By Mikael Carlsson
If you own a film music collection, count the number of scores written by female composers. Then count the number by men. Surely you have spotted the difference: very few women compose film scores. And although gender balance has changed over the past 20 years, the facts and figures presented here are indisputable.
In an article I wrote for Music from the Movies, the leading film music magazine, I examined the top-grossing films at the Hollywood box office for the past five years. Out of 500 films, only 12 had scores written, in whole or in part, by female composers. In fact, five of these 12 films had women as co-composers with a male composer sharing the credit, the best-known case being Lisa Gerrard’s involvement in Hans Zimmer’s Gladiator. Gerrard’s work also appears in Layer Cake, Ali and The Insider, where she collaborated with Pieter Bourke. Composer Rachel Portman has scored the largest number of top-grossing films in the past five years: The Manchurian Candidate, Chocolat, The Cider House Rules, The Legend of Bagger Vance, Beloved and The Other Sister.
Why have only 2.4 percent of the 500 top-grossing films in the USA in the past five years been scored by female composers? Music from the Movies tried to find the answer by interviewing a number of woman composers, including Shirley Walker, Rachel Portman, Lolita Ritmanis, Laura Karpman, Debbie Wiseman, Miriam Cutler and Ilona Sekacz, supplemented with input from male composers and other industry experts. Interestingly, this disparity seems somewhat controversial. One prolific male composer sent a polite answer saying he did not want to be interviewed on the subject owing to a bad experience he once had at a film music seminar, during which a bitter argument erupted between a panelist and audience members.
Silverado composer Bruce Broughton—a board member of ASCAP, a member of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and former president of The Society of Composers and Lyricists—responded to this query negatively. He did not think the subject worth pursuing and dismissed the questions as “sexist.” “This is a sort of non-issue from my standpoint,” Broughton wrote in a brief e-mail. “Women composers have as much opportunity as men composers, especially these days. There are several successful women composers in film. Whatever ‘domination’ exists from men is essentially in numbers, in that there are more male composers than there are women composers, but if you mean some sort of control being exerted by using the word ‘domination’ then you’re very much off the mark.”
When we contacted performing rights association BMI to ascertain how many of their composers are female as opposed to male, BMI’s Hanna Bolte replied: “We don’t really break those numbers out like that....We’ve always prided ourselves on not pigeonholing someone based on their personal gender or race, we just focus on the music.”
Our initiative was welcomed with more enthusiasm by the female composers we interviewed. We questioned if they were ever asked to write specifically female music or music approached from a female perspective, and if they had ever been hired to score a film due to their gender or, on the contrary, had been sidestepped for that reason. These were the types of questions Bruce Broughton reacted strongly against, but we felt they needed to be asked, and we received a great deal of feedback. Most answered “no” to these questions, with a few exceptions.
Debbie Wiseman mentioned that the only time a director requested music from “a woman’s perspective” was for the film Before You Go, about three sisters. Laura Karpman, on the other hand, was asked to write music to appeal to young males for her growing list of sci-fi projects. She remarked: “I write the music to fit the drama much more than the audience.” According to Miriam Cutler, “a good composer needs to be able to reflect the voice of any character in the film—male or female, or animal, or force of nature. So, yes, I have been asked to write specifically female music or music that is approached from a female perspective. But I’ve also been the voice of male characters and animals.”
John Ottman is one composer who thinks in terms of feminine or masculine approaches to music. In films such as Goodbye Lover he took a more feminine approach, making it one of his favorite scores simply because he was able to write from the perspective of the main female character. He said:
Pumpkin is another example of getting in touch with my female side, I guess! And these were male-directed films. I’m not sure a composer is often asked specifically to “be masculine” because if you’re a male composer who has done large assertive scores, there’s already a comfort zone that if the score needs to be aggressive, you’ll do it. If I were a female composer, there would probably be some trepidation about my being able to deliver for those kinds of scenes. So ironically, I have a feeling that the only composer who would be likely to be told to be masculine would be a female one.
Robert Townson, the most prolific sound track producer in the business, wrote: “It would be damaging to think of women composers as being uniquely suited for ‘chick flicks,’ to use the most widely accepted phrase for this genre. A female composer can just as easily step into the shoes of the caped crusader and whip up an orchestral frenzy. Conversely, I don’t know if there has ever been more of an estrogen-fest film than Steel Magnolias and Georges Delerue’s score is absolute perfection.”
Preconceptions, like those mentioned by Townson, do exist in the business. Maggie Rodford, a prolific agent, music supervisor and producer, said she believes there are “certain dramatic situations and storylines that a woman would interpret in a slightly different music way to her male counterpart, and obviously the same is true in reverse.” According to Miriam Cutler, a composer best known for the horror scores in the Witchcraft films: “There are directors who prefer working with a woman, or believe a woman might contribute something specific for a particular kind of project. In any business—or any human population for that matter—there are cliques. A lot of times it really boils down to who you know and whether they’ll go to bat for you. Have I experienced sexism in this business? Sure. But I’ve also had great relationships with producers and directors.”
