Loyola Greyhound

Issue date: 9/2/08 Section: Arts & Society

Media Credit: Photo Courtesy of http://thecia.com.au Julie Walters, Meryl Streep, and Christine Baranski are pictured above in a scene from "Mamma Mia!". This was a rare film for the summer months as womens' movies were far outnumbered by male-centric action films and comic book adaptations. Not only were female audiences greatly ignored over the season; actresses had little to no leads in the much of the summer fare.

Amidst all the action films, superhero fables, and overwrought thrillers that packed the summer line-up of movies; one genre that seemed to be completely overlooked was movies for and about women.

With only a sparse few mainstream films geared for the female audience, including May's "Sex and the City", July's "Mamma Mia!", and August's "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2"; it makes you wonder if Hollywood has forgotten the power of women on box-office numbers.

The highest grossing film of the summer may belong to the iron fist of "The Dark Knight", but his punch has yet to knock off the ultimate chick flick "Titanic". A film that even ten years later has yet to be pushed off of its highest grossing film of all time pedestal.

Despite the fact that "Titanic" sailed off with an over 600 million dollar haul, it appears to this female movie-goer that most films these days cater to men's lust for brute action or stoner comedy. The main stars are the men as women are often a part of an after-thought romance thrown in between scenes of car wrecks and fist fights.

If you dissect "The Dark Knight" with an eye towards gender issues it becomes clear that there is really only one woman lead in the entire film belonging to actress Maggie Gyllenhaal.

The film is a masterpiece and by far the best of this year to date. But to only have one woman in a leading role is a depressing statement in such a large ensemble cast including Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, and Gary Oldman to mention a few.
Maggie, who is one of the best actresses of our generation, is left with little screen time in the almost three hour film. She becomes the underused filler for women in the role of a romantic interest in a love triangle and she becomes a reason behind a major transition in one of the lead characters. But her part doesn't give her much time to stand on her own or to really stretch her acting muscles that have earned her several Golden Globe nominations in the past.

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