FEMALE AGENCY/POWER/AUTHORITY SCORE: +11
THE MALE GAZE SCORE: 0
[no issues]
GENDER/SEXUALITY SCORE: 0
[no issues]
WILDCARD SCORE: +3
Is there anything either positive or negative in the film’s representation of women not already accounted for here? (points will vary)
The film specifically confronts issues that smart, outspoken women must deal with, including gendered abuse, that men in similar positions do not.
TOTAL SCORE: +39
IS THE FILM’S DIRECTOR FEMALE? No (does not impact scoring)
IS THE FILM’S SCREENWRITER FEMALE? No (does not impact scoring)
BOTTOM LINE: There are real women in the real world doing important work, and sometimes even screwing up important work in interesting ways, yet it’s rare that their stories are told in mainstream movies. This movie is an exception to the unspoken rule Hollywood follows about dismissing these women’s stories as worth telling, and underscores how rare it is to see such a thing. And yet this one probably only got told because of how the female protagonist’s work impacted powerful men. But at least the story is actually about her.
Click here for the ongoing ranking of 2015’s films for female representation.
NOTE: This is not a “review” of Truth! 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 Truth.
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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