Older women unhappy over their portrayal in films

Actor Celia Imrie 
in the 2003 movie 
Calendar Girls

The cast of "Calendar Girls" 
featured older female characters 


Older women unhappy over their portrayal in films, survey shows Sixty-one percent of women aged 50-75 want more focus on their sexual desire, according to UK Film Council poll...what do you think?...most women aged 50-75 felt they were under-represented in films.

By Ian J Griffiths
Monday 28 March 2011 
guardian.co.uk


Older women want to see more of their sexual desire depicted in film, a survey has suggested, while black and gay people would like to see less of a focus on theirs.


Sixty-one percent of women between the ages of 50 and 75 questioned for a UK Film Council survey of 4,315 people said women of their age were portrayed on the big screen as not having sexual needs or desires. Half said they were comfortable with older women being seen as attractive to younger men. Seven in 10 also felt that their group was generally under-represented in films and that younger women were glamorised.


In contrast, two-thirds of black African and Caribbean people said black characters were portrayed as being overly sexual. Eighty percent of the gay people questioned felt gay characters' sexuality commanded disproportionate attention.


The survey highlighted a series of stereotypes and imbalances in films, with 80% of black respondents also believing films contained too many black drug dealers, and 74% calling for more superheroes who are not white males.


Almost three-quarters of eastern Europeans who participated pointed to a tendency to portray them as poor, while 74% of Asian respondents said films failed to represent their culture authentically.


The release of the survey's findings is expected to be one of the last acts of the UK Film Council, which is on the verge of closure. Its funding responsibilities will be transferred to other bodies on 1 April, following the abolition decision announced by the culture secretary, Jeremy Hunt last July.


Mary FitzPatrick, head of diversity at the UK Film Council said: "Film has the ability to change behaviour and shift opinion, so we in the industry all have a responsibility to ensure that these findings are not ignored.


"The figures speak for themselves in demonstrating there is a real opportunity for the industry to more accurately portray these groups in film. This research will form an important part of the UK Film Council's legacy and will help make a powerful and dynamic change to the way in which diverse groups are portrayed in film going forward."


Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/mar/28/women-unhappy-portrayal-films-survey

The Real Live Women 

Who Were the Inspiration 

for the movie Calendar Girls




Here they are again, 
ten years later, five out 
of the six 'girls'