Where Are the Women? The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2

Where Are the Women? The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 2

This is kickass representation: lots of women in gender-neutral roles wielding power, including the female protagonist, herself a figure of authority.

BASIC REPRESENTATION SCORE: +25

+25

Is there a female protagonist? [why this matters]

FEMALE AGENCY/POWER/AUTHORITY SCORE: +26

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]

More than one (of any race)? [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]

+10

Is there a female villain or antagonist? [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: 0

[no issues]

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*? (*in this case, adult 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: +46

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

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

BOTTOM LINE: Lots of women in gender-neutral roles in which they wield power — politically, militarily, and culturally — including the female protagonist, who is herself a figure of authority. Here were have many women depicted as fully human, as people in their own right and not as adjuncts to men. Yet there are still plenty of male characters, too, and romance still exists! This is how you do kickass representation of women.

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

NOTE: This is not a “review” of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2! 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 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2.

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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