On this Occasion…
The words that throttle progress.
Last week, 400 female screenwriters signed an open letter to the BBC to express their dismay that a male writer has been commissioned to write a drama based on the 2021 murder of Sarah Everard.
They wrote:
“We are not saying men cannot write about women's experiences. But we are saying that in a case this specific, this raw, and this rooted in the dynamics of power and gender, the question of who tells the story is inseparable from the story itself. To commission a male writer is not a neutral creative decision.”
In response, the BBC hit them with (paraphrased!), we are committed to working with female writers, just not on this occasion.
The problem is that it’s every occasion.
Some years ago, I sold a pitch to a production company. The story wasn’t nearly as sensitive as that of Sarah Everard’s murder, but it was based on a true story, and very much a woman’s story. It was period, set in 1920s Hollywood, which meant it would be high budget and a US co-production. For those reasons, I was perfectly comfortable with the fact I’d never get to be the only or main writer. It’s not imposter syndrome to know you’re not yet qualified to run a production of that scale.
The producers nevertheless assured me that I would be at the centre of the production as the creator, that any showrunner brought in over my head would work closely with me, and that I would be part of the process of hiring them. We also discussed, multiple times and in detail, that any key creatives, particularly those senior to me, (showrunner, director) should be women.
Cut to a few months later, I was abruptly informed that, shock horror, a male writer would be taking over from me.
I objected. I reminded them of all their promises. They smiled and nodded and repeated that while they completely agreed with me, on this occasion, they were going with the straight, white, posh guy.
(Luckily my contract prevented them from hiring a writer without agreeing in good faith with me. It is enraging that it ultimately took a cease and desist letter at great expense to me to unhappily resolve the matter, but I was determined not to let them get away with it. Though the whole thing sucked I’m glad I didn’t.)
Same story with a book I wrote which was picked up for TV adaptation. The theme of the story explores being an outsider, trying to find a way to thrive in a world that wasn’t built for you. While I knew I had no real say in who they hired as screenwriter (they told me they had “considered” me for the job of writer and decided I wasn’t qualified… to write the thing I’d made up in my head. I ask you!), I did express that I felt strongly the writer should be a woman.
Guess who they hired?
Yup. They were absolutely committed to diversity, to telling authentic stories and championing female writers and creatives of colour, except that on this occasion…
There should be a term for this ABSOLUTELY in principle just not this time fallacy. It derails conversations, turns pointing out a valid problematic pattern into why don’t you want this individual man to get a job? What did he ever do to you?
More importantly, it allows the industry to talk the talk of diversity and championing under represented voices, without walking the walk.
As the BBC themselves said in a statement:
The issue of representation and diversity in this industry goes beyond looking at an individual commission in isolation, which will always have its own unique context and complexities.
The problem is that it’s true. There will always be exceptions and reasons for a given commission or casting to go the way it does. You’ve all heard me speak out about the issue of non-Scottish actors playing Scottish roles till I’m blue in the face; yet simultaneously I don’t believe anyone other than Robert Aramayo should have played John Davidson. There will always be a plethora of factors to balance out and sometimes it is what it is.
All that said:
In the case of a drama about a murder seeped in misogyny, it beggars belief that said factors did not balance out in favour of a female screenwriter. The BBC can and must do better, and
The pattern speaks for itself. Nobody is saying there shouldn’t ever be exceptions; we’re saying that the hiring of male (straight, white, posh…) key creatives is not an exception. Nothing will change until we stop pretending it is.
What you need to know this week:
Last week I spoke about being horrifically behind with everything and was immediately hit with a right nasty bastard of a cold, which, it is fair to say, has not helped the situation. A weekend of being mostly flopped on the couch has hopefully done the trick and I seem to be on the mend as of this morning…
I had planned to record the first episode of Flappers & Feminism this week, and still might if my voice sounds less like Kermit the Frog in a day or two!
Keeping everything crossed I’m fully recovered for one of my absolute favourite events, our committee meeting on Wednesday. There’s such a gorgeous buzz of creativity and support as we watch the long list, debate, discuss, decide feedback and narrow to a short list to be put to future Pick of the Pilot audiences. It always reminds me that however many mountains there are yet to build, what we are doing already is important, and that means something.
This is unbelievably disappointing