[Casting]

The entertainment industry is a very subjective business on practically every level and even more so when it comes to those in front of the camera. While both leading actors and leading actresses in film, TV or theater productions are usually cast because of their talent, looks and sex appeal, Hollywood’s idea of what makes an attractive leading man versus an attractive leading woman can be two completely different ideas. The Hollywood studio’s idea of what makes an attractive leading man is: he can simply be good looking, have a strong jaw line, be charismatic and even be mature in age (e.g. 40+ years old). The leading man may have not even gone to the gym in a couple of years and may be out of shape but nonetheless in Hollywood he will still be considered a “sexy” leading man. On the other hand, the studios expect leading actresses to be absolutely perfect or at least very close to it! The skin has to be flawless, hair has to be beautiful, body has to look like they just stepped out of the gym and she has to look as young as possible. The actress is expected to be all of these things while the leading man, who is playing the role of the husband in the movie, looks like he could be the woman’s father. A good example of this scenario in Hollywood casting is when leading actress Catherine Zeta Jones fell in love with leading actor Sean Connery in the film, “Entrapment”. Sean Connery was old enough to be her father in that film. All this to say that there is simply so much more pressure placed on women in the entertainment industry to be youthful and attractive than is placed on the men. This is not necessarily right but it has been a trend in Hollywood in the past few years.

In any movie you have seen recently, how many times have you seen a actress showing any parts of her body that were not in shape? Rarely. How many times have you seen a leading actor with a sagging chest and a not so flat stomach? I would guess quite a few times. How many times do you see very young women dating or marrying much older men and how many times do you see the reverse situation? You have heard the saying that “Life is a Stage”? I believe that this saying rings true because some things portrayed on the big or small screens by the entertainment industry, though fictitious, are at the very least based on how we really live or how society perceives things.

In society, it is cool for an older man to date a younger woman. People somehow still feel that an older woman dating a younger man is a bit of a problem. It is interesting that people are more concerned about an older woman taking advantage of a younger man as opposed to an older man taking advantage of a younger woman. Which leads to another view of society. It is often said that women mature more rapidly than men do, but how far do we want to go with this? Does the man have to be 30 years his wife’s senior to be on her level mentally and emotionally? If this is true, men have an awful lot of catching up to do.

When it comes to the roles that are available for men and women in show business, there are still a lot of stereotypes and inequities. For example, in most films, men are usually the masterminds behind the project in the plotline. Not very often do you see a female lead heading up some very involved intellectual plot. Females, in most storylines, usually are plotting on a less complicated level like how to steal someone’s baby or how to sleep with someone else’s husband, etc. This stereotype has changed a lot over the last few years with women getting better parts with more developed characters but Hollywood still has a long way to go.

While we have come a long way with the problem of inequality when it comes to the men versus women, there is still a very long way to go. Women are dynamic and capable of so much more than is sometimes depicted in film. As time goes on, maybe this will change and then again, maybe it won’t. There have been a number of strides made in an effort to portray men and women in a more realistic light in films and TV shows. Either this “realistic” trend will continue and grow or things will stay the same and we will have to settle for the “MAGIC” of the movies and remember that it is just make believe.