Self-efficacy Theory for African American women
African American Female Inclusion in Major Box Office Cinema Leadership
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African American Female Leadership in Major Motion Pictures: From Marginalized to Mainstream
By Tracy L.F. Worley
Affiliations
Cinema Leadership
Historical Landscape
The historical landscape of Hollywood and the differences between White and African American spectatorship illustrate why African American female filmmakers have been virtually left behind in box office cinema. Traditionally dominated by White men, Hollywood has not been very welcoming to African American filmmakers, even though they have been producing motion pictures outside of that system since 1910.
The challenge of cinema leadership is to be true to one’s vision and profitable at the same time, in the face of stereotypes and racial discrimination.
During the era of blaxploitation, a film type depicting African American lifestyles that were decidedly prosperous yet unflattering, Hollywood profited from the success of these movies (Quinn, 2010). African American filmmakers and marketing professionals also reaped the benefits, and the portrayal of African American culture was diminished to pimps and whores. Later, the era of African American (male) superstars of the 1980s was interpreted by the film industry according to its revenue earned (Bogle, 1989), not the context of the characters portrayed or the genuineness of the stories. Blaxploitation in the 1970s was similar to the exploitation of Black music in the 1950s and 1960s because the channels of production and distribution were so dominantly White and male that the perception of what the audience wants to see was largely determined by Hollywood Industry leadership (Lyne, 2000).
Leadership Obstacles
In the time since I embarked on this research into leadership obstacles for African American women in mainstream cinema, the #MeToo Movement has exposed the ethical failures in the motion picture industry. Even so, in the last 10 years, African American female directors, especially in television, have made great strides in cinema leadership. Thirty percent of all producers and executive producers, directors, directors of photography, editors, writers, and creators during the 2019-20 television season were women; yet only 24% of programming had female directors (Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film).
The box office outlook is not as promising. Female directors (including assistant directors) accounted for just 12% of the top grossing 100 motion pictures of 2019 (Lauzen, 2020). In 2020, the disruptive impact of COVID-19 on box office distribution changed the landscape and analyses of employment on major motion pictures includes those released for limited box office and/or home viewing. Up from 2019, 16% of directors of the top 100 films released in 2020 were women (Lauzen, 2021). Although this analysis is useful for understanding the status of female employment behind the scenes in the motion picture industry, it does not provide a further breakdown of women of color that would provide a true picture of leadership opportunities across ethnicities. According to Statista (2020), studied female director representation from underrepresented groups (women of color), by distributor, for the top grossing films from 2007 to 2019. Across the major distributors studied, over 12 years, there were only 13 (1%) woman of color directors of the 1,300 top grossing motion pictures during that period – less than a tenth of women director participation overall.
Marginalization
A particularly challenging issue for African-Americans is marginalization. Marginalization in Hollywood is perpetuated when African American filmmakers are held to a higher standard than their White counterparts. It is also perpetuated in the disparities in budgets and distribution of movies directed by African Americans as compared to those directed by Whites. The highest earning films usually have the greatest number of screens.
Cinematic leadership involves the ability to create a vision, sell that vision in a compelling way, tell compelling stories, and skillfully bring that vision to fruition in the form of a captivating motion picture. A cinematic leader is courageous, creating out of commitment, and inspiring a followership that believes in her vision. Courage is required as a means to overcome obstacles that may be out of the filmmaker’s control. The primary obstacles to motion picture leadership are inadequate preparation, inadequate production resources, and disproportionate distribution funding. The problem of underrepresentation of African American female motion picture directors in mainstream motion picture leadership and control of projects is directly related to the lack of preparation and financing. As a result, and even though more African American women have helmed recent major motion pictures, the gap between the number of motion pictures by African American women and those by men in general continues to be significant. The absence of their vision and stories has resulted in a significantly lower representation of films that affirm African American female lives and continues the perpetuation of social stereotyping (Greenberg, Mastro, & Brand, 2002; Mastro, 2009; Mastro & Troop, 2004; Punyantunt-Carter, 2008; Weigel, Kim, & Frost, 1995).
Recognition of the obstacles to cinema leadership is foundational to identifying strategies that can help African American women increase their cinema leadership potential.
Theoretical Basis
Critical Race Theory
Enculturated-Lens Theory
Enculturated-Lens Theory
D.A. Bell’s Critical race theory (1980) explores how civilization and culture transect race, societal rules, and societal control. R. Delgado, J. Stefancic, and G. Ladson-Billings expanded the theory to explore racial inequities in education and other disciplines. Foundational to CRT are two concepts: 1) racism, White supremacy, and White privilege define what it means to be White; and 2) the intersectionality of racism, White supremacy, and White privilege in the diversity of society. The intersectionality of CRT is demonstrated by the perceived value of being White in America (majority, mainstream, in power) affecting all areas of culture. CRT elucidates the perpetuity of racism and the persistence of inequality.
Enculturated-Lens Theory
Enculturated-Lens Theory
Enculturated-Lens Theory
S.L. Bem’s Enculturated-lens theory (1993) explores gender identification from the context of predisposition and social reality. The three lenses through which gender is focused are gender polarization, in which males and females are polar opposites, androcentrism, wherein males are superior to females, and biological essentialism, which assumes females are inherently inferior. How women are socialized and how they self-identify are affected by all three. Together, these factors inform a peculiar culture for women. Running a holiday sale or weekly special? Definitely promote it here to get customers excited about getting a sweet deal.
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Women in Box Office Cinema Leadership
