THE CELLULOID CEILING
This term was coined by Dr. Martha M. Lauzen, director for the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University, in order to describe the figurative barrier that keeps women from rising to higher power positions within the film industry. She based it off the commonly used term glass ceiling and tweaked it to apply it to the film industry specifically. I found that the following quote beautifully explained the appropriateness of the term:
"Similar to glass, Hollywood’s plastic “celluloid” (sheets used for film) is transparent and this particular celluloid ceiling conveys similar notions of women’s ability to view top ranking jobs, and to possess the credentials worthy of attaining them and, yet, manifests a perennial falling short of obtaining them. Ironically, the use of celluloid in the movie industry today has become obsolete—a fitting metaphor for the way in which limitations for women in Hollywood should be outdated." (1) "The Celluloid Ceiling" is also the name of Lauzen's annual study of women's behind-the-scenes employment in film. The 2014 version of this study found that for the top 250 grossing films, only 17% of all directors, writers, producers, executive producers, editors, and cinematographers were women. In her report, Lauzen pointed out that "this is the same percentage of women in these roles in 1998." (2) |
"“It’s remarkable that we’re still at 1998 levels" (4) Behind-the-scenes jobs from highest to lowest percentage of women (2)
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Footnotes: (1) https://kthompsonprojections.wordpress.com/2010/03/13/gender-equality-have-we-really-come-so-far/ (2) Lauzen,
Martha M., Ph.D. "The Celluloid Ceiling: Behind-the-Scenes Employment of
Women on the Top 250 Films of 2014." Center for the Study of Women
in Television and Film. SDSU School of Theatre, Television, and Film, 2015.
Web. 18 Feb. 2015.
<http://womenintvfilm.sdsu.edu/files/2014_Celluloid_Ceiling_Report.pdf>. (3) http://www.latimes.com/visuals/graphics/la-ca-g-women-directors-20150220-htmlstory.html
(4) http://variety.com/2015/film/news/number-of-female-directors-falls-over-17-year-period-study-finds-1201402686/ (5) https://www.nyfa.edu/film-school-blog/gender-inequality-in-film/#!prettyPhoto/0/
(4) http://variety.com/2015/film/news/number-of-female-directors-falls-over-17-year-period-study-finds-1201402686/ (5) https://www.nyfa.edu/film-school-blog/gender-inequality-in-film/#!prettyPhoto/0/