Analysis of Gender Discrimination in the Film Industry

This research aims to understand if movies with only male actors nominated for academy awards receive higher ratings compared to movies with only female actors. It examines the issue of gender discrimination in the film industry and analyzes the ratings received by nominated movies based on the gender of the characters.

Running head: DISSERTATION
Analysis of gender discrimination which exists within the film industry with respect to the
systematic ratings received by the movies nominated for the Academy Awards
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Acknowledgement
Thank you to all of those who have helped listened and encouraged me throughout this study. I
am indebted to my supervisor ……………………. whose guidance, advice and patience have
been immeasurable. My sincere thanks to all members of the…………… [Mention your
university/college name], both staff and students, whose continuous support have made this
thesis possible.
I would like to thank all of the participants in the study: students, teachers and Local Education
Authorities, for the time and help given throughout. Without their participation, this research
would not have been possible. In this context, I am also thankful to them, whose research work
helped me to execute this paper well.
Finally, I thank my family, without whom this thesis would not have been started or completed!
Your encouragement and support have never faltered; thank you.

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Abstract
The aim of this research is to understand if the movies that have only actors nominated to the
academy awards receive systematic higher ratings compared to those movies in which only
actresses get nominated for the acting award. The first chapter provides a brief introduction in to
the research work. The aim of this research is to understand if the movies that have only actors
nominated to the academy awards receive systematic higher ratings compared to those movies in
which only actresses get nominated for the acting award. This chapter also mentions the research
objectives and the research questions that the paper seeks to answer. The second chapter seeks to
provide a detailed examination of the various secondary sources of literature pertaining to the
related field of interest. In this respect, the various book, academic journals and articles have
been referenced which discusses the issue of gender discrimination in the context of motion
pictures. This has provided the researcher an insight in to the various opinions held by the
scholars of related field. The third chapter enumerates in the various research methodologies that
have been used in the course of the research for its effective execution. This chapter also looks in
to the limitations that have faced by the researcher and the other ethical considerations that had
to be adhered to for the research. The forth chapter tries to find all the relevant data and statistics
with regard to the research issue at hand. In this respect, this chapter looks in to the number of
movies nominated for academy awards and the gender of the lead characters. Furthermore, the
ratings of such movies have also been taken into consideration. The fifth chapter interprets the
data found in the previous chapter and relates it with the information gathered from the
secondary sources of literature in the literature review section. This enables the researcher to
provide validity to the information collected and therefore, the analysis provided in this chapter
increases in reliability. The sixth chapter concludes the dissertation. This chapter synthesizes all

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the information gathered in the course of the research and reaches a logical conclusion. This
chapter also provides certain recommendation on how to diminish the issue of gender
discrimination as is observed within the field of motion pictures.

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Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction....................................................................................................................7
1.0 Overview................................................................................................................................7
1.1 Problem Statement.................................................................................................................7
1.2 Research Aim.........................................................................................................................8
1.3 Research Objectives...............................................................................................................8
1.4 Research Questions................................................................................................................8
1.5 Research Rationale................................................................................................................9
1.6 Research Structure.................................................................................................................9
1.7 Summary..............................................................................................................................11
Chapter 2: Literature Review.........................................................................................................12
2.0 Over view.............................................................................................................................12
2.1 Gender discrimination as present within the contemporary world order............................12
2.2 Gender discrimination as existing within the film industry.................................................13
2.3 Discrimination against the women gender and how it impacts them..................................16
2.4 Instances of gender inequality within the entertainment industry.......................................17
2.5 Portrayal of the role of women in films...............................................................................19
2.6 The impact of the ‘Male Gaze’............................................................................................22
Summary....................................................................................................................................23
Chapter 3: Research Methodology................................................................................................25

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3.0 Over view.............................................................................................................................25
3.1 Research Outline..................................................................................................................25
3.2 Methodology........................................................................................................................25
3.3 Research Philosophy............................................................................................................26
3.3.1 Justification of the use of positivist research philosophy.............................................27
3.4 Research Approach..............................................................................................................27
3.4.1 Justification of the use of deductive research approach...............................................27
3.5 Research Design..................................................................................................................28
3.5.1 Justification of the use of descriptive research design..................................................28
3.6 Data collection technique....................................................................................................28
3.6.1 Justification of the application of secondary data collection technique.......................29
3.7 Sampling technique.............................................................................................................29
3.8 Data collection technique....................................................................................................30
3.8.1 Justification of the use of secondary data collection technique....................................30
3.9 Data analysis technique.......................................................................................................30
3.9.1 Justification of the data analysis technique..................................................................31
3.10 Ethical Considerations.......................................................................................................31
3.11 Accessibility Issues............................................................................................................32
3.12 Summary............................................................................................................................32
Chapter 4: Data findings................................................................................................................33

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4.0 Over view.............................................................................................................................33
4.2 Summary..............................................................................................................................38
Chapter 5: Data Discussion...........................................................................................................40
5.0 Over view.............................................................................................................................40
5.1 Theme 1: To understand the issue of gender discrimination as it exists within the present
world order.................................................................................................................................40
5.2 Theme 2: To examine the various gender discriminations that are present in the field of
motion pictures and entertainment.............................................................................................42
5.3 Theme 3: To analyze the movies nominated to the academy awards and the ratings
received by them based on the gender of the characters...........................................................44
5.4 Summary..............................................................................................................................46
Chapter 6: Conclusion...................................................................................................................48
6.0 Conclusion...........................................................................................................................48
6.1 Linking with objectives.......................................................................................................49
6.2 Recommendation.................................................................................................................51
6.3 Future scope of the study.....................................................................................................52
References:....................................................................................................................................53

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Chapter 1: Introduction
1.0 Overview
The issue of gender discrimination has been in existence in the society since times
immemorial. The female gender is seen to be subservient to their male counterparts who have a
dominating role to play in the society (Kabeer 2015). This social evil of gender discrimination is
visible even to this day of the twenty first century where there is a considerable importance
placed on the maintenance of human rights and human dignity.
In the present world order, the issue of gender parity has assumed significance. The
females of the society are now allowed to take an active participation in the public sphere, at par
with their male counterparts (Healey, Stepnick and O'Brien 2018). However, there is a deep
underlying notion of gender discrimination which is still present in the fields of economics,
sociology and even in that of politics (Kabeer and Sweetman 2018). The sector of motion
pictures is not an exception. Within this field of motion pictures, it can be observed that severe
discriminations exists with respect to the payment received by the various actors and actresses
and their effective nomination to the academic awards.
In this regard, the major discrimination that can be noticed is with respect to the
systematic review ratings which are received by the movies. It has been found out that a certain
extent of discrimination is considerably visible with respect to the issue of review ratings
received which is invariably dependent to some extent, upon the gender of the lead character
(Sanchez and Paniagua 2017).
1.1 Problem Statement
Gender discrimination continues to be in existence in the twenty first century world order

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where the state leaders have made the commitment that the various human freedom would be
provided to all (Jayachandran 2015). Such an access to human freedom is deemed to be essential
for ensuring the presence of human dignity. However, in the various fields of activity, the issue
of gender discrimination is present whereby the women are accorded a much lower standard of
living and respect than that of their male counterparts (Grusky 2018). In this regard, it becomes
essential to understand the prevailing problem of gender disparity.
1.2 Research Aim
The aim of this research is to understand if the movies that have only actors nominated to
the academy awards receive systematic higher ratings compared to those movies in which only
actresses get nominated for the acting award.
1.3 Research Objectives
The objectives of the research are as follows –
1. To understand the issue of gender discrimination as it exists within the present world order.
2. To examine the various gender discriminations that are present in the field of motion pictures
and entertainment.
3. To analyze the movies nominated to the academy awards and the ratings received by them
based on the gender of the characters.
1.4 Research Questions
The research questions are as follows –
1. What is the issue of gender discrimination as it exists within the present world order?
2. What are the various gender discriminations that are present in the field of motion pictures and

