Film Industry Turns a Deaf Ear to Female Composers
In 2020 Hildur Gudnadottir became one of three women to have ever won an Oscar for Best Original Score.
(Source: abcnews.go.com, credit: Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)
Whether we are consciously aware of it or not, a film’s score has a large impact on how we experience and emotionally interpret a scene or an entire film. Some movie scores are so iconic they become earworms that seem to last a lifetime, and begs the question: do you also randomly hear the Jurassic Park theme in your head several times a month? If not, maybe it’s some other composition by John Williams like Star Wars, or E.T., or perhaps Hans Zimmer’s score of The Lion King, or the recently passed Monty Norman’s James Bond theme. And, how often have you had a female film composers work stuck in your head? It’s not likely if you only watch blockbuster films, but even so, can you name a single female composer off the top of your head? Sadly, I could not, which is strange considering how outside of film women have prolific careers as successful musicians.
So, where are the all the female composers? They’re out there alright, looking for a chance to be heard and bring their skills to the silver screen, but unfortunately have to deal with gender-related barriers making it difficult for them to gain visibility in the industry. Historically, men have dominated the world of music composition and generally only hired men as their successors and mentees thus keeping women on the outskirts, which has reinforced the “no girls allowed in the clubhouse” vibe of film composition. This is certainly not to say all male composers feel or act this way, of course, but there is no denying the damaging trickle-down effect at play.
In Rachel Reeves’ feature article she points out, “The trickle-down effect in regards to hiring practices is a powerful force and has repercussions on multiple levels. For example, the Celluloid Ceiling Report found that ‘on films with at least one female director, women comprised 16% of composers. On films with exclusively male directors, women accounted for 6% of composers.’” If female directors are more likely than their male counterparts to utilize a female composer, Wolf & Fox Film’s latest venture, Nora, is proof positive of this effect. Nora director Tane Uribarren will be working closely with Toronto composer Michelle Lorimer, who recently received the 2022 Humber College Dean Award for Music Composition (and we’re thrilled to have her on board!).
Questionable hiring practices can also cause talented female composers to doubt their abilities to compete against their male equivalents. In Jenny Oakes’ article, she reports that some female composers admit not having the confidence to submit their music to production libraries or commissioned jobs for the simple fact they are women, and know they have a gender bias working against them. It is understandable why these women would feel this way when the entertainment industry generally views women as less technically adept to the craft of film composition. It’s just a flat out prejudice – there’s absolutely no merit to back it up. What can be backed up, however, is the disturbingly low number of female composers working on top movies.
In 2017, the University of Southern California’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative report (spanning 2007-2017) that conducts, “…the most comprehensive and intersectional investigation into inequality in popular films,” was published. The in depth report revealed some disparaging yet not surprising facts on how few female composers work on big budget films, let alone the entertainment industry. The findings include, “Out of 111 composers across the 100 top movies of 2017, only 1 female worked (Rachel Portman, A Dog’s Purpose). No more than two female composers have ever been employed per year across the 11 years studied. Only 1.3% of all composers across 1,100 movies were women.”
Source: Annenberg Inclusion Initiative
Now, I don’t want to leave this blog post on a sour note (the pun was too powerful to resist, sorry!). Luckily, there are supporting organizations for female composers including the Alliance for Women Film Composers and the Association of Canadian Women Composers. These organizations provide women access to resources including job opportunities, workshops, networking events, and most importantly a directory of members anyone from the public can access when looking to hire a composer. So, there is no excuse for saying, “I can’t find a female composer,” especially in today’s digital world where composers often work from a home studio, much like voiceover artists do, to create and submit their pieces to a director, producer, sound engineer, etc. I would also like to point out that Women In Film chapters across Canada and the US offer networking events, and that’s exactly how Wolf & Fox Films connected with our latest female composer.
By removing gender bias in film composition, female composers can have a fair chance at sharing their talents with the world. Additionally, more representation of female composers will inspire other women and young girls to pursue this creative career path. Hopefully sooner than later, because now I have Jaws suck in my head…think I’ll skip the beach trip today.
Written by Rachel Faircloth