Where the girls aren't

[Emma]

Anybody hear about this? I missed out on the panel cause a) I didn't hear about it and b) I'm up here in northern california and completely broke.

Here are the links:
where the girls aren't - announcement
notes+photos from the panel

I think this is really interesting. I would have liked to have gone, just to have heard what all these guys (and girls!) had to say on female characters and women in animation.

Female characters and their general lack of presence in crowd scenes/as secondary characters and even as main characters has been kind of a flame-y topic over the past couple of months... every place I've seen someone mention that there should be more representation of various different female characters (and not just the romantic interest) on screen has gotten fierce argument, if not a total flame war.

What do you guys think?

[moro]

Hmmm...Well, my film this year is about a girl, so I guess I'm doing my part...(She's flawed and obnoxious, too!=p)

[lissa]

Animation, and mainstream film in general, is primarily a boys club. That's not to say that men aren't capable of making stories focusing on strong, female leads (that aren't, say, leather clad warrior princesses), but the lack of said character types doesn't seem to stand out as much to them, at least not to the dudes i've talked to.
Although, on the other hand you'd really be hard-pressed to find a film about a dude that's not either all explosions, or some kind of romance. I'd say Jurassic Park (which has dinosaurs instead of explosions), but Ellie Statler is right there with Alan Grant and she kicks some pretty decent booty. I refuse to count that "hacker" girl. She sucks.

My film's also about a girl! Either that or a squirrel of undecided gender. I suppose it COULD be a lady squirrel, but not much point is really made of it one way or the other.