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entertainment?
3. Does the gender of the characters in a movie nominated to the academy awards affect the
systematic rating received by such movies?
1.5 Research Rationale
The issue of gender discrimination poses a severe challenge for the growth and
development of the society (Andersen and Collins 2015). Since the inception of the human
civilization, the female gender has always been accorded a secondary position to that of the
dominating nature of the male gender. In was not till the twentieth century that the women got
the right to vote in various parts of the world. This shows the despairing condition and status of
the women that prevailed for many years in the human community (Richardson 2015).
In the field of motion pictures, such discriminations existed and is still perceived to be
present in the contemporary world order (Magotra and Kaur 2018). It can be seen that in most of
the movies the lead character is usually a dominating male whose role is usually supported and
aided by a female character. In this regard, the notion that the movies nominated for the academy
awards receive higher systematic ratings based in the gender of the characters, needs to be
reviewed (Fleck and Hanssen 2016). It poses a significant sociological importance because of the
fact that movies are a mirror reflection of the cultural values and traditions that are present in the
society.
1.6 Research Structure
Introduction – The first chapter provides a brief introduction in to the research work.
The aim of this research is to understand if the movies that have only actors nominated to the
academy awards receive systematic higher ratings compared to those movies in which only

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actresses get nominated for the acting award. This chapter also mentions the research objectives
and the research questions that the paper seeks to answer.
Literature review - The second chapter seeks to provide a detailed examination of the
various secondary sources of literature pertaining to the related field of interest. In this respect,
the various book, academic journals and articles have been referenced which discusses the issue
of gender discrimination in the context of motion pictures. This has provided the researcher an
insight in to the various opinions held by the scholars of related field.
Research Methodology – The third chapter enumerates in the various research
methodologies that have been used in the course of the research for its effective execution. This
chapter also looks in to the limitations that have faced by the researcher and the other ethical
considerations that had to be adhered to for the research.
Data Findings – The forth chapter tries to find all the relevant data and statistics with
regard to the research issue at hand. In this respect, this chapter looks in to the number of movies
nominated for academy awards and the gender of the lead characters. Furthermore, the ratings of
such movies have also been taken into consideration.
Data Analysis – The fifth chapter interprets the data found in the previous chapter and
relates it with the information gathered from the secondary sources of literature in the literature
review section. This enables the researcher to provide validity to the information collected and
therefore, the analysis provided in this chapter increases in reliability.
Conclusion and recommendation – The sixth chapter concludes the dissertation. This
chapter synthesizes all the information gathered in the course of the research and reaches a
logical conclusion. This chapter also provides certain recommendation on how to diminish the

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issue of gender discrimination as is observed within the field of motion pictures.
1.7 Summary
To summarize, this chapter outlines the aim and purpose of the research. Additionally, it
also looks in to the various research objectives and research questions that it seeks to answer in
the course of the research work. This chapter provides a brief framework of the remaining
chapters of the research work.

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Chapter 2: Literature Review
2.0 Over view
This chapter aims to understand the issue that of the movies that have only actors
nominated to the academy awards receive systematic higher ratings compared to those movies in
which only actresses get nominated for the acting award. In this regard, the various secondary
sources of literature such as the books, academic journals, articles and internet websites have
been referenced. It has aided the research to gain a wide and comprehensive understanding of the
issue of gender discrimination which exists within the film industry.
2.1 Gender discrimination as present within the contemporary world order
According to a previous study it has been said that the women enjoy lesser rights
according to men and even if some rights have been granted to them they are not properly
implemented which has a significant effect on their mental and physical wellbeing (Graham and
Chattopadhyay 2013). According to a previous report it is said that females make less than 16%
of the national workforce in Saudi Arabia and the ban on women driving has yet not been
removed (Rajkhan 2014). The gender discrimination has given rise to various crimes around the
world, many of which go unreported because the victims are often not taken seriously. As opined
by Breen et al.(2017), the fact that women have been marginalized for a very long time now
emphasizes the need for more literary work in their favour and the need for this research to be
successful.
According to a previous study sexual misconduct, sexual violence, gender discrimination
and racial discrimination are one of the commonest problem faced by people today in the present

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world order (Ferris and Stein 2014). The gender gap has become a serious problem in the world
and it will take years to close it (World Economic Foru, 2014). The gender gap is a global
problem faced by the people of every field whether it is the education sector, economic sector or
media sector. It is the result of patriarchy taking over the world that the women have been so
cruelly cornered. The gender gap in higher education of children is huge; the girls are few in
number compared to the boys (Lie and Malik 2014). The purpose of the research is to give voice
to the women of the world who have been silenced for a long time now. The Media has also been
witness to a number sexual politics like gender discrimination which include blocking the way of
female journalists, not letting female journalists speak in a media conference and sexual
misconduct (Melki and Mallat 2016). The gender discrimination, according to Cummings and
Glesing (2017), existing in the present world order needs to be heard and this research serves this
purpose. Sexism, misogyny and patriarchy have seeped into the society and has infected it
making the survival of women very difficult. This research aims to bring to the forth the various
and attempts of gender discrimination and how it effects people. Applying the feminist theory in
the gendered practices one could say that all these practices stem from male ego and urge to be
the dominant (Blau 2016). Men feel a strong need to control the women to feel empowered.
2.2 Gender discrimination as existing within the film industry
As stated by Sohn (2015), the entertainment media especially the motion pictures has not
been an exclusion to the sexist practices or gender discrimination. There is a huge gender gap in
movies as well, there are more number of actors than there are actresses in the field of motion
picture (Sanchez, S.I. and Paniagua 2017). As opined by Cohn (2019), it is because of the gender
gap in motion pictures that very often we witness actors romancing actresses who are their
daughter’s age as there are fewer options available in the industry to choose from. Gender gap is

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not only a problem in this field but the whole of the Europe is faced with the same crises (Dahlin
and Härkönen 2013). This chapter discusses all the sexist and gender biased practices in motion
pictures and entertainment. As opined by Adams (2018), the sexist practices in motion picture
include the type of role assigned to the actresses and the things that are asked of them. According
to Paydar (2016), some of the Other sexist practices include giving fewer dialogs to the actresses,
not giving them powerful roles and portraying them weak and oppressed, keeping them on
screen only for visual pleasure, women are given more roles that require them to be partially
naked than men (Milana 2019). Molly Haskell in her book, From Reverence to Rape: The
Treatment of Women in the movies gives an insight about the type of prejudice that women are
faced with in motion pictures (Haskell 2016). This book written by Molly Haskell has helped in
the research a lot by providing an insight into injustices that the actresses had to go through in
this field and it also shows how important this research really is because it will educate people on
various aspects of gender discrimination especially related to the field of motion picture. As
stated by Rose (2015), there have not been enough researches specifically about gender
discrimination in motion pictures and it makes this research important and unique. There is a lot
that goes behind the screen that the audience does not have any idea about, and this research will
emphasize on those points in a detailed manner. The book, From Reverence to Rape: The
Treatment of Women in the movies traces the journey of women from the earliest of eras to the
revolution of 1970 came to be known as New Hollywood and has portrayed the hostility that the
actresses have been subjected to (Cuklanz 2013). Many articles as well as literary pieces have
been put forward which informs us about the gender biased practices in film industry but with
insufficient data, therefore it is hard to trust them. One such journal is the Women and film which
has attacked the sexist practices on behalf of all the women in the film industries (Fleck and

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Hanssen 2016). The gender gap is not only limited to the actors and actresses but, even the
number of male script writers and male producers are more than the number of female writers
(Pires 2017). There is also gender biased discrimination on wages; the payment of actress are
low compared to the payment of actors (Pires 2017). Gender wage is one of the commonest
issues that are faced by women in almost every professional field. After almost an era of silence
on this particular issues people have finally started to speak up about these issues more
publically and willingly. Although, as stated by Coles and MacNeill (2017), there have been
various attempts to fill this gender wage gap, which is the difference of wage for the men and
women for the same work, there is a lot to be done still. This research focuses on one particular
industry that is the film industry that has been lagging behind and failing to fill up the gender
wage gap. The gender based wage gap says a lot about the society we live and also the injustice
that the actresses have been facing. Back in the 1980s, Hollywood was more hostile and towards
actresses and their portrayal on screen (Traube 2019). It is not an uncommon or absurd thing in
Hollywood for a leading actors pay to be several multiples of the Pay of his the female co-star he
is working with. According to Conor, Gill and Taylor (2017), the gender wage gap in Hollywood
is way too high to rationalize or justify it the differences in experience, available finance and
talent of men and women. Discrimination has also practiced on the basis of race and ethnicity
and religion and when it comes to women and race they are doubly marginalized and
discriminated (Hennekam and Syed 2018). Black women have been doubly marginalized and
discriminated for their gender as well as for their face and it is of the worst cases of
discrimination (Erigha 2014). According to a previous study it has been observed that one of the
earliest discriminatory wage practices shows that the employees have a preference to work or
associate with people having specific qualitative characters like race or gender and

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discriminations stems when people are willing to pay more in order to associate with their
preferred group(Doran 2017). There have been subsequent changes and things have turned
favourably for the actresses of Hollywood but some previous studies show that the changes have
not been enough (Cobb and Tasker 2016). However one can safely say that the present day
scenario needs more changes to be made to empower women in every aspect of life (Bronstein
and Lambiase 2018).
2.3 Discrimination against the women gender and how it impacts them
According to Bell (2017), discrimination on the basis of gender is not only a phenomenon
of the present times but has continued from long time in the past. As opined by Jones and Pringle
(2015), the earliest and most common forms of discrimination is confining women inside the
four walls of the room inside a house. This has restricted the women of the society from going
out into the world and has also restricted their knowledge of the outside world (Maule 2016).
The male dominant society has various excuses to restrict them to just their houses and suppress
them; sometimes it is for women’s own good, sometimes it is for their safety while on other
times religion plays a role in confining them into their houses. The gender biasness does not
seem to end. According to a report, these practices have led to the backwardness of women in the
society (Allen, 2018). The gender biased practices have been so old that people are now quite
used to these practices without even realizing that they are being sexist or gender biased. From
the perspective of feminist theory, only the abolition of these practices will help in the progress
of the women and the overall development of the society (Garry and Pearsall). These gender
biased practices, according to Rogan (2016), discriminatory behavior and all the restrictions have
laid down so many obligations for the women. It is essential to break free from all the unjust
restrictions and boundaries that have been set for the women to lead a good progressive life.

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According to a study; to give in to the obligations laid down by the male dominant and biased
society will mean the death of feminism which means the death of the progress of the society
(Carastathis 2014). A study on feminism and the legal laws states that, the injustice done to the
women and the discriminatory behavior towards the women is recognized by several
governmental and legal bodies that have laid down some laws to protect the rights of women
(Bartlett 2018).
As stated by Virani and Gill (2019), the unjust behavior towards women did not confine
itself to just the social order but it has also spread it’s root into the professional sphere once the
women started coming out and liberating themselves from the rules laid down for them to
follow. According to Orange (2017), women have had to fight huge battles for their rights in the
professional as well as social rights so that they can uplift their economic and social status. There
is a lack of recognition and acknowledgment for the work done by the women which is hampers
the self-esteem of the women. As opined by Kerner (2016), this issue has been raised on various
occasions to bring men and women in the same plane. According to a study women are not
recognized enough for the work that they do (Morgan et al. 2018). One of the prominent and
well known evidence for this will be that female writers used to take up pseudonyms of a male so
that their books are recognized. Although the women have been progressing in all the
professional spheres and doing a wonderful job at it, yet, they are not paid equally. According to
Berg and Penley (2016), there are biases attached also to the payment given to the employees in
different sectors. The wage gap is not a new thing that has threatened the professional life of
female working women (Parvulescu and Pitassio 2018). A study says that, despite promising
equal legal rights to women, the women are faced with these problems which reflect the
improper implementation of these laws (Rowbotham 2016). According to a report women have

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been found to have lived in lower living standards than men on the whole (Grusky 2018).
Considering all the perspective and reading all the reports and articles have provided the research
with the insight that a proper research needs to have.
2.4 Instances of gender inequality within the entertainment industry
According to Zimmer, Sullivan and White (2016), various gender inequality issues that
have haunted the entertainment industry for women are sexual politics, sexual assaults,
misbehavior towards the actresses and submissive roles assigned to the female actors. Sexual
politics are common in all the professional sectors and has led to the marginalization of women.
Sexual assaults and misbehavior has become very common over the years. According to Jansson
(2017), film industry or motion pictures is one of the most high profiled sectors of all and should
have a high sense of diversity and gender parity but it has disappointed everyone in these areas
as this industry is constantly making headlines for all sexual assaults and crimes against women.
Actresses who are called for interview for different parts are often taken advantage of as they are
new to the industry and are mostly found to be vulnerable (Bennett et al. 2019). The directors,
producers and film makers ask for physical favors that are fundamentally unethical and wrong. A
wave Awareness and awakening has occurred in the last years. Women all over the world have
raised their voice against the biased behvaiour, discrimination, the sexual politics and sexual
assaults against them. According to Grills (2019), women’s movement, feminist movement are
all examples of revolution and steps that are being taken in the favor of women all over the
world. The Me Too Movement is a recent revolution that has taken the internet by storm (Kearl,
2018). The Me Too Movement is a recent revolution that occurred to expose all those who have
assaulted or harassed women and got away with their crimes. As opined by Jordan and Morgan-
Tamosunas (2019), while women of all ages worldwide were coming out to the public and

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speaking about their tragic experiences, one industry that was highly engaged in this movement
was the entertainment industry or the motion pictures. So many claims were made against senior
producers, directors and actors of Hollywood. The number of claims and stories that came out to
the public and made headlines reflects how frequently the actresses are assaulted and their rights
violated by the senior members of the industry. As stated by Coles (2016), it has been a
liberation for the women who could finally come out of their cocoon and tell their stories to
everyone. Not only did it make a difference in the film industry but also the society. As stated by
Uğur Tanrıöver (2017), women all over the world started coming out of their fear and sharing
their story of sexual harassment. Male artist who were of so much important and respect are now
suspected to be involved in sexual assaults against women (Sommerlund and Strandvad 2015).
Me too movement made the discrimination of the women in film industry apparent to the public.
Women are underrated and deserve more acknowledgment than they get (Milestone 2015).
2.5 Portrayal of the role of women in films
According to Ivan-Cucu (2018), movies have the power to change or influence the point
of view of the general public so, gender parity and diversity should be an integral part of the
film. A large part of the public watches movies and get influenced by that. Movies have been
portraying the women in the role of the oppressed or someone who is overly dependent on men.
According to Wühr, Lange and Schwarz (2017), the movies which show women as distressed
and needs the support and guidance of the men in her life to progress in life. This idea that
women are the weaker sex gets developed from the very beginning, the childhood itself. As
stated by Zorko (2018), even the animated movies for minors portray women in roles where they
are helpless and need to be rescued as they lack the mental and physical strength to rescue
themselves from any situation. The books also portray such idea to the children who grow up to

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believe that women indeed are weaker than men. As stated by England (2017), children’s books
and fairy tales consists of stories that show the women as helpless in some isolated tower or in
the hands of evil people who exploit her. And she needs to be rescued from there by some hero
because she cannot do that on her own. Even the comics on which super hero movies are made in
Hollywood that are running the box office these days, have a sexist approach that show
discrimination on the basis of the gender of the character. These comics when made into super
hero movies by production houses such as Marvel and DC portray the gender discrimination on
screen (Bier 2018). Movies such as ‘Cinderella’ , ‘snow white’ and such other movies which
portray the women in roles that portray their weakness and helplessness further builds on the
sexist ideologies of the children. These ideologies working in such a young age helps in
developing the foundation of gender biased thought process. According to Ball and Porter
(2018), to remove this sexist psychology there is a need for more women centric movies that
empower women instead of portraying them as weak and dim spirited. A study on the domain of
women centric movies says that, the women centric movies have led to the increase in sexist
psychology (Lindner, Lindquist, and Arnold 2015). Even when a women centric movie is made,
which is very rare, instead of giving the lead role to an actress it is given to an actor, as if it is not
about a women but a man. There should be an equality in general it the movies. The roles that
are assigned to the actresses compared to the roles assigned to the actors, are less serious, less
critical and heroic or they are just side roles that is there just for the support.
According to a report when female or women centric movies are made in which the role
of the actor gets undermined because of the role of the actress, the film most likely gets bad
reviews in the box office (Lindner, Lindquist and Arnold 2015). This reflects the fact that the
public is also gender biased and likes only those movies in which the actors are heroic and

