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From #MeToo to breakthrough: How social movements drive innovation
#MeToo forced Hollywood to reckon with its past — but did it actually change the future of filmmaking?
Looking at years of behind-the-scenes and on-screen data, associate professor Hong Luo explores how the wide-spread social movement did — and did not — change movie-making; how stigma, coordination and market-wide shocks influence organizational behaviour; and why large-scale movements can create opportunities for change that just weren’t profitable or possible before.
Show Notes
Show notes
[0:22] It’s been nearly a decade since the New York Times broke the news of Harvey Weinstein’s abuse of women in Hollywood, sparking the #MeToo movement, which called out multiple men in the film and TV industry.
[1:28] Meet Hong Luo, an associate professor of strategic management at the Rotman School of Management, who studies how industry-wide innovation happens. So, in the wake of #MeToo, she turned her attention to Hollywood.
[2:49] Women are underrepresented behind the camera in Hollywood – and while many factors contribute, widespread sexual abuse is among one of the reasons.
[3:36] To determine whether #MeToo had the power to change the film industry, she looked at how film teams associated with Harvey Weinstein changed compared to those not associated with him.
[4:37] Producers with a history of working with Weinstein were more likely to hire female talent behind the camera after the #MeToo movement than those without.
[5:55] Lots of reasons probably drove the change, but Hong hypothesizes that the publicity and associated guilt helped the change along.
[6:54] One key finding; projects that had at least one woman on the creative team were more likely than those without to make it to theatre.
[8:06] After the behind-the-camera shift, Hong wanted to know if more female-fronted stories were told.
[8:31] If the team behind the scenes was all male, then yes – they were more likely to produce a movie with a female lead. But if the team had a woman, then no – they were more likely to work on male-fronted stories.
[9:11] This is likely a result of how people felt the need to respond in the face of widespread social pressure.
[9:39] All-male teams tended to develop female characters that conformed to traditional gender stereotypes.
[10:53] Ok, so #MeToo changed Hollywood; what does that mean for other industries? Well, to really understand how social movements can spur innovation, let’s look also at the medical device industry.
[12:18] Social movements let industries capitalize on a need for change that would have otherwise been too expensive or unprofitable before.
[14:16] But when the movement wanes, momentum of the change also falters.
[14:38] But for advocates, the long game is probably worth it: “The literature shows that when you actually have more female talent in a particular field, especially if those talent could use that opportunity to gain experience and gain track