Danitza Rodriguez

"This Changes Everything", is a documentary film directed by Tom Donahue. The film examines sexism in the film industry specifically in Hollywood. The film interviewed a variety of actresses and female filmmakers on experiences they've had working in the industry. One of the film's main points was about Hollywood's pervasive gender inequalities and limited use of intersectionality.  The film did a great job of examining the sexist and racist issues that women face in the film industry in Hollywood. And not just that but also spoke out about what they've gone through at the beginning and throughout their careers working under men who objectify women. In the film, Sandra Oh spoke about the importance of seeing actresses who looked like her for the first time in "The Joy Luck Club". I can see the impact seeing a woman of her same ethnicity had on Sandra because that was probably the first time she saw that women like her could work in the film industry or be someone in life. Or when Tiffany Haddish, speaks about being surprised and thrilled of seeing Diahann Carroll on "Dynasty" because she was an African-American woman that was playing a character who was of the same social and economic status as Joan Collins' character.  Intersectionality is a metaphor that Kimberle Crenshaw used when specifically speaking about social justice problems. But she didn't just use the term intersectionality to speak about those problems but also for racist and sexist issues which tend to overlap with each other and affect females more than males. And so I believe if more examples of intersectional feminism were used they could've improved the film's main point. By "examples", I mean using a more diverse amount of actresses and female filmmakers such as Laverne Cox, Marlee Matlin, and Marille Talkington. I think that Laverne Cox could've been a great addition to the film because she is one of the first openly transgender women in the film industry. And Marlee and Marille would've also been a great addition to the film because Marlee is deaf and Marille is legally blind and both work in the film industry. So them three would've been great for the film because they could've given a different insight to what being a woman in the film industry is despite sexuality, race, age, or disability. I really liked this film because as a child I wanted to be many things when I grew up. Over the years I wanted to be a doctor, teacher, vet, and actress. And so growing up I thought that being an actress was my dream career because I wanted to be rich and famous and everyone would know my name. But as I got older I learned that there are many advantages and disadvantages to being an actress. Such as I would get to play different characters and it would be fun, or I would be rich and I could provide for my family or the fact that I would be famous and be getting recognized by everyone. But as I got older I learned about men taking advantage of women because they think that just because they're men they hold a "power" over women.  So I believe that this film documentary is a great film to watch for any woman out there. But specifically for women who are thinking about a career in the film industry whether it be as an actress or filmmaker. I think this because the film will help them decide whether the film industry is for them or not. And will also give them the opinion of experienced actresses and filmmakers who have experienced the issues firsthand.