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masculine however, the actors are feminine, meek, submissive, helpless and powerless. If
throughout their life, from early childhood till late adulthood people learn only sexist ideologies
and watch sexist movies they are bound to be sexist in approach. Movies shape the society and
thinking of the people to a great extent and should incorporate more roles that uplift women
rather than their downfall.
According to Fink (2018), other gender discrimination in the film industry consists of the
discarding of the female actors when they are old. It is a point worth noticing that the actresses
after a certain period of time get replaced by younger actresses and after a certain point of time
they do not get any jobs. However, in case of the actors they do not get replaced and work with
women who are much younger than them. Women are always portrayed as young and beautiful
in cinemas and anything that is not young is considered ugly. So, when actresses grow old they
are replaced by younger and so called prettier women. It also reflects on the fact that actresses
are mostly only kept in movies for visual treat and aesthetic beauty. This is fundamentally wrong
because this influences the view of the people who end up believing that the beauty of women is
everything and that without it she is good for nothing.
Movies portray the society and the society’s sexual politics and discrimination have
infected even the film industries. However, it should be noted that movies don’t only mirror the
sociological conventions but also considerably responsible for creating them. The reviews that
the movies get or the actors and actresses get is also based the patriarchal psychology. It is very
commonly seen that when there is a interview with the actors and actresses; the actresses are
always asked very unprofessional and stupid questions about their clothing or about a particular
intimate scene while the actors are asked serious professional questions about their roles and the
problems faced by them while doing their role. All these are the examples of sexism in day to

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day life of the actresses. The purpose of this research is to reveal with evidences and secondary
sources if the apparent sexism and gender discrimination works in the reviews received by the
films and artists. The research shows the presence of a dominant female character hampers the
publicity of the movies and its reviews. There is a direct link between the under performance of a
film or a movie and the gender discriminatory practices. According to a previous study it has
been predicted that outstanding performance of actresses are very rarely associated with
universally acclaimed featured movies (Tarr 2016). The critics are also biased in their opinion of
the movies and the reviews they give to actresses and actors. To say that the reviews the actors
and actresses get, influence the opinion of audience for the movie will be a very general thing to
say. However, this research aims to analyze data form various secondary sources to answer if the
nominations of actors and actresses effect the reviews. The research will also answer whether
there is a bias related to the reviews of that the actors and actresses get for a movie from both the
critic and the general audience and analyze how strong is the bias if any at all. According to a
previous study the gender biasness in Hollywood is rooted from the core and even the critics that
are not free from such practices (De Pater, Judge and Scott 2014). Nobody is free from this web
of gender discrimination. One of the commonest things people do while talking of a movie is that
they ask who the lead actor is; the lead actor always comes first. This simple involuntary act
shows a lot about the mentality people hold and with such mentality it is obvious that the reviews
that the actors and actresses get are gender biased.
2.6 The impact of the ‘Male Gaze’
The feminist film theory, which was first formulated by Laura Mulvey, suggested that art
is a form in which males have always been dominant over the females. Laura Mulvey
particularly published her work in the domain of film theory, stating that the majority of the

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films that are made in the modern generation, and in fact throughout history, have always been
basing the plot and the story of the film from the perspective of the male actors ( Fink 2018). In
other words, what she attempts at establishing in her work is the fact that the major thing that has
to be pointed out about conventional films is that directors and writers always tend to portray the
male actor with whom the audience would relate the most and would relate to the story from his
perspective. This according to her, diminishes the role of the female in the movie, and very less
people relate with the female actress, and does not see or view the story from their perspective. It
is for this reason why there is an existing gender inequality in the way in which films and stories
and written and directed. This is the phenomenon which she terms as the male gaze. Male Gaze
means that all of the eyes in the audience are concentrated on the male actor in the film, than the
females who may be involved in the same story.
Laura Mulvey further goes on to state the fact that the major thing that is wrong apart
from the perceived gender discrimination in films is the fact that females are often portrayed as
sexual objects for the pleasure of men. This according to her, not only objectifies women, but
also ensures that females have a very passive part to play in the film, and are only present to
support the role of the male in achieving his goals. Mulvey is of the opinion that the public too
could be equally blamed for this, since it has become a stereotype that movies in which males are
the dominant characters and the females are just there to support those roles would be more
entertaining to watch than the other way around (Fink 2018).
Summary
Therefore, what can be inferred from this chapter is the fact that the problem of gender
discrimination is a highly prevalent issue in the film industry as of now and a revolutionary
movement is yet to find itself changing that landscape. This is because of the fact that the major

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thing that has to be considered is the fact that throughout history, the practice of gender
discrimination in films has been existing and it is for this reason why suppression of women in
films have been existing for a long time now, and the major thing that has to be done is to make
sure that this issue, which in itself is an ethical issue, is minimized in the modern generation of
films, by giving way to proper revolutions in the to change this stereotypical trend. It is for this
reason why the issue regarding this gives way to ethical violations.
The literature review suggests that the public is as much to blame as the directors,
producers and writers themselves. This is because of the fact that they have buying into the ideas
of gender discrimination that has been existing in the films throughout history, and the main
thing that has to be considered is the fact that it has become more of a stereotype to them, and
this is what they like watching the most. Therefore, it has to be first established to the public that
female generic films are just as worthy of male generic films, to bring about a revolution in the
industry regarding this.
The major thing that has to be considered in this regard is the fact that this has even
seeped into the professionalism within the industry. Phenomenon like casting couch has been
predominantly acting as an evil that is taking the film industry by storm, and it has been widely
reported that female actors are not treated the same way as the male actors. The male gaze theory
by Laura Mulvey states that the major problem with films themselves is the fact that viewers get
to view or experience a story in a film through the perspective of the male actor, rather than any
of it through the eyes of a female. In other words, the main thing that has to be noted is the fact
that the dominance of males has to be mitigated and the importance of females have to be
established.

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Chapter 3: Research Methodology
3.0 Over view
The main purpose of the research paper is to understand if the movies that have only
actors nominated to the academy awards receive systematic higher ratings compared to those
movies in which only actresses get nominated for the acting award. In this context, various
methods and methodologies have been utilized for the effective execution of the paper. This has
allowed the researcher to carry out an effective research which is comprehensive in nature.
3.1 Research Outline
This research has adhered to the positivist research philosophy, descriptive research
design and deductive research approach. This has allowed the researcher to objectively and
logically interpret the information available (Berger 2015). Furthermore, the deductive research
approach has the added advantage of understanding the existing theories and concepts as opined
by the previous researchers of the relevant field of study. The research has collected the relevant
information from the various sources of secondary literature, thereby adhering to the secondary
data collection technique (Bernard 2017). Furthermore, the information collected has been
utilized with the aid of qualitative data analysis technique. This has provided the researcher with
the opportunity to subjectively examine the data and to comprehensively understand the issue of
discrimination as existing within the film industry (Brannen 2017).
3.2 Methodology
A methodology for study refers to a structured strategy to research into a certain issue or
object of science in which, by using existing data collection and analytical techniques, the
researcher needs to build up an analytical framework to arrive at final definitions and

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conclusions on a particular research topic. It is the central structure for conducting research
(Kothari 2004).
The main thing to remember is to ensure that the methodology of study is selected and
developed in accordance with the objectives of research. For example, descriptive research will
entail the compilation and evaluation of both qualitative and quantitative data, on the basis of
which it would be interpreted (Kumar 2019). This is why the primary objective must be to match
the research topic and goals with the research methodology chosen (Kumar 2019). The section
discusses the overall research methodology and a justification for the use of the research
methodology. This would include data analysis techniques for clarification and data collection
techniques chosen for this study. There are two main and distinct methods of data collection that
are widely used in researches. These involve primary data collection and secondary data
collection (Johnson & Turner, 2003). The main thing that has to be noted in this regard is the fact
that usually, both of these methods are used collaboratively in a research, for the purpose of
providing comprehensive insights and support statements and conclusions about a particular
research that has been conducted (Johnson & Turner, 2003).
3.3 Research Philosophy
Within the aspect of research work, there exists three different kinds of research
philosophies such as those of the positivist research philosophy, interpretivist research
philosophy and that of pragmatic research philosophy. The positivist research philosophy harps
on the adherence of scientific and logical explanations for the understanding of a particular piece
of research work (Bryman 2015). The interpretivist research philosophy, on the other hand, relies
on the opinions put forth by the various scholars and authors belonging to the relevant field of
study (Bryman 2017).