Views on the subject might differ, but the facts remain the same: the film music business— at least when it comes to high profile projects—is clearly dominated by male composers. What is the reason? John Ottman, the composer of scores for X-Men 2, The Usual Suspects and Apt Pupil, provided the following analysis:
It’s simply been women not being viewed as having the “chops” that males have— especially when it comes to “commanding” scores, or those with aggression. The misconception is that women composers tend to be meek, less bold or daring. And if they try to do so, the prejudice against them is that their efforts are seen as contrived or forced; in other words, trying to imitate boldness and not doing it naturally. So women composers have been in a sort of “Catch 22.” Because of this, I assume there are not as many women composers even trying to get into an uphill battle because they’re discouraged being faced with a glass ceiling.
One woman who has successfully challenged the preconceptions is Shirley Walker. “She was one of the first lady composers to really tackle what had been a man’s podium—action and adventure film music, and she did it just as good as any man who came before her,” said film music historian Randall D. Larson. According to him, the ground-breaking moment was the score for John Carpenter’s Memoirs of an Invisible Man, composed and conducted by Shirley Walker in January 1992, the first time a woman composed and recorded a sound track for a major Hollywood high budget film. Walker does not believe the lack of female composers in the film music business is a question of quality work. She wrote:
There are many more women carving out space for themselves in the profession now. As they build their relationships in the business, they will have success. It’s the same for the male composers; they have to create lasting professional collaborations with directors, editors, music supervisors, and producers who have continuous output. I do think that women compete in a different fashion than men do, so it’s easier for men who make hiring and marketing decisions to favor an up and coming male composer over a female one. The genre of the film has an impact here as well. There is an expectation in the business that men are better action writers than women.
Shirley Walker is one of several female composers who has proven this expectation as unrealistic; for examples, listen to her scores for Turbulence, Final Destination, Escape from L.A. or Willard. Walker mentioned that Hans Zimmer teased her about this, remarking jokingly that if she would write music that women are expected to write, she would have more success in the industry. Walker noted that assignments dealing with female subjects are not necessarily easier for female composers to obtain.
Laura Karpman, the composer behind the score for the Steven Spielberg sci-fi TV series, Taken, commented that “the projects that you might think would be a perfect movie for a woman to score—where the majority of the cast and above the line talent is made up of women, and where the subject matter addresses feminist issues—almost invariably go to men. Go figure.” Other female composers have found that contrary to statistics, their gender has been an advantage. Ilona Sekacz, the British composer best known for her scores for Antonia’s Line and Mrs. Dalloway, believes she has had a number of opportunities based solely upon her gender. She said: “About sixty-five percent of my work is with female directors. This is because some female directors just feel more comfortable supported by a high percentage of female co-workers. Male composers would write equally good music, but the human contact/empathy/ vibe/call-it-what-you-will, would be different.”
The majority of the composers we interviewed did not think that being a woman has any special advantages when it comes to understanding and interpreting a film musically. Debbie Wiseman, the composer of critically acclaimed scores such as Wilde, Tom and Viv and Haunted, said: “All I ever try to do is compose music that suits the film—sometimes it’s big and brash; sometimes it’s delicate and melodic; but all it should ever be in my mind is music that is seamlessly linked to the picture. No one has ever said to me that they wanted me to compose the score simply because I’m female. It’s always been on the strength of the music— and I hope it always will be.”
Interestingly, the fact that film music is male-dominated never occurred to any of our interviewees at the outset of their film-scoring careers. Debbie Wiseman went to a music college where the female composers outnumbered the male. On the other hand, Rachel Portman attended both an all-boys’ school and a college that was 90-percent male; she commented: “I guess it felt natural to be a woman in a male dominated world.” For Miriam Cutler, the fact that film scoring is dominated by men was never really an issue. She said: “I’ve played in all male bands and all female bands. I just keep my eye on my own goals and create my own path. Would it have been easier if I wasn’t a woman—I don’t know. But I’m very happy where I am today—working on meaningful projects with good people who are all as dedicated to doing their best work as I am.”
