All hail Kathryn Bigelow: badass director and total feminist! She recently released a brilliant statement in the name of feminism and, if we weren’t totally in love with her already, we are now.
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Here’s the scoop: The ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) recently announced they’ll be specifically targeting discriminatory practices against female directors. What does that mean, exactly? So far, the ACLU has sent three letters to the federal government suggesting that there is an insane amount of institutionalized sexism in Hollywood and asking authorities to investigate the issue (and, obviously, hopefully do something about it). While the idea of writing a letter may not seem all that productive or useful in everyday life coming from everyday people, the government generally takes note and pays more attention to allegations made by the ACLU.
Bigelow, of course, understands the weight of the rampant Hollywood sexism perhaps better than the majority of other people. The mastermind behind Zero Dark Thirty, she is one of only four women nominated for a directing Oscar and the only one to ever win. An even bigger issue? Of all the films released in 2014, fewer than 10 percent were directed by women. The ACLU’s board believes this is due entirely to the blatantly gender-biased execs who run Hollywood.
Upon hearing of the ACLU’s new agenda, Bigelow released a statement of support specifically to Time.
“I have always firmly believed that every director should be judged solely by their work, and not by their work based on their gender. Hollywood is supposedly a community of forward thinking and progressive people yet this horrific situation for women directors persists,” Bigelow wrote. “Gender discrimination stigmatizes our entire industry. Change is essential. Gender neutral hiring is essential.”
Preach, sista!
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