27DISSERTATION
3.3.1 Justification of the use of positivist research philosophy
The research work includes the use of the positivist research philosophy. Its utilization is
justified from the aspect that the main focus of the study is to understand how the movies
nominated for the awards discriminate between the two genders whereby the actors led
nominated movies receive a systematic higher reviews. In this regard, the researcher had the
opportunity to approach the topic in a logical manner by categorizing the movies according to
their lead roles and those which received nomination (Davies and Hughes 2014).
3.4 Research Approach
In the context of research work, there are two different kinds of approaches which are
followed such as the deductive and the inductive research approach. The deductive research
approach utilizes the existing theories and concepts which have been put forth by the scholars of
the relevant field of study (Flick 2015). The inductive research approach, on the other hand, tries
to develop a hypothesis and then seeks to justify it by formulating its own theory (Lampard and
Pole 2015).
3.4.1 Justification of the use of deductive research approach
This research work has utilized the application of the deductive research approach since it
provided the opportunity to the researcher to examine the various existing theories and concepts
as opined by the authors of the same field of study. The research could gain a comprehensive
insight in to the works citied by the scholars with regard to the biasness existing in the film
industry with respect to gender discrimination (Lewis 2015).
3.5 Research Design
Research work includes the adherence to three different kinds of research designs such as

28DISSERTATION
the exploratory, explanatory and descriptive research design. The exploratory research design
tries to explore and understand the various events which influences a particular social
phenomena (McCusker and Gunaydin 2015). The explanatory research design, on the other
hand, tries to explain the phenomena and its causes and impacts as they exists. The descriptive
research design is a combination of both the previous mentioned designs and hence, provides the
benefit to the researcher to accumulate the positive points of both in to one research design
(McNabb 2015).
3.5.1 Justification of the use of descriptive research design
This research work involves the adherence of the descriptive research design. Its use is
justified as it provides the opportunity to the research to explore the various causes for the
presence of discrimination within the film industry (Mertens 2014). Furthermore, it also aids the
researcher to explain its presence and it affects their ability to receive any systematic higher
review, particularly those movies which have been nominated to receive awards.
3.6 Data collection technique
Secondary research refers to the way in which data is gathered from existing information
sources (Nardi 2018). That being said, information is collected from the study and extraction of
data from previous studies and results that relate to the research field and provide the knowledge
necessary for the analysis or interpretation of research-related pieces of information (Paradis et
al., 2016). Thus, these data are not obtained first-hand by the author and need to be extracted
from existing sources. These include books, blogs, journals and even newspapers (Paradis et al.,
2016).
Primary research, instead of depending upon existing information sources to acquire a
study-related knowledge base that can then be applied in the area of research (Neuman and

29DISSERTATION
Robson 2014). The process of the collection of data in which the researcher has to obtain data of
his or her own findings. The important thing to note here is that compared to a secondary data
collection method, primary data collection is focused on the data collection of the researcher and
requires more sampling experience by the researcher (Neuman 2013). The explanation is that the
researcher needs to be accurate in evaluating the researchers' goals and to consider which
population samples will be most appropriate to provide the required information applicable to the
field of analysis (Paradis et al., 2016). He must also be able to accurately enter the samples to
collect data from he sample (Noble and Smith 2015). The primary work must therefore be
conducted in a very accurate and precise way by ensuring that the conclusions or the related
measurements from these results are correct in order to ensure there is no inaccurate research
data (Panneerselvam 2014).
3.6.1 Justification of the application of secondary data collection technique
However, only secondary collection of data was used for this thesis. It took the form of a
review of the literature. Literature review is a study of current research in the field of thesis,
which uses various data sources and, subsequently, interprets and extracts information relevant
and suited to the study (Hart 2018). It is a type of secondary data collection, as can be
understood. The only limitation of this kind of technique is that the research may not always get
the specific information he or she wants (Smith 2015). It helps however to recognize literature
gaps which allows the investigator to understand the researchers ' course for completion of this
dissertation (Hart, 2018).
3.7 Sampling technique
A non-probability sampling procedure was performed for sampling literature review,
which requires that the samples be chosen by the researcher based on his / her own judgment

30DISSERTATION
rather than randomly (Etikan & Bala 2017). That is because the sampling approach is ideally
suited to instances where specific samples have to be obtained for experiments in the testing area
(Etikan & Bala 2015). That was actually the goal. The intention was to choose literature which
would provide an appropriate context for the particular field of the research.
3.8 Data collection technique
The field of research work includes primarily two kinds of data collection technique. This
includes the primary source of data collection and the secondary source of data collection. The
primary source of data collection refers to the collection of data by the researcher himself or
herself (Taylor, Bogdan and DeVault 2015). The advantage of this method is that the data is
always updated. The secondary source of data collection technique refers to the utilization of the
books, academic articles and journals by the researcher.
3.8.1 Justification of the use of secondary data collection technique
Within this research work, the secondary source of data collection technique has been
adhered to. The researcher has utilized the various sources of literature such as the book,
academic journals and articles to understand the issue of the presence of gender discrimination
within the film industry. Furthermore, it has also provided the opportunity to the researcher to
take in to consideration the opinions and the viewpoints which have been advocated by the other
researchers of the concerned field of study (Vaioleti 2016).
3.9 Data analysis technique
Research work mainly includes two different kinds of data analysis technique such as the
quantitative and the qualitative data analysis technique. Qualitative analysis provides evaluation
and interpretation of data by analyzing only a plain text, which is not measured or interpreted as

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such in a statistical way (Mihas 2019). On the other hand, the quantitative data analysis
technique includes the use of facts and numerical for the analysis of the data provided.
3.9.1 Justification of the data analysis technique
The present research work includes the utilization of the qualitative data analysis
technique. This is justified since the researcher analyses the information available with the aid of
subjective and comprehensive insight into the research work. The issue of gender discrimination
has been presented in a detailed manner (Taylor, Bogdan and DeVault 2015).
3.10 Ethical Considerations
In the context of the research work, there are certain ethical considerations which needs
to be taken in to consideration. The first ethical consideration that was complied with in the
context of this research work is that of maintaining transparency of the data collected. In other
words, the research did not manipulate or change the available data for the convenience of the
aim of the research. This ensured the adherence to the maintenance of validity of the research
work (Taylor, Bogdan and DeVault 2015).
Another ethical consideration which has been adhered to in this research work is that of
referring to only valid and authentic sources of literature for accumulating of the relevant
information. This has aided the researcher to make the study more reliable in nature for the
readers who would be utilizing the researcher for further work. Furthermore, it has also given the
benefit to the researcher to ensure that the work developed is valid in context (Taylor, Bogdan
and DeVault 2015).
3.11 Accessibility Issues
The effective execution of this research work has faced several important limitations. The

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first limitation faced was that of the lack in the amount of monetary resources. The researcher
did not have sufficient funds available with him in order to carry out an extensive survey.
Instead, he had to rely on the information gathered from secondary sources of literature in order
to understand the issue of prevalence of gender discrimination within the larger context of the
film industry.
Furthermore, another important limitation which was faced by the researcher was in
context to that of shortage of time. The researcher did not have ample time available with him in
order to review all the movies nominated for awards. He had to choose a particular time frame,
ranging from the end of the 1900s to that of the recent time period of 2019. This considerably
reduced the scope of the research work.
3.12 Summary
To summarize, this chapter tries to understand the various methods and methodologies
which have been utilized in the making of this research work. In this context, the positivist
research philosophy, descriptive research design and the deductive research approach have been
adhered to. Furthermore, the information has been gathered from the relevant sources of
secondary literature such as the books, academic journals and articles belonging to the relevant
field of study. This has allowed the researcher to gain a comprehensive insight in to the past
work already concluded with respect to the present research consideration. The information has
been analyzed with the aid of qualitative research technique which aided the researcher to gain a
subjective understanding of the material discovered.