Shirley Walker explained that she was mentored into the business by two male music editors: Dan Carlin Sr. and Jr. “I had no thoughts at all about the profession being male dominated. I was so excited to have the opportunity, it never occurred to me that being a woman would make a difference one way or the other.” Walker, in turn, was the person who gave Lolita Ritmanis, a prolific composer in television with shows such as Superman and The Zeta Project, her first major opportunity to work as a composer on Batman: The Animated Series. Ritmanis said:
Prior to that moment I was earning a living as an orchestrator for large-scale feature films as well as for TV. I never gave much thought to the fact that the business was male-dominated....Do people notice that I am a woman? Of course. I think, if anything, it has been an advantage, just to set me apart from the pack. I think it is much harder for a male composer to break through the ocean of men to get noticed— and remembered. This business, unfortunately, is also about appearances. Some composers dress in a funky style—or change their name to sound more exotic...it’s all part of the game. I take no offense if someone refers to me as the tall blonde woman composer....I have truthfully never understood the curiosity that people have regarding what sex or race a particular composer is. One’s musical voice transcends gender and race. I challenge anyone to a blind listening test to pinpoint “Oh, that cue was written by a female composer.”
Ritmanis’ views about comparisons between female and male composers are similar to those of most of our interviewees.
To answer the key question in this article: “Why are there so few female composers in the film music business?” it would be appropriate to examine the history of the industry. We asked Randall D. Larson to offer a brief historical summary, and he replied:
It is a sad truth that, until a decade or two ago, women in general had a difficult time cracking into the movie business. There were a few exceptions—Elisabeth Lutyens, for example, scored British films in the 60s while also gaining fame as a classical composer, but she was a rare exception. Wendy Carlos, formerly Walter, was one of the first to gain respect as a composer. Angela Morley, also formerly a “Walter” and with a film scoring history under that gender during the 50s, did some notable scores during the 70s and 80s. Both of them, with gender issues aside, established themselves in the musical or film-musical world prior to their gender changes, which may have influenced their acceptance, since they were already established. But until the advent of Shirley Walker, Rachel Portman, Cynthia Millar, and others, film music was a man’s world. I don’t know if this was an intentional sexual bias, or just another example of myopic Hollywood pigeonholing—the idea that “women can’t write dramatic music” along the same lines that “John Williams writes swashbuckling orchestral film scores so I won’t hire him to score a horror film or a light romantic comedy” and such nonsense.
Robert Townson commented that one should not focus specifically on film composers, and that the real question lies in the age-old exclusion of women from most of the creative arts by the greater society at large. Debbie Wiseman related the lack of female composers in the film business to the male dominance in other aspects of film making. She said: “I think there are so few female composers in the industry for exactly the same reasons there are fewer female directors, camera operators, editors, etcetera. The media as a whole is quite male-dominated, but this is changing all the time and I’m delighted that I’m working regularly with more female producers and directors.” Another important reason surfaced regarding male domination in film music; Laura Karpman observed that there are not enough women in music schools studying composition. She said that whenever she is a guest lecturer, she makes a point of speaking to young women composers, hoping to inspire and encourage them, and show them that there are women who have successful careers writing music.
Allowing more female composers into the film business seems an important issue for most of the people we interviewed. Lolita Ritmanis optimistically remarked “that the climate in the film music community is rapidly changing. There are more and more women in the industry....Look at how many studios have a woman at the helm. They are not there because of their gender—they are there because they are good at what they do.” Maggie Rodford does not think there is any particular prejudice that has to be overcome to ensure that women are considered in the film music business: “The key factor is to have more women pursue composing for film and presenting really great music. The discussion about women and men both working in film music is important to me, but I do not think that we can artificially ‘skew’ the reality of the market place.”
Advice to aspiring female composers by women already in the business is mostly about hard work, talent and persistence; for example, Debbie Wiseman recommended: “Forget about being a woman and just get on with learning to be as good as possible at the job. Talent is far more important than gender— if you’re good at your job then that’s all that will matter.” Laura Karpman added that “it is important for young women to exude the same kind of confidence that they see in young men.” Shirley Walker, however, commented: “There are only a few slots a year for newcomers whose careers will soar right away. Perception matters. The commercial film industry worships success more than quality.”
Based upon our interviews and other research, we concluded that the number of film scores being written by women is still very low but growing slowly and steadily. None of the female composers who are successful in the business ever thought of it as a male-dominated industry when they entered it, and maybe that is a key to success. Some of the composers believe there are differences between what male and female perspectives can bring to the screen, while some of them do not. But all of them share the same kind of optimism when it comes to seeing more women in the industry in the future.
Miriam Cutler provided the final words of advice:
I’m a feminist and proud of it. I recognize the huge sacrifices that so many women before me have made to make my life possible. I think if younger women understood where we might be if those women hadn’t done so much, they might feel more appreciation. Of course, there is still a lot of inequality—even in the arts—even in show business. But I am a firm believer in the individual taking the initiative to achieve her goals, no matter what the obstacles. Talent, hard work, tenacity. Look at women such as Barbara Streisand, Hillary Clinton, Laurie Anderson, Tina Turner, Joni Mitchell, Laura Nyro, Lucille Ball. Anything is possible.
Mikael Carlsson is news editor and chief correspondent for Music from the Movies (http:// www.musicfromthemovies.com). The above article is a revised version of an article he wrote for that journal in 2004.