I try to up the ante in my creative life by going outside my comfort zone, most recently I attended Comic-Con, not as a fan but as a spy. With half of the event’s 130,000 attendees being women, I came looking for gender equality. Immediately I noticed signs posted everywhere addressing the issue of sexual harassment during Cosplay.   Although it is in my wheelhouse,  the effort it would have taken to sexually harass someone in that hot crowded convention center was energy I was not willing to expend.

In addition to revealing costumes  there were women dressed as Supergirl, Batman or Ghost Busters, thanks to the all female cast coming soon to the remake. I’m on the fence about how to costume Pimp Girl, the protagonist in our upcoming action film.  There must be a functionality to the outfit, but not to the point that it acts as a sexual repellent or form of birth control.  Ideas welcome, please leave them in the comments.

My creative partner Justo Diaz and I were excited to attend the Women Who Kick Ass panel featuring among others Kathy Bates and Gwendoline Christie (Brienne of Tarth in the HBO’s Game of Thrones) .  The line for Hall H panels was so long that we just about gave up when we were approached by two pimply faced thirteen year olds who hocked us re-entry passes for $20 a piece.  We tried re-selling them on our exit but went into a shame spiral and gave them away.

Also on the panel was Gal Gadot, the lead in the upcoming Wonder Woman movie.  Apparently there was some fan backlash over her casting because her boobs weren’t big enough.  Does she shoot
lasers out of them?  Are giant boobs a super power of some sort that I’m not aware of? Ay caramba!  My favorite moment during Q&A was when a rabid male fan wanted to know why he was antagonized for wearing his Wonder Woman t-shirt when women can wear a Batman or Superman shirt.  This moment was poignant, because we sometimes forget that men are also evolving.

My heart sank at an earlier panel  when teaser footage was unveiled of Legendary’s Warcraft movie, a tent pole extravaganza with no major female characters –not a villain or hero in the bunch.   But then again, it looked like such an epic flop that like a witness to a homicide, I left there thinking sometimes it’s best not to get involved.

My final thought is that despite the typical display of boobage there was an equal and opposite force of modern female roles. Following this logic, I expect to see more content that inspires and empowers women next year – right?

http://www.geeksforconsent.org/

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/new-all-female-ghostbusters-cast-767610