Where Are the Women? Christmas with the Coopers (aka Love the Coopers)

Where Are the Women? Christmas the Coopers Love the Coopers

While there are plenty of women here, nearly all are defined through their relationships with men or by the romantic expectations placed upon them.

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: 0

[no significant representation of women in authority]

THE MALE GAZE SCORE: 0

[no issues]

GENDER/SEXUALITY SCORE: -13

-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]

-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]

-3

Is a dead mother mentioned? [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: -3

IS THE FILM’S DIRECTOR FEMALE? Yes (Jessie Nelson) (does not impact scoring)

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

BOTTOM LINE: While there are plenty of women here — the ensemble cast is reasonably gender-balanced — nearly every woman here is defined solely through her relationships with men or with children, or by the romantic expectations placed upon them, or as an object of desire by a man. Most of the men, however, are defined by their jobs (soldier; cop; doctor) first, or even just by their search for a job.

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

NOTE: This is not a “review” of Christmas with the Coopers (aka Love the Coopers)! 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 Christmas with the Coopers (aka Love the Coopers).

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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