Why Movies Starring Women Get Slimed by Male Critics

Women are so used to that active empathizing with the active protagonist of a male-driven plot. That’s what we’ve done all our lives. – Meryl Streep.

Because men are commonly treated as the default in movies—the everyman who stands in for the audience—they rarely are forced to empathize with others’ perspectives. If cinema does not reflect men’s experiences, it can be difficult for male audience members to see themselves in the picture in the way women are forced to. That affects not only the way that men interact with movies but also how they review them.

The problem is, thus, not just that men do not like female-driven movies and television shows as much as women do but that they have a disproportionate say in how such entertainment is received.

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