Abrams and Bad Robot disappoint

Let me start off by saying that I am a huge fan of J. J. Abrams — I hope that one day I will be able to be in a room and pitch an idea to the man largely responsible for my choice to come to film school in the first place. His reboot of Star Trek hit me at a time in middle school where I was just forming a tentative idea of what I wanted to do with my life (film) and how I wanted to do it (through the space-time lens of science-fiction).  But something about my love for both the man and his company hasn’t felt right for a while now, and it’s only recently that I’ve realized what it is.

This past week, Bad Robot, the film and television production company owned by Abrams, released 10 Cloverfield Lane, starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Michelle. At the beginning of the film, Michelle (an aspiring Midwestern fashion designer) leaves her fiancé, but as she heads out of town, she gets involved in a severe car crash that renders her unconscious. Hours later, she wakes up in an unknown bunker, and the rest of the film follows how her world has been turned upside down since the crash. The film is centered around Michelle; she’s the first and last character we see in the film, which is great. A female-driven story? Wonderful. Except it isn’t because not only was the film directed by a man, but it was also written by several male screenwriters.

Before we go any further, I am in no way about to declare that male filmmakers cannot direct or write the female perspective. That would be propagating a type of sexism that couldn’t be further from both the truth and my beliefs. Some of my favorite female characters have come from male filmmakers (Holly Hunter’s character in James L. Brooks’ Broadcast News or Noomi Rapace in Ridley Scott’s Prometheus, for instance). Furthermore, I don’t think that there is wholly “one” female perspective that all women can relate to — as if we are all somehow connected by a biological neural network of emotions like that one Na’vi tree in Avatar. Not all women feel or act the same way, and not all men are incapable of writing female characters.

That being said, as I watched 10 Cloverfield Lane, I couldn’t help but wonder how the film would’ve turned out had it been directed by a woman. Or, adversely, when Bad Robot decided to bring on another screenwriter (of which there were three, by the way), a woman could’ve been thrown into the mix. The truth of the matter is that most of Michelle’s actions are not only unfounded but also completely unbelievable. Her motivation seems stretched, invented and lacking all perspective. There was no relatability to her character, and no matter how many moments we were left alone with her during the film, the camera couldn’t quite capture any sense of intimacy or personal connection.

In theory, 10 Cloverfield Lane should’ve checked all of my boxes: Produced by Abrams? Science fiction? Female-driven? Check, check and check. However, stepping out of the theater, I felt cheated; here was this story driven by a conceivably “strong woman” that failed to reach me in any way.

This led me to take a look back on some of Abram’s past work, and I grew dismayed to discover that he hasn’t hired women in prominent positions in either writing or directing for the past several years. The last two Star Trek films were both written and directed by men, and the upcoming film Star Trek Beyond is also directed and written by another set of men. Even Abram’s 2010 foray into the romantic comedy genre Morning Glory starring Rachel McAdams as an ambitious, young news producer looking to carve her way into New York City’s television market place, was directed by a man, but written by a woman.

The reality of this is unacceptable, because even though Abrams has been heralded as a champion of diversity for hiring both a woman and a black man as the two leads of the latest Star Wars reboot, he doesn’t seem to extend that policy beyond his on-camera talent. Of course, there is the saying that you should hire “the best person for the job,” rather than apply a type of affirmative action only meant to reach a quota. But I feel wholeheartedly that Dan Trachtenberg (who had only directed commercials and short films prior to coming onboard 10 Cloverfield Lane) was absolutely ill-equipped and in no way ready to spearhead that film. So why choose him when I know a dozen other female directors who were probably more than ready to direct a tent-pole sci-fi film?

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter this past week, Abrams admitted that the #OscarsSoWhite campaign was a “wakeup call” in terms of hiring diversity below and above the line. He stated that Bad Robot is now encouraging agencies to submit a plethora of new voices and perspectives to the pool of creators already being considered for future projects. But frankly, asking agencies to submit atypical clients does nothing but attempt to mask his historically prejudiced system. Sure, asking for different voices could be considered a good first step, but it’ll take actual action to convince me that I might possibly be able to be in a room pitching to him one day after all. For now, I’m disappointed and disillusioned, waiting for the day that “diversity” is no longer a talking point because the right human is finally hired for the job — regardless of race or gender — not just the right man.

Minnie Schedeen is a a junior majoring in cinema and media studies.  Her column, “Film Fatale,” runs on Mondays.