This Changes Everything Parent Guide

“Media has the power to educate; to shape people’s thoughts. It also has an incredible power when you see someone like you on screen.” So says Shonda Rhimes, successful screenwriter, when discussing the problems of gender disparity in the entertainment industry. Fifty-one percent of the population is female, but for the past 80 years, there have been three times as many male actors on the big screen as there have been female actors. And the male actors have three-quarters of the speaking parts. How extensive is the problem of female under-representation in Hollywood and what effect does it have on the people who consume the media?

These are some of the questions tackled in the documentary, This Changes Everything. Drawing on interviews with highly successful women in the industry – Meryl Streep, Jessica Chastain, Reese Witherspoon, Sandra Oh, Shonda Rhimes – director Tom Donahue delves into issues like sexual harassment, objectification, the camera’s male gaze, gender stereotypes, and male-centered stories.

The film also goes behind the camera to speak with female directors and explore what happens when women’s career paths are blocked, denying them the opportunity to tell their stories and shape our culture’s understanding of women’s lives. They discuss the 1984 sexual discrimination lawsuit launched against Hollywood studios by the Director’s Guild of America – which was instigated by six female directors – and jump ahead to a current US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigation of the studios.

While most of the movie is depressing, there are bright moments that stand out. Sweden marks movie posters with stickers to indicate if they have passed the Bechdel test – a simple test that determines if a film contains two female characters who have conversations that don’t revolve around men. And Geena Davis has founded the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media which has funded research studies to quantify the under-representation of female characters on screen. That institute has also reached out to work collaboratively with studios, particularly those producing children’s television, to increase diverse representation in programming. And some networks have made a sustained effort to increase the diversity of the people on both sides of the camera – and have found increased profitability.

This Changes Everything is a fine documentary with interesting anecdotes and a solid grasp of the facts. It ranges from personal stories – Chloe Grace Moretz sharing her feelings of being objectified when she was told to insert silicone implants in her push up bra at age 16 – all the way to penetrating historical analysis – why did women succeed in the early years of the movie industry only to disappear when “talkies” came on the scene?

This movie isn’t for everyone. Kids will likely be bored with it but older teens and adults who are interested in learning about and discussing topics related to entertainment, gender, diversity, discrimination, and similar themes will find that This Changes Everything will challenge or even change their perspectives on the media they consume.