.
The last 5 minutes of Big Little Lies was so, so good. It’s was so female empowerment. The series was good and if she can bring more stuff like that to the table than I say bon chance. May her dream be realized.