When Women Call the Shots: The Developing Power and Influence of Women in Television and Film

by Linda Seger

Record numbers of women are working in all areas of the film and television industries. Actresses are creating their own production companies in order to obtain better roles and more control of their material. Women are creating TV shows to explore stories that more closely reflect their lives. There are more films about women and women's issues, and more money-making films with women protagonists. Change is occurring at every level, and women are clearly having an impact that is reshaping the entertainment industry and the product it delivers. Who better to tell of these changes than script consultant and author Linda Seger. Through interviews with key players such as Sherry Lansing, Dawn Steel, Gillian Armstrong, Marlo Thomas, Linda La Plante, Nora Ephron, Liv Ullman, Loretta Young, Jane Wyman, and many, many others, she shows just what a woman's influence means in what we see - and what we will see much more of in the years ahead - in movie theaters and on our TV screens and how, in turn, that power affects society.

Genres: Film

304 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1996

About the author

Dr. Linda Seger has a Th.D. in Drama and Theology, and created her script consulting business based on her dissertation project about the elements needed to make a script work. She explored the integration of Drama and Spirituality during her five years in seminary. She holds three M.A. degrees: Drama from Northwestern University, Religion and the Arts from Pacific School of Religion, and Feminist Theology from Immaculate Heart College Center.
She has a broad religious background. She grew up Lutheran and did several years of spiritual seeking in her 20s. She became a Born-Again Christian and then joined the Quakers (Society of Friends) and is a member of The Colorado Springs Friends Meeting. Throughout the years, she has meditated at a Zen Buddhist center, attended New Age conferences, has done the spiritual exercises of Saint Ignacious, and has read and taken classes in the religions of the world.
Dr. Seger's thoughts about how spirituality influences her work:

“Many readers are surprised and even confused when they see I’m the most prolific writer in the area of screenwriting, an international screenwriting consultant and a screenwriting teacher. Yet, I also do theology/spiritual books. Some of this comes from having an M.A. In Drama, 2 M.A.s in theology and a ThD in Theology and Drama. They seem to be separate, but they are actually integrated.

Drama shines a light on the human condition. It explores the conflicts, struggles, doubts, uncertainties, and possibilities for transformation and redemption. Even secular drama deals with hope and goodness and the struggle for authenticity and love.

When I consult on scripts, I am trying to help the writer reach deeper into the truth about who we are as humans and what are our possibilities. When I write books on spirituality, I am doing the same thing – digging deeply into our experiences and struggles, and then shining the light of Scripture and theology on making some sense out of what we see and feel. I am trying to get at The Truth and to dig deep into our experiences. So, I never look for easy answers, and I don’t try to pigeonhole either our stories or our spirituality.”

Reviews

[Amy Wolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting, although I would argue that female directors are LOSING power in feature film (besides Bigelow, can you name another current woman feature director?). But women execs in Hollywood continue, though none are actually head of a studio right now (since DreamWorks was eaten by Disney). A good, realistic compendium.