Objectification of Females in Films

 The director, Nina Menkes, talked about how she sees a clear connection between the visual language of cinema, employment discrimination and sexual abuse/assault. She broke down the common phrase: "The objectification of women". For example, "The man sees the woman"–– in this case the man is the subject and the woman is the object. The man is doing the looking and the woman is being looked at. This also describes male gaze which the film industry uses a lot of. In film, the woman is usually gazed at by the men. 

Men are often filmed in 3D lighting where their wrinkles and age are not being hidden because it shows them as masculine and rugged which is typically seen as attractive. However, women are "not allowed to age" and these same qualities that make a man handsome, supposedly make a woman look old and unattractive. And since in film, women are usually objects to look at that are pleasing to the eye, they are filmed in 2d and soft lighting in order to hide their "physical flaws". They are also filmed in a way so that the male protagonist or the audience can objectify them. This is because Hollywood is filled with straight, male directors and their ravenous hunger for women and their films typically reflect that. 

Research shows that after watching sexually objectifying media, men are more likely to engage in sexual harassment and abuse. 80% of the media content distributed around the world is made in Hollywood. 94% of women in Hollywood experience sexual harassment.