without a doubt, the most influential form of modern media today has to be movies.
while it is a pretty indisputable fact that the role women play in comparison to men in this field is negligible, their impact has steadily grown over the last century.
major historical movements have eased the female transition into the public eye, allowing women to enjoy a more equal share of this specific art form.

Sofia Coppola
Sofia is the daughter of the legendary Francis Ford Coppola, which helped her come into the mainstream spotlight, but since then she has become a distinctive force in the modern movie media world. Her debut, "The Virgin Suicides", suprised critics and is even a personal favorite. It works against the "Smurfette" syndrome so many movies these days are plagued with and features a heavily female cast. Her next movie won a Best Directer Oscar nomination, 2003's "Lost in Translation." Recently she directed "Marie Antoinette" which recieved mixed audience reactions. Her unorthodox style is apparent in all her pieces.



Modern movies are full of female contributions, and even though their contribution is still mostly eclipsed by an overwhelming male presence, there are plenty of modern day examples of women asserting themselves and playing a pivotal role in many of the movies which premiere annually.

As time goes on and our society progresses as a whole, the role that the genders play in movies, i believe, will eventually even out. As is apparent from the examples of these women, the jobs in this field are in no way gender exclusive. A female point of view in modern cinema can even be considered refreshing. Perhaps the day will soon come where end credits will contain as many Julies, Stephanies and Sarahs as Bills Kevins and Toms. As Bell Hooks says, "To offer men a different way of being, we must first replace the dominator model with a partnership model that sees interbeing and interdependency as the organic relationship of all living beings." This means, simply, that instead of the current way of looking at things, in terms of gender roles, we, as a society need to accept the fact that the genders are essentially partners, not in a competition or any sort of dominating or submissive roles. This needs to be applied to every aspect of our lives, and women like Sofia Coppolla are real life examples of why our society needs to push into this direction.