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Chapter 4: Data findings
4.0 Over view
This chapter would be focusing on the findings regarding the films that have shown
evidence that those films that are known for getting higher ratings since they have had male
actors as leads in them. This could be identified by going back to history and finding out films
that had females as the leads and how they lost to films that had male actors as leads in them, in
the Oscars. This would be a list of such films and the analysis of the same would be done in the
next chapter.
4.1 Data Findings
This section tries to understand those movies which have been nomination of the winning
of the awards in the film industry. The lead characters of the movies gave been looked in to.
Furthermore, the systematic reviews received by the movies nominated in the awards have also
been analysed in this section. It has aided the researcher to comprehensively understand the
nature of gender discrimination which is present within the field of the entertainment industry.
In the film industry, it can be observed that those movies which have actors nominated to
the academy awards receive systematic higher ratings compared to those movies in which only
actresses get nominated for the acting awards. This discrimination is mainly prevalent due to the
presence of the age old discrimination in the society with respect to the two genders of men and
women. This is significantly reflected within the field of the film industry. The film industry has
the primary function of showing to the audience the various situations which prevail in the real
world order. In this journey, the industry has acquired the character of the society where the
social evil of discrimination is present. This is amply reflected in the review system of the

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movies whereby the various review websites give a higher rating to those movies which has the
lead characters as actors rather than actresses.
To begin with, the first instance would be taken from the most recent history, which is the 2019
academy awards. Rami Malek won the award for the best picture. In the actress category, Olivia
Colman was the winner for being the best actress. The film she starred in, was The Favourite,
and it is this film that was even nominated for being the best picture (IMDb, 2018). However, the
winner for the same, was The Green Book. This film had a male protagonist, and it is for this
reason why there has been some discussions amongst feminist film theorists. The movie was
rated 7.6, while the Green Book was rated 8.2, and it is for this reason why it was obvious that
the film would be considered as the winner over The Favourite, although the film had the best
actress award winner performing for it (IMDb, 2018). However, whether it was just an instance
of the story being just not enough to beat the Green Book, or just another instance of male driven
movies getting a higher preference at the academy awards is a topic of discussion. Perhaps, this
could be best answered by the process of digging deeper into history, and finding out other
similar instances.
The next case would be more interesting and intriguing than the previous one. This involves the
Oscar nominations of 2018. A Star Is Born, starred by Lady Gaga, was nominated for being the
best picture of the year, and it was very positively reviewed by film critics all across the globe
(IMDb, 2018). Often termed as one of the most inspirational feminist films to have ever been
made, this film stood a really good chance of winning for the best picture award at the academy
awards. However, this did not happen. The film lost to Shape of Water, and this raised some
questions at the academy. However, the one thing that has to be noticed in this regard, is the fact
that Shape of Water was a film that too had a female protagonist. The story was pretty much

35DISSERTATION
observed by the audiences from her eyes. However, the main argument that could be posed in
this regard is the fact that the creature about whom the entire film was about, happened to be a
male. This is a highly controversial argument, and it would be discussed in the later sections of
the chapter. However, the main thing that has to be noted is the fact that A Star is Born had a
rating of 7.7 in IMDB, while Shape of Water had a rating of 7.2 in the same (IMDb, 2017). This
is indicative of the fact that the latter must have got some kind of a preference at the academy
awards. It is for this reason why the main thing that has to be considered is the fact that if Shape
of Water is considered to be a film that is male centric, this is a solid evidence supporting the
hypothesis of this research.
Yalitza Aparicio was the lead actress in the 2019 film called Roma, which was nominated
for the Best Picture awards at the Oscars, and lost to Bohemian Rhapsody, which was starred by
Rami Malek, the winner for the best actor award (IMDb, 2018). While Roma had a rating of 7.8,
Bohemian Rhapsody had a rating of 8, which means that there was an already existing advantage
for Bohemian Rhapsody, going into the academy awards. It has to be noted that although Roma
is perceived to be a master piece of a movie, with Aparacio being amazing in her role, the major
drawback that could be attributed to this film is the fact that it was not very well promoted, as per
the critics. While Bohemian Rhapsody was able to properly deliver at par with the anticipation,
the anticipation factor for Roma itself was low, which is the reason why, this finding suggests
that losing to Bohemian Rhapsody is a justified one.
The Shape of Water has been awarded by Oscars, defeating strong competitors such as Get Out
and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. After a spectacular early film debut at the
Venice Film Festival, where the coveted Golden Lion was won, del Toro has led a steady slow
ride through the award season: The Shape of Water has earned significant awards here and there,

36DISSERTATION
but winning at the Guild of Managers and the Guild of Producers is important, but compared to
other, booming competitors such as Lady Bird and Call Me by your name (IMDb, 2017). Lady
Bird and Get Out received a few awards in each of the top 8 Oscar categories and earned no
support from other sectors, while close rivals Three Billboards have won a few craft races, but
not almost as many as del Toro. These categories below the line proved vital for the Shape of
Water's call: Even when Shape missed the highest prices during shows like the Golden Globes
and the BAFTA, all the big candidates he wanted with art nodes for movies, editing, sound and
costume design were awarded throughout the entire season.
If the award had been given to Lady Bird, a female director's solo debut behind the camera
would have been an unparalleled victory (IMDb, 2017). Three Billboards definitely had been a
divisive image of the best picture, but they would have told people who are meant to guard us
about the country's wrath. And if Get Out had been triumphant, the Academy could have
embraced the most recent film, canonized a political policy parody and scandalized all at once
the Fox News. The success of Water is not supposed to spawn like many of the thoughts: it won
because they loved it most. From this it becomes clearer that the movies which have their lead
characters as actors have a higher chance of receiving better systematic reviews than those
movies which have their lead characters as females.
For the understanding of the above mentioned movies, it needs to be noted that there
exists certain levels of discrimination amongst the two genders of the movie industry. Ceretai is a
Swedish startup which focused on the issue of the presence of gender discrimination within the
field of film industry. It tried to analyze the extent of diversity and equality present in the
nomination of the movies for the wining of the awards and it was revealed that certain amount of
gender discrimination does exists even in the contemporary social order. The program had the

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ability to utilize the aspects of voice recognition, machine learning tools and that of face
recognition in order to find out the relevant information with regard to the presence of biasness.
In this respect, it was revealed that the number of men or actors nominated for the receiving of
awards outstripped that of the women by more than three to four times. According to the finding
of Ceretai, it can be observed that between the years of 1977 and that of 2006, from amongst the
6833 characters, only 1865 or 25% of the speaking characters were that of female.
Source: (Sarkisian and Sarkisian, 2019)
Another test which is applied for understanding the presence of gender discrimination
present within the film industry is that of the Bechdel Test. According to this test, every film
needs to pass three different criteria’s such as-
1. It needs to have a minimum of two named women characters present in the movie.
2. The women characters identified, needs be to on talking terms with each other in the movie.
3. Furthermore, they need to talk to each other n a topic which does not include a male character.

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The bar set by this test is not particular extremely high but surprisingly, a good number of
movies, fail to pass this test. As per the BBC analysis, only about 49% of the best picture Oscar
winners who were nominated from between the years of 1929 to that of 2017 has been able to
pass the Bechdel Test. This shows that there is a gross discrimination which is present in the
field of movie industry.
Such a discrimination is not based on the amount of money which is generated by the
movies in the box office. A recent study has revealed that the three hundred and fifty top
performing movies in the year from 2014 to that of 2017, primarily consist of those movies
which are led by the actresses. This shows that the movies which have certain females as the lead
characters, inspires the members of the society to attend and gain insights from them. However,
when nominated for the awards, it can be seen that those movies receive a higher systematic
reviews which have lead actors as their main characters.
Through the understanding of the two tests, it can be understood that only those movies
which have their lead characters as actors or belonging to the male gender, have a higher
likelihood of being nominated to the academy awards. Moreover, it also follows from this that
such male led movies have a higher potential of receiving more and higher systematic reviews
from the various official sources than the ones which are led by the actresses. This is important
to understand as it clearly reflects on the presence of gender discrimination within the field of
film industry.
4.2 Summary
To summarize, this chapter tries to understand the various movies which have received a
systematic higher ratings which were nominated for the academy awards. In this regard, the time
period from the last decade of the twentieth century to the present date has been considered. It

39DISSERTATION
can be seen that those movies which have been led by the actors have received such systematic
higher ratings than those movies which have actresses as their lead characters. For this purpose,
the researcher has looked in to the different secondary sources of literature such as those of
books, academic journals and those of the articles.

