Girls on Film: The danger of the 'female filmmaker' label

Calling on Hollywood to improve the roles of women carries a significant risk for female filmmakers. But someone must step up and do it.

Kathryn Bigelow
(Image credit: DANNY MOLOSHOK/Reuters/Corbis)

Those who make strides against social injustice tend to offer a common refrain: "I hoped someone else would do it." When NBA center Jason Collins came out in this week's Sports Illustrated, he wrote:

I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. But since I am, I'm happy to start the conversation. I wish I wasn't the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, "I'm different." If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I'm raising my hand. [Sports Illustrated]

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Monika Bartyzel

Monika Bartyzel is a freelance writer and creator of Girls on Film, a weekly look at femme-centric film news and concerns, now appearing at TheWeek.com. Her work has been published on sites including The Atlantic, Movies.com, Moviefone, Collider, and the now-defunct Cinematical, where she was a lead writer and assignment editor.