For a century now, Hollywood has built up the recipe of global box-office hits with a specific template of the heroine. Prescribed by male producers and film directors, this Hollywood diktat?s become the universal standard for judging beauty across the world. The most celebrated benchmark of them all was born as Norma Jeane, a foster-home raised, black-haired aviation factory worker. She rose to become an all-time Hollywood myth, transforming into a blonde bombshell called Marilyn Monroe. When she crooned, ?Happy Birthday Mr President?, even John Kennedy could not resist her. Hollywood reinvented this archetype, with periodic evolutions, and the world?s brainwashed public had little choice but to admire these heroines. After popularizing roundish-faced heroines, Hollywood turned to high cheekbones, importing Italian Sophia Loren, French Brigitte Bardot, among others. From depicting puritan American style to glamorous women to showcasing sex bombs, Hollywood even went into soft-porn like Basic Instinct where the heroine has huge power to sexually provoke men.
Gender inequality is alive in Hollywood as per a 2009 survey on top 100 films by USC?s Annenberg School. Male roles dominate with 67% as opposed to 33% women roles; in movies, 25.8% women wear sexier clothing like swimsuits and unbuttoned shirts compared to 4.7% men. Off screen, only 3.6% directors and 13.5% writers on top-grossing films were female. Motion Picture Association of America said the only place women were ahead was in buying more than 50% movie tickets.
Women?s roles in other professions have a slight edge as per LA Times. About 15% women are on Fortune 500 company boards, 15% are clergy members and 10% aerospace engineers. Last week, CNN?s Christiane Amanpour was talking to Sgt Jennifer Smith of the US Air Force who formally complained of sexual assault and harassment during her 17 years in service at various war fronts. This brave woman said her husband was very supportive so she?s foregoing her pay and benefits for the ?greater good? of helping others. She confirmed the horrendous stories that Amanpour had heard of military women suddenly finding fellow soldiers over them when asleep, or having their doors broken into. Smith said women don?t revolt as they?re passionate about their jobs. Statistics show that 33% US armed forces women don?t report rape because the rapist is the boss?s friend, and 25% don?t because the rapist is the boss himself. Women comprise 14% of active American military personnel; soon combat positions will be opened for them.
By advocating equal opportunity, aren?t we knowingly jeopardizing women?s safety, not only from the bloodthirsty enemy but from fellowmen who lose all finer civilized manners as they enter savage battlegrounds? Stressed out and breathing possible death every moment in the warzone, serving male armed personnel become slaves to their natural carnal testosterone appetite. It can be argued that this phenomenon translates to rape by plundering armies, and that?s why rape of women and sodomy of men are common in armies in all countries. Attempts to correct are perhaps made, but the strength of basic instincts revealed through male genital reaction is so powerful under violent wartime conditions that niceties of behaviour plummet by the wayside. Unless men and women have 50-50 representation and men change barbarian habits, women risk rape. Women are highly under-represented in factories and office jobs, but this risk is minimized as everyone returns home after work. But in brutal situation where men have no civilized control over their androgens, can such professions ever be safe for women? This controversy remains unanswered.
Returning to women?s beauty, let?s look at India. Firstly it?s regrettable that Mumbai very tamely created a counterfeit Hollywood in Bollywood. In fact, the cinema industry has embraced the ?wood? pollution: Telugu is Tollywood clashing with Bengali film studio area Tollywood, Tamil is Kollywood, Malayalam is Mollywood; and Kannada film industry nicknamed Sandalwood is at least representative of its environment. India?s obsession with fair women and specific features is as old as time, but in this copycatting, the fair skin has been reinforced by Hollywood?s influence. India?s heterogeneous character is not visible, no dark person with a totally different face is a national film heroine. Hats off to Naomi Campbell, the world?s first black woman to break white dominance in modeling. She became part of the global ?Trinity? of the most recognizable, in-demand models in late 1980s. Neither Hollywood nor Bollywood could produce acclaimed black heroines except for a handful like Halle Berry and Whoopi Goldberg.
When photography or cinema didn?t exist in feudal times, a western King would marry the most beautiful woman and invite painters to paint family portraits. Perhaps this feudal man?s choice of woman?s beauty later transcended to cinema. Even haute couture fashion designers took inspiration from royalty?s dress, make-up and women?s personality. In master paintings of Picasso or Van Gogh, women?s portraits don?t reflect Hollywood beauty. Were they ugly or not representative? Actually, these paintings have all-time universal value, whereas Hollywood heroines come and go. Is there any hope that archetype Hollywood heroines can be changed to women of value beyond plastic beauty? In the male decisions of feudal lords and Hollywood, we may have lost our capability to admire and express different characters of beauty. We have to extricate ourselves from Hollywood?s male-dominated bondage that destroys women?s ingenuity.
Shombit is an international consultant to top management on differentiating business strategy with execution excellence (www.shiningconsulting.com)
