Women vs Hollywood

The Fall and Rise of Women in Film

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by Helen O'Hara

Type: Stories
Subject: Studio > Hollywood
Keywords: Hollywood, women
Publishing date: 2022
Publisher: Robinson
Language: English

Relative size

Physical desc.

Paperback • 368 pages
5 x 8 inches (13 x 20 cm)

ISBN

978-1-4721-4444-7

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Book Presentation:
'A fascinating polemic' Sunday Times
'A powerful, sobering and vital work' The Mail on Sunday
'A page-turning read, peppered with humour' Sight & Sound
'A must read' Edgar Wright

A call to arms from Empire magazine's 'geek queen', Helen O'Hara, that explores women's roles - both in front of and behind the camera - since the birth of Hollywood, how those roles are reflected within wider society and what we can do to level the playing field.

Hollywood was born just over a century ago, at a time of huge forward motion for women's rights. With no rules in place to stop them, there were women who forged ahead in many areas of filmmaking. Yet, despite the work of early pioneers like Dorothy Arzner, Mabel Normand, Mary Pickford and Alice Guy-Blaché, it soon came to embody the same old sexist standards. Women found themselves fighting a system that fed on their talent, creativity and beauty but refused to pay them the same respect as their male contemporaries - until now . . .

The tide has finally begun to turn. A new generation of women, both in front of and behind the camera, are making waves in the industry and are now shaping some of the biggest films to hit our screens.

In Women vs Hollywood: The Fall and Rise of Women in Film, film critic Helen O'Hara takes a closer look at the pioneering and talented women of Hollywood and their work in film since Hollywood began. And in understanding how women were largely written out of Hollywood's own origin story, and how the films we watch are put together, we can finally see how to put an end to a picture that is so deeply unequal - and discover a multitude of stories out there just waiting to be told.

About the Author:
Helen O'Hara has been working as a film journalist for over fifteen years, after qualifying as a barrister and immediately getting bored. She started her film writing career on the staff of Empire, the world's biggest film magazine, and remains their editor-at-large and co-host of the Empire podcast, where she can be found weekly singing the praises of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and complaining about La La Land. She is also an author and freelance writer. Northern Irish born, O'Hara now lives in London, splitting her time between cinemas, libraries and coffee shops.

Press Reviews:
A fascinating polemic—Sunday Times

A page-turning read, peppered with humour—Sight & Sound

Women vs Hollywood is encyclopaedic, illuminating and passionate all at once, and O'Hara's erudition and love of film shine throughout—Sunday Independent

A must read—Edgar Wright

Women vs Hollywood is fascinating and righteous. The research is incredible, as is the storytelling. It'll be a game changer for how the history of women in film is considered and told. The history is rich and deep and robust, but O'Hara also has such a precise point of view. An incredible piece of work that is as inspiring as it is informative—Terri White, editor-in-chief of Empire and author of Coming Undone

I will be quoting this liberally on Girls On Film - it's an enlightening page-turner, stacked with stories and stats that will have your jaw on the floor. Thanks to O'Hara's thorough research and sparkling writing, it works as an engaging alternative history of Hollywood as well as an important feminist film text and a call to action. I'd recommend it to any open-minded film lover, whether or not they identify as feminist - and who knows, they might do by the end—Anna Smith, film critic, broadcaster and host of the Girls On Film podcast

Helen O'Hara exposes Hollywood's dirty secrets and double standards in a fascinating-slash-infuriating story of the women who wanted to make movies and the men who held them back. This is the film history we need: one that gives leading roles to people who usually only get to be background players—Pamela Hutchinson, film historian and critic

The book is so well-written and researched - a fantastic read that beautifully celebrates women in Hollywood—Edith Bowman, broadcaster

Women have long been pushed to one side in Hollywood. This essential book puts them back where they belong: firmly in the spotlight. A celebration of their triumphs and clear-eyed recounting of their travails, it's an incisive, eye-opening and riveting read. More than that, it'll leave you itching with indignation and wanting to see a change to the status quo. A vital call to arms for a fairer, brighter future—Nick de Semlyen, film critic and author of Wild and Crazy Guys

Essential reading for all serious film fans—James King, film critic and author of Fast Times and Excellent Adventures and Be More Keanu

Women Vs Hollywood is a powerful, sobering and vital work. Essential reading for anyone interested in the film business—The Mail on Sunday

This call to arms puts the spotlight back where it belongs: on the women who helped make Hollywood—Radio Times

The stories of these pioneering women directors are well-researched and enthusiastically told here through archives,
scholarship, and where possible, interviews with the women whose experiences are at the heart of this book . . . Women vs Hollywood is a great introduction to the fight women have on their hands if they want to work in the movies
—BBC History Magazine