Can Music Videos Finally Get More Women Directing Movies and TV?

Can Music Videos Get More Women Directing Movies?
MILAN, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 22: Solange Knowles attends amfAR Milano 2012 during Milan Fashion Week at La Permanente on September 22, 2012 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images)
MILAN, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 22: Solange Knowles attends amfAR Milano 2012 during Milan Fashion Week at La Permanente on September 22, 2012 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images)

It's easy to get frustrated about the state of female directing in film and television. The latest numbers from the Directors Guild of America, out this week, report that women directed just 15 percent of television episodes in the 2011-2012 season. The amount of work white women did stayed static, and the number of episodes women of color got to direct went up but the jobs for men of color shrank.
A ray of hope: Melina Matsoukas music videos. Just as many of the young male directors working in film and television today built their reputations in music videos, two new clips out this week from director Matsoukas give me some optimism that more women can use this form to develop the kind of unique visual style that will get the TV and movie honchos' attention.

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot