Rita Wilson’s parody PSA for male filmmakers is genius
“In the past few years, only 93% of popular films were directed by men, and only 80% were written by them.”
This is how the Make It Fair Project’s parody PSA for male filmmakers begins — yes, a PSA on behalf of highly-represented male filmmakers — because we don’t have nearly enough men in the entertainment industry. (That’s sarcasm, folks.)
The parody PSA features multiple shots of forlorn women, including Rita Wilson and Mamie Gummer, staring at the camera and reciting seemingly random numbers — and it only gets better from there.
Rather than what’s expected — a call to action for gender equality in the film industry — the women make their point by bringing light to the absurdity of the facts. They point out that women are twice as likely to be naked on screen, that 70% of speaking roles in films are for male characters, and 88% of 2014’s box office hits featured a man in the leading role. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg: they also delve into the gender disparity of Academy Award winners, the writers of Broadway plays, and even expand their statistics into other realms (Congress and Fortune 500 CEOs aren’t left unscathed). The video just reminds us of the discouraging facts that we hear time and time again. Gender equality (and the wage gap) is very much alive and well, and there is plenty of research to back it up. (The numbers quoted in the video are based on studies done by Geena Davis’ Institute on Gender in Media.)
Of course, these facts are horrifying — but the women treat them as such for a very different reason. The “goal” of this PSA is to raise these already high numbers so men can run the film industry entirely, because, as they later harmonize, “we won’t relent till it’s 100%; it’s only fair that men should have it all.” (Yes, the video is ridiculous in the best possible way.)
“The word man is exactly 60% of the word wo-man,” says one actress. “Woman.”
When they started singing, I nearly spat out my drink. It’s the perfect spoof on the cheesiest of PSAs, and by the end, we were all clapping along to the real message at hand.
“#Makeitfair is a call for gender equality in the stories we tell, the wages we earn, and the future we shape,” their website says. “The goal is vast and so, as artists, we decided to do what we do best: create.”
We think they nailed it, and we couldn’t be happier to see so many hilarious women come together to create something so rad for such an important cause. The video was directed by Adrienne Campbel-Holt and written by Patricia Noonan and Nadia Quinn — and we think it just further goes to show that we need to be getting more female directors and writers into Hollywood ASAP.
“Our first video involves a cast and crew of more than 70 women, underscoring the wealth of female talent that often goes untapped,” their site continues. “As we move forward, we will continue to raise awareness, ask tough questions, celebrate female talent, connect female artists to opportunities, laugh, create, and broaden the scope of the stories being told.”
We can’t wait to see what else they come up with. Check out the video for yourself below, head to the #makeitfair website for more information, and tag your posts #makeitfair on social media to get involved in the conversation.
(Images via video.)
