What this book is about
Hollywood: Her Story, An Illustrated History of Women and the Movies sets out to document that women have been in the film business since the beginning of its existence, when it was a mere flicker of light on the screen. We have done the research to create an historical compilation of the many women who contributed to the Hollywood film industry. Included are around 1200 women who have added their talent and creativity in the many categories needed to make a movie. Some of their stories are known, while some have been all but forgotten. The book is divided into chapters by decades, examining what was happening with women at that point in time in the film industry, from the very beginning to the present. We have found photos for most of these women, giving a unique visual impact for each of the decades.
WHY THIS BOOK IS IMPORTANT
Women have always been approximately 50% of the population, but account for an insignificant amount of recorded history, creating an inaccurate representation of the truth. There have been and are many talented, feisty, wise and witty women who ought to be celebrated. Their stories need to be told and written back into our cultural memories and historical narratives.
This is particularly true with the history of movies. Women were always part of filmmaking. Some of the women in this book are movie icons, but many were often invisible, marginalized or their roles were minimized. When so many of these women are contained in one book, we can easily see that women’s creativity, hard work and flair have helped to create the moving pictures that entertain and reach our hearts and minds on the screens then and today.
Seeing all of these women in one unique book impresses on us the impact that women have had on the film industry. Their amazing accomplishments throughout the decades tell us the true history of Hollywood: Her Story.
The Decades
