There was some disappointment to Davis (and the rest of the women), though, that the success of A League of Their Own didn’t lead to a slew of female-focused ensemble movies or movies about women’s sports (a full decade would go by). . before the release of Bend It Like Beckham). “It was very interesting to learn that … having a successful movie with women didn’t change any opinion about women’s movies in Hollywood,” says Davis. “They still thought that women would watch movies about men, but men wouldn’t watch movies about women.”
This valid frustration was channeled into the later stage of Davis’s career: as a researcher/campaigner for gender equality in television and film. Her work within the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media has already been a game changer. “Now, the main characters in TV shows made for children have a gender balance for the main characters, and also in movies rated for children we have reached parity in the main characters, which is unheard of,” says Davis. “It is amazing that this happens. When we started, in movies it was only 11 percent with a female main character, and now it’s 50 percent. So we’re excited.” The organization is also working to improve broader representation when it comes to race and ethnicity, disability, older people, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and people with larger body types.
There’s more good news for fans of A League Of Their Own, too, with a series of the same name created by Abbi Jacobson and Will Graham set to air this August. She has Davis’s blessing, though she’s glad the show focuses on different stories and characters. After all, when someone (literally) knocks a role out of the park like Davis, it would be a huge mistake to recast it. “People sometimes say just for fun, ‘Who would you like to see playing Thelma and Louise when they do a new version?’ I wouldn’t want to see anyone! Just don’t do it. Why would you?” After all, there is only one Geena Davis.
Source: www.vogue.co.uk