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Chapter 5: Data Discussion
5.0 Over view
This chapter tries to understand the data which has been collected in the course of the
research work. The main objective of this research paper is to understand if the movies that have
only actors nominated to the academy awards receive systematic higher ratings compared to
those movies in which only actresses get nominated for the acting award. In this regard, the
movies which were nominated from the years of the latter half of the twentieth century to that of
the present age, have been considered. Furthermore, their review ratings have been looked in to
so as to understand the presence of discrimination within the field industry with respect to the
field of gender.
5.1 Theme 1: To understand the issue of gender discrimination as it exists within the
present world order.
Since the dawn of human civilization, the two genders that is the female and the male
genders, have been considered to be different due to their biological differences. According to
Carastathis (2014), this led to the generation of the idea that the female gender is inferior to the
male gender due to the fact that they were not physical strong as those of their male counterpart.
In this respect, they could not undertake those activities which existed in the public sphere of the
society. As opined by Dahlin and Härkönen (2013), it caused a major back lash on the entire
female population for the better part of the human civilization as the females were never given
the respect and the status they deserved within the context of the broader community. They were
considered to be existing for the purposes of reproduction and to look after the needs and the
aspirations of their male counter parts.

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This issue has been considerably dealt in the section of literature review. According to a
previous study it has been said that the women enjoy lesser rights according to men and even if
some rights have been granted to them they are not properly implemented which has a significant
effect on their mental and physical wellbeing (Graham and Chattopadhyay, 2013). According to
a previous report it is said that females make less than 16% of the national workforce in Saudi
Arabia and the ban on women driving has yet not been removed (Rajkhan, 2014). The gender
discrimination has given rise to various crimes around the world, many of which go unreported
because the victims are often not taken seriously. The fact that women have been marginalized
for a very long time now emphasizes the need for more literary work in their favour and the need
for this research to be successful.
This is important to understand through the lens of the feminist movement. Three
different waves of the feminist movements can be identified to be existing within the larger
context of the entire globe. All of these movements aimed to bring about a change in the lives of
the people for the improvement in the social standing of the female folk. According to Andersen
and Collins (2015), this was significant to examine since the third wave of the feminist
movement sought to bring about several radical changes within the scope of the lives of the
women. Such radical changes which were proposed mainly aimed to address the male ego and its
necessary reduction. As opined by (0, it was believed that it was essentially the presence of the
huge ego of the male population which led to the perpetuation of the inferior position of the
women within the society. For instance, the male members of the community were reluctant to;
let go of their privileged position which they had so far enjoyed.
In this context, it is important to understand that in the contemporary world order, gender
discrimination is still visible. From the perspective of feminist theory, only the abolition of these

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practices will help in the progress of the women and the overall development of the society
(Garry and Pearsall). These gender biased practices, discriminatory behavior and all the
restrictions have laid down so many obligations for the women. It is essential to break free from
all the unjust restrictions and boundaries that have been set for the women to lead a good
progressive life. This would lead to the increase in the status and position of the women and
make them equal to their male counterpart.
5.2 Theme 2: To examine the various gender discriminations that are present in the
field of motion pictures and entertainment
In the field of motion pictures and the movie industry, there exist certain discriminations.
Such discriminations have been analyzed to a great extent within the field of literature review.
The entertainment media especially the motion pictures has not been an exclusion to the sexist
practices or gender discrimination. According to Sanchez, S.I. and Paniagua (2017), there is a
huge gender gap in movies as well, there are more number of actors than there are actresses in
the field of motion picture. It is because of the gender gap in motion pictures that very often we
witness actors romancing actresses who are their daughter’s age as there are fewer options
available in the industry to choose from.
The literature review section also looked in to the issue of gender discrimination as it
exists in th other parts of the world and not simply within the region of the Untied States of
America. Gender gap is not only a problem in this field but the whole of the Europe is faced with
the same crises as opined by Dahlin and Härkönen, 2013. Molly Haskell in her book, From
Reverence to Rape: The Treatment of Women in the movies gives an insight about the type of
prejudice that women are faced with in motion pictures (Haskell, 2016). This book written by
Molly Haskell has helped in the research a lot by providing an insight into injustices that the

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actresses had to go through in this field and it also shows how important this research really is
because it will educate people on various aspects of gender discrimination especially related to
the field of motion picture.
Although, there have been various attempts to fill this gender wage gap, which is the
difference of wage for the men and women for the same work, there is a lot to be done still. The
gender based wage gap says a lot about the society we live and also the injustice that the
actresses have been facing. Back in the 1980s, Hollywood was more hostile and towards
actresses and their portrayal on screen (Traube, 2019). It is not an uncommon or absurd thing in
Hollywood for a leading actors pay to be several multiples of the Pay of his the female co-star he
is working with. The gender wage gap in Hollywood is way too high to rationalize or justify it
the differences in experience, available finance and talent of men and women.
This is significant to understand because it reflects the deep embedded discrimination
amongst the two genders within the film industry. The amount of money paid to both the actors
and the actresses for the work done by them is significant as it symbolizes the reward given to
them for the hard work done by them. According to Andersen and Collins (2015), this is
important to note because the amount of effort put in by the genders is more or less similar to
that of each other. In fact, the effort put in differs from people to people and not according to the
gender. As a consequence, the money paid to them reflects the respect that the directors have
towards the gender, whereby, it can be noticed that the respect paid to the actresses is
considerably less than that paid to the male gender. It is this presence of gender discrimination
which affects the efficient functioning of the movie industry.

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5.3 Theme 3: To analyze the movies nominated to the academy awards and the
ratings received by them based on the gender of the characters
This theme tries to understand the issue of systematic review ratings which are received
by those movies nominated for the academic awards. In the literature review section, various
kinds of discrimination have been identified which proves that the women are placed at a
disadvantaged position in the industry. According to Cobb and Tasker (2016), film industry or
motion pictures is one of the highest profiled sectors of all and should have a high sense of
diversity and gender parity but it has disappointed everyone in these areas as this industry is
constantly making headlines for all sexual assaults and crimes against women. Actresses who are
called for interview for different parts are often taken advantage of as they are new to the
industry and are mostly found to be vulnerable. The directors, producers and film makers ask for
physical favors that are fundamentally unethical and wrong. As opined by Richardson (2015), it
has been a liberation for the women who could finally come out of their cocoon and tell their
stories to everyone. Not only did it make a difference in the film industry but also the society.
This idea that women are the weaker sex gets developed from the very beginning. As
argued by Andersen and Collins (2015), even the animated movies for minors portray women in
roles where they are helpless and need to be rescued as they lack the mental and physical
strength to rescue themselves from any situation. The books also portray such idea to the
children who grow up to believe that women indeed are weaker than men. Children’s books and
fairy tales consists of stories that show the women as helpless in some isolated tower or in the
hands of evil people who exploit her. And she needs to be rescued from there by some hero
because she cannot do that on her own. Even the comics on which super hero movies are made in
Hollywood that are running the box office these days, have a sexist approach that show

