Where Are the Women? Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension

by MaryAnn Johanson
2 comments

Where Are the Women? Paranormal Activity The Ghost Dimension

With its gender-balanced ensemble, this movie is inoffensive, even reasonably fair, in its depiction of women.

BASIC REPRESENTATION SCORE: +10

+10
Is there a female character with significant screen time who grows, changes, and/or learns something over the course of the story? (for an ensemble cast, or a film with a male protagonist) [why this matters]

FEMALE AGENCY/POWER/AUTHORITY SCORE: +4

+2
Is there a woman whose role could easily have been played by a man? [why this matters]
+2
More than one? [why this matters]

THE MALE GAZE SCORE: 0

[no issues]

GENDER/SEXUALITY SCORE: -5

-5
Is there a female character who is primarily defined by her emotional and/or sexual relationship with a man or men? [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: +9

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

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

BOTTOM LINE: With an ensemble that is gender balanced — including multiple characters who could have easily been played by men, and a woman who goes on a somewhat significant personal journey, even if it is in the aid of protecting her child — this movie is inoffensive, even reasonably fair, in its depiction of women.

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

NOTE: This is not a “review” of Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension! 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 Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension.

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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RogerBW
RogerBW
Thu, Oct 22, 2015 10:18pm

In a way this is more encouraging than a good film getting a +40. Because this was clearly produced by people who didn’t care what they were doing, edited by a committee, focus-grouped with test audiences… and it still has a positive score.

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MaryAnn Johanson
MaryAnn Johanson
reply to  RogerBW
Thu, Oct 22, 2015 10:45pm

In an ideal world, no movies would be crappy. In a better world than the one we live in now, there would be as many crappy movies that represent women well as there are crappy movies that represent men well.

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