RefAnnBib #2

Part 1: Bibliographic Entry

• Alexandra, Rae. “How Did We Get Here? Marky Mark and the History of Hollywood’s Gender Pay Gap.” KQED, 23 Aug. 2017, https://www.kqed.org/pop/95779/how-did-we-get-here-marky-mark-and-the-history-of-hollywoods-gender-pay-gap. 

Part 2: Terminology/Keywords

• enormous discrepancy
• getting worse
• fear of pushing too hard
• consistently divided financial gender lines
• dominated by men

Part 3: Precis

• Rae Alexandra exposes the ugly truth behind the Hollywood industry and their differences in pay gaps for actors and actresses. Alexandra provides comparisons of wages of actors such as Robert Downey Jr. who made $80 million that year while Jennifer Lawrence had made $52 million. Alexandra even exposes the toxic nature of the industry once someone takes a stand. The article provides video evidence of Patricia Arquette’s acceptance speech at the Oscars where she advocates for equal wages and because of this, she lost job opportunities and offers.

Part 4: Reflection 

• This article provides the audience with evidence of how a major business such as Hollywood, as glamorous as it may seem, is equally as ugly as any other “normal” workforce. It reveals how some of the biggest names in the industry who are female, still manage to make less than men do. The numbers don’t lie, this article provides the fact of the matter that if the wages of ten actresses combined results in less than half of the wage of the top paid actors who are men. It’s upsetting to see women who are just as deserving as their co-stars be paid way less. Yet when women speak up about this discrepancy they only face consequences such as losing job offers. It leaves women with their hands tied, not being able to defend or negotiate this issue without potential being fired. I think this article does a good job shedding light on the issues that women of all industries face this problem, although the women in Hollywood are financially fine regardless of this gap, it still demonstrates the gender discrimination women of all social classes face. The article also mentions how this pay gap seems to be getting worse. I wonder if there will ever be a time where equal pay has become attainable. As much as it would be amazing to reach the level of equality, at the rate it has been going it seems impossible to make a breakthrough.

Part 5: Quotables

• “in 2017 the highest-paid actor in Hollywood was Mark Wahlberg. He made $68 million! The highest-paid actress for the same period was Emma Stone, who pulled in $26 million.”

• “In 2015, according to Variety, the highest-paid actors combined made $431 million. The top ten actresses combined made almost half that — $218 million.”

• “I found out how much less I was being paid than the lucky people with d**ks,”

• “time to have wage equality once and for all, and equal rights for women in the United States of America.”

• “That fear of pushing too hard and losing work puts women in an impossible position — even at the highest levels.”

• “The reason actresses are making less is very simple: the film industry has a very obvious, very systemic sexism problem.”

• “When given the opportunity, women in movies earn just as much for the industry as the men do — and it’s about time their paychecks reflected that.”