Kathryn Bigelow, The Big Hooray, and The Disappointing State of Women in Hollywood
I’ve been singing the praises of Kathryn Bigelow ever since I first saw Near Dark in the mid-1980s. As a horror fan, a cinema junkie, and an emerging feminist, I couldn’t help but love that film even more after I realized who directed it. I was so excited that a woman was making bloody awesome movies, and I was all sorts of anxious to see what other women film directors would do, as it really seemed as if Bigelow had started to blaze some trail.
And then… nothing happened. Bigelow continued to direct films and television – some exceptional and some engaging-but-kinda-meh – but no wave of women filmmakers followed in her wake. And whenever I found myself talking with someone about women directors (in high school, college, and graduate school) we could always name just a small handful, and then we’d say, “But Kathryn Bigelow – she’s made it!” In fact, Bigelow has never – EVER – made a major studio movie (yep, including Point Break). She has always had to pursue independent financing for her projects. And there have always been long periods of time when she disappeared. But still, I really wanted and needed to assert that she’d made it. Because, despite all of my optimism, women directors have continued to be a rare commodity.
