Where Are the Women? Welcome to Me

Allows the particular problems of one woman to be metaphorically representative of the problems of humanity at large. A woman’s story as universal? Radical.

BASIC REPRESENTATION SCORE: +25

+25

Is there a female protagonist? [why this matters]

FEMALE AGENCY/POWER/AUTHORITY SCORE: +11

Is there a female character (either a protagonist or a supporting character with significant screen time) in a position of authority (politics, law, medicine, etc.)? [why this matters]

Is there a female character with insignificant screen time in a position of authority? [why this matters]

More than one? [why this matters]

Is there a woman whose role could easily have been played by a man? [why this matters]

More than one? [why this matters]

THE MALE GAZE SCORE: -10

-10

Is there a female character with significant screen time who appears fully nude? [why this matters]

GENDER/SEXUALITY SCORE: -5

-5

Is there a female character who is primarily defined by her emotional or biological relationship with a child or children? [why this matters]

WILDCARD SCORE: 0

Is there anything either positive or negative in the film’s representation of women not already accounted for here? (points will vary)

No.

TOTAL SCORE: +21

IS THE FILM’S DIRECTOR FEMALE? Yes (Shira Piven) (does not impact scoring)

IS THE FILM’S SCREENWRITER FEMALE? No (does not impact scoring)

BOTTOM LINE: This is a movie about a woman coping with mental illness that doesn’t denigrate her or make fun of her. It does allow her to rage and vent and be weird and inappropriate and funny in ways that movies rarely allow women… and it also allows the particular problems of one woman to be metaphorically representative of the problems of humanity at large. A woman’s story as universal? That’s radical.

Click here for the ongoing ranking of 2015’s films for female representation.

NOTE: This is not a “review” of Welcome to Me! It is simply an examination of how well or how poorly it represents women. (A movie that represents women well can still be a terrible film; a movie that represents women poorly can still be a great film.) Read my review of Welcome to Me.

See the full rating criteria. (Criteria that do not apply to this film have been deleted in this rating for maximum readability.)

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