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discrimination on the basis of the gender of the character. The literature review section made
mention about several animated movies. Movies such as ‘Cinderella’, ‘snow white’ and such
other movies which portray the women in roles that portray their weakness and helplessness
further builds on the sexist ideologies of the children. These ideologies working in such a young
age helps in developing the foundation of gender biased thought process. To remove this sexist
psychology there is a need for more women centric movies that empower women instead of
portraying them as weak and dim spirited.
In the data findings section, it can be noted that severe discrimination exists with respect
to the movies nominated in the Academy Awards. Yalitza Aparicio was the lead actress in the
2019 film called Roma, which was nominated for the Best Picture awards at the Oscars, and lost
to Bohemian Rhapsody, which was starred by Rami Malek, the winner for the best actor award.
While Roma had a rating of 7.8, Bohemian Rhapsody had a rating of 8, which means that there
was an already existing advantage for Bohemian Rhapsody, going into the academy awards. It
has to be noted that although Roma is perceived to be a master piece of a movie, with Aparacio
being amazing in her role, the major drawback that could be attributed to this film is the fact that
it was not very well promoted, as per the critics. While Bohemian Rhapsody was able to properly
deliver at par with the anticipation, the anticipation factor for Roma itself was low, which is the
reason why, this finding suggests that losing to Bohemian Rhapsody is a justified one.
Movies portray the society and the society’s sexual politics and discrimination have
infected even the film industries. However, it should be noted that movies do not only mirror the
sociological conventions but also considerably responsible for creating them. The reviews that
the movies get or the actors and actresses get is also based the patriarchal psychology. According
to a previous study it has been predicted that outstanding performance of actresses are very

46DISSERTATION
rarely associated with universally acclaimed featured movies (Tarr, 2016). The critics are also
biased in their opinion of the movies and the reviews they give to actresses and actors. To say
that the reviews the actors and actresses get, influence the opinion of audience for the movie will
be a very general thing to say. However, this research aims to analyze data form various
secondary sources to answer if the nominations of actors and actresses effect the reviews.
5.4 Summary
To summarize, it can be understood that the issue of gender discrimination has been in
prevalence in the world order since times immemorial. The female gender has always been
treated in a subservient manner when compared to that of the male gender. Their right to life and
liberty were not given recognition in the initial years of the establishment of the human
civilization. This is significant to understand as it created a problem in identification within the
female f=gender itself. Many of the women of the society started to believe in the fact that they
can never surpass their male counter parts and that they have to live under the shadow of the
male population for their remaining lives. It is such an outlook towards society and culture which
has also found a strong foot hold within the film industry. The film industry mainly compromises
of those works which have male leads as their main characters. This situation has been
undergoing a change in the recent world order but it is a still a long way to go before any evident
changes can be brought about. Within this sector. This is important to understand since it is the
movie industry which seeks to reflect the existing culture within the society at large. Movies are
meant to bring in front of the people the present social evils which are existing in the community.
This is usually done to bring about a change in them so as to reform them for the improvement of
the society at large. However, it can be noticed within the movie industry itself that there exists
certain levels of gender discrim9nation which is one of the most intriguing and gross

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discrimination to be still existing within the twenty first century.

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Chapter 6: Conclusion
6.0 Conclusion
Based on the analysis of the literature review along with the data collected, it can be said
that gender discrimination in the modern world is a social evil, which is required to be addressed
in an effective manner. From the analysis, it has been seen that male actors are favoured in
movies than the female actors. This can be considered as true in a way that the systematic review
and rating of the movies undergo massive changes in the case of male cast as compared with the
female cast.
Gender discrimination poses serious threat in the development of a society and thus, in
countries that engage in such behaviours, the ratio between cooperation between males and
females can be considered as improper. In the field of motion pictures, such discrimination can
be considered as shocking since at the Academy Awards, criteria of male as well as female
nominations exist. Thus, despite the discrimination, the Academy Awards do provide recognition
to both the genders based on the talents of the actors.
Along with the Academic Awards, the discrimination has given rise to an increased crime
based mainly on sexual harassment. Gender wage is common between the male and the female
actors in Hollywood. The impact of male and female actors in Hollywood is considered based on
the contributions made and thus the existence of discrimination on the ground of gender is one of
the biggest negatives in the industry and the country. Thus, overall, it can be said that gender
discrimination plays a significant negative impact in Hollywood.
6.1 Linking with objectives
Objective 1: To understand the issue of gender discrimination as it exists within the present

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world order
From the analysis of the literature review, it can be said that gender discrimination have
been in existence from a lengthy period in various societies. Various sectors such as education as
well as business have emerged with gender discrimination mainly because male and female
population have not been able to be provided with the due respect required for reducing gender
discrimination. At the same time, in the present world, it has been seen that the presence of
gender discrimination have been most often ignored due to the male dominating society that
exists.
With the advent of sexism, misogyny as well as patriarchy, which exist in society male
and female differences, has grown and proved to be a nuisance for the development of a society.
Thus, the analysis on the male and female discrimination in the society have suggested that even
with the advent of technology and science, discrimination in this factors exists.
Hence, based on the analysis, it can be seen that gender discrimination is one of the major
issues that exist in the society and irrespective of the field this particular social evil can be
considered as dangerous for the development of a community. Thus, from the analysis of the
literature review and the data analysis, it can be said that this particular objective has been met.
Objective 2: To examine the various gender discriminations that is present in the field of
motion pictures and entertainment
The analysis of the literature review has shed light on the gender discrimination that
exists in the film industry. The news can be considered as shocking given the fact that for a
movie to be successful, contribution from both male and female actors are important. However,
unlike the other industries, the movie industry has been dealt with this particular discrimination

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mainly because of the ratings that are gained based on the characters. The rating provided to the
movies and the viewership of the movies based on the male and female casts can be considered
as the basis for the discrimination. The literature review has shown that the gender gap exists due
to the perception of the audiences as well as sexist and the gender-biased practises undertaken in
the motion pictures and entertainment industry.
Despite some powerful female characters in the motion pictures, audiences are drawn
towards a movie by the presence of a male lead. The analysis has shown that female actors have
been subjected to hostility and have been subjected sexist attack based on underpayment of
performances or under appreciation. Therefore, it can be said that based on the analysis of the
literature review and the data analyzed, the objective has been met.
Objective 3: To analyze the movies nominated to the academy awards and the ratings
received by them based on the gender of the characters
The analysis of the movies nominated to the Academy Awards and the ratings received
can be understood based on the gender of the characters as well as the actors portraying them.
Despite the existence of separate categories for male and female categories, the Academy has
been known to discriminate in terms of nomination based only on a female lead. This is due to
the less number of audiences drawn by a female lead as compared to a male lead. Such
discrimination can be considered as hugely disrespectful towards the professional actors and can
have a severe damage to the reputation of the Academy Awards. At the same time, analysis has
shown that women all over the world have raised their voices in trying to uphold their status in
the society and gain equal rights as the men population.
Thus, portrayal of women characters with that of a dominating male character is preferred

51DISSERTATION
in the Academy Awards and it is for this reason that discrimination exists. At the same time,
women are provided with playing weak roles, which are usually not accepted by the male
dominant society. Thus, it can be said that based on the analysis of the literature review as well
as the data findings, this particular objective has been met.
6.2 Recommendation
Based on the analysis that has been undertaken, it can be said that the ultimate
recommendation that can be provided is that of removing the gender discrimination from the film
industry. It has already been seen that the film industry have undergone massive changes in
terms of its portrayal towards the people and the manner in which development have taken place.
In each of the years since its inception, the Academy Awards have managed to undergo changes
and introduced new categories in movies.
Thus, in the case of gender discrimination, removal of such social evil from the
glamorous and famed world can be considered as a priority, which is required to be undertaken
by the people. In order to do so it is necessary that the movies dominated by female actors be
provided with the plot for gaining Academic consent so that it can be worthy of being selected.
This can be considered as a way to drag the audience into viewing such movies so that they
remain effective in the market.
The nominations for the male actors and the female actors are decided by a poll that has
an even number of male and female individuals so that no grounds of discrimination remain.
Thus, based on this it can be said that the grounds related to the gender discrimination can be
reduced only due to the proper recognition of the male and female actors so that fair judgment
can be made.

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6.3 Future scope of the study
Over the years, discrimination based on various grounds has been seen in Hollywood.
The future scope of the study is that in the recent years, several controversies regarding the
nomination based on racial discrimination as well as favouritism have been seen in Hollywood.
Hence, a study focusing on this discrimination starting from the origins of the Academy Awards
history can be taken into account, which may have a bad influence in the development of
cinemas at Hollywood. Furthermore, it would also give the future researchers to focus on the
issue of systematic review ratings which have been received by the movies nominated for the
Academy Awards. Along with this, business fields based on gender discrimination can also be
conducted as a part of study in the future for the other research scholars.

53DISSERTATION
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