by Eric Jost

Right in the middle of women’s history month, a woman made film history! At the 82nd Academy Awards, Kathryn Bigelow won Best Director for her film, The Hurt Locker. She was only the fourth woman to be nominated for the award. The night was also marked by another historic moment when Geoffrey Fletch became the first Black man to win Best Adapted Screenplay for Precious.

The fact that neither of these wins occurred before 2010 is astounding and the Academy should be embarrassed.

Bigelow’s award is not only significant within the confines of the entertainment industry, but it also shatters preconceived notions about the type of films “women directors” are supposed to make -- and the types of films women audiences are supposed to watch. After all, The Hurt Locker isn’t your stereotypical chick flick.

The two most financially successful female directors working in Hollywood today, Nora Ephron and Nancy Meyers, have made their careers by churning out successful and surprisingly original romantic comedies. While their financial and critical success should be applauded, they inadvertently perpetuate the sexist ideal that female writers and directors can only make films targeted at women. This is not to say that all female directors fall into this trap (see Julie Taymor or Mary Harron), but the film industry clearly rewards those women who play into their gender stereotype.

While Ephron and Meyers have become audience favorites, Oscar success has eluded them. Both have been nominated for Best Screenplay awards, but they’ve yet to even be nominated for the director prize. Even the most recent female nominee prior to Bigelow, Sofia Coppola, could only manage a win for Best Original Screenplay in 2004 (she lost to Peter Jackson).

The Academy’s -- and Hollywood at large -- failure to acknowledge, recognize, and foster growth among female directors is a failure on their part to cater movies to a large and diverse audience. Sure, Ephron and Meyers struck gold last year with Julie & Julia and It’s Complicated, but not because every woman in America saw them. Tyler Perry’s success with Black-oriented films that range from the melodramatic to the absurd, as well as the growing number of financially viable LGBTQ films, indicates that there is also an audience for a more diverse array of women-centric movies.

Hopefully Bigelow’s win won’t only affect the types of movies women are allowed to make for women, but create gender equity among film directors. For even though the number of female action heroes has increased, Bigelow remains one of the few women allowed to step behind a camera and direct the bombs and explosions. But hopefully that is about to change.