Every now and then we are treated to something absolutely amazing. A new idea, a new product, a movie, or in this case, a short film. One such short film is Leading Lady Parts, produced by Rebel Park Productions’ Gemma Arterton, Jessica Malik and Jessica Parker, in association with The Fyzz Facility, Hanway Films and Popcorn Group. The idea of this short is to shine a light on how women are portrayed in the media. It also touches upon the challenges almost all women face in the workplace. It’s something that spans across all the industries and the implications are all but relatable.
While the video is in the form of an audition for the leading lady part, it takes you through the obvious disparity and some of the stuff that women in the business have to face. While it can be a rather funny watch, at its core, this short is as hard-hitting and well executed than anything we’ve ever seen. If you think about it, the humourous overtone actually bears resemblance to how casually, many of us laugh such atrocities off.
Another important topic that this video talks about is this notion and the idea of perfection. It shows you a true and nasty side of an industry that just sees women as objects. Women, despite how much they have accomplished, are still held up to this unachievable standard of beauty. While this video merely showcases the film industry, it’s fair to say that it’s something that expands across all industries and workspaces. It’s the sad reality that women have to live in.
With its cheeky British humour and an amazing cast, this video showcases just what it is to be a woman in today’s time. With stars like Gemma Arterton, Gemma Chan, Emilia Clarke, Lena Headey, Tom Hiddleston, Felicity Jones, Katie Leung, Stacy Martin, Wunmi Mosaku, Florence Pugh, Catherine Tate and Anthony Welsh, the story and portrayal is nothing short of extraordinary. It also shows you just how much women need to struggle, despite having achieved so much success. They need to struggle to be taken seriously and even then, they will always be looked at nothing more than an object.
It’s definitely a video you need to watch because it’s the sad reality many women live in nowadays. As one comment on Facebook by user William Lockhart Nelson read;
At its core, satire is designed to make us uncomfortable and show us the intrinsic flaws of our society. This clip covers everything regarding female objectification, sexism and racism in the arts. Having Tom at the end is the icing on he cake as it helps show how men aren’t able to see any issues because they never face it themselves.
The message is clear and it’s the sad reality that we and most importantly, women, live in today. We implore that you take the time to watch and truly understand what this video is about.