(ESP-ENG) Women in movies and tv shows

Welcome to this new post, today I want to share with you a reflection on the evolution of women in the film industry. Calling for reflection and commemorating International Women's Day, which is celebrated every March 8.

Since the first movies, series, even books and comics, women have had certain secondary roles. Which, in some opportunities bordered on naivety and waiting for the male protagonist or the hero to save them. Because of this, nowadays, we have been able to observe a change, not only in the mentality of the actresses who play these roles, but also in the characters created in this field.

On the other hand, the evolution of society has opened the doors for women to achieve their professional aspirations, not only in front of the screen, but also writing, producing and directing large companies dedicated to film and television. Many of these productions have achieved success and stability in an organization that until a few years ago was run by men.

Women in the movies and on television have always been labeled from the beginning as: the fragile, the one who must be saved, the one who does not know the world. Some of these phrases were even sung and visualized as normal, something that now seems ridiculous and even irresponsible. In "The Sound of Music" a musical movie from the 1960s, starring Julie Andrews, has a song that highlighted just this, in the part of "Sixteen going seventeen" that Liesl and Rolf sing at one point in the movie, the girl sings the following to us:

"I know I'm naive... They'll say I'm sweet and I'll believe them... Innocent as a rose... Brandy drinkers, what will I know about them... Totally unprepared for a man's world... I need someone older and wiser to tell me what to do..."

Only there, we see perfectly what was expected of the girls and women of the moment. They will marry men, but they will not know what the future holds for them, in their marriage they will be the submissive ones, doing nothing more than what was expected of them: taking care of the home. They will obey what they are told without complaining and will wait for their husband with the house ready. And so many other movies labeled women as: the ones to be saved, the innocent ones, the ones who take care of the home. Will there still be women who aspire only to that? I don't think so.

Now let's look at the villains of yesteryear, for example: Maleficent and the evil queen in Snow White. They are female, they have power, and they are evil for the most banal things. Maleficent is the villain of the story, because she did not receive an invitation, in the modern movie we see why it affects her, but originally it is not so. On the other hand, Snow White's queen is for being the most beautiful, it did not matter if she was a very good sorceress and could heal, the important thing was physical beauty.

There were two options: to be the good one (beautiful, quiet and careful) or to be the villain (horrible, noisy and powerful). Obviously, the women were expected to be good, because the good ones "always do well", and to prevent the girls of the time from thinking that having power and being someone important was bad for them, so that the man would be the protector of the girls, who would expect their lives to change when the knight in shining armor came to save them.

Little by little this mentality is beginning to change, and there is still a lot of room for improvement. However, steps are already being taken. Emma Watson, Bryce Dallas Howard, Violet Davis, Reese Wistherspoon, are some of the actresses who today not only seek to change the perception of women in cinema, but also to create stories adapted to them.

Shonda Rhimes is one of the biggest producers today: Grey's Anatomy, Station 19, The Bridgertons, are her main productions, and which prevent women from being seen as the weak ones, despite the era they are in. Likewise, he creates stories that lead to reflection and that seek to give women a greater role without making the difference between good and bad.

Women currently find themselves have great power, but as Spiderman's Uncle Ben used to say, "With great power comes great responsibility." Just as there are women, as great as I mentioned above who are creating a positive impact, there are also some who create negative impacts. We cannot be ignorant of the bad, we have to learn to see it and expose these cases, just as we would if it were the other way around.

There will always be those who want to get in the way, so as humanity we must confront them and be able to distinguish the good from the bad. Just as it happens in life, it happens in film and television, they are still part of our society, but it is up to us how we deal with it and overcome it.

The film industry is changing from within. Women directors give us the opportunity to see something different, to change stereotypes and to avoid women being seen as: fragile, useless, naïve and silent. It is up to us to create the stories and keep thinking if we women can really keep giving more, reach our limits and show that men don't need to carry all the burden.

Why do we have to be seen as objects in the movies? Why should we be reduced to waiting for a man? And if we question it, are we the bad guys? Cinema has allowed us to see and identify those problems that society had, in order to improve, change and give way to new generations that continue to create stories that identify us.

Cinema and television reflect what we are and what we want to be as a society, that is why now we see strong, independent women, who are not limited to being good or bad. We see real women who fight, suffer, learn and move forward, who do not wait for someone else to save them, but save themselves. They question what is wrong and dare to tell the world what they think.

As a society we seek to move forward, and women are part of that change, not only historically, but also in what we see, and the stories that inspire us. Finally, I have to stress the importance of looking beyond the appearance, and what they show at first glance, let's analyze what the villains and heroines are really like and what these women in the industry want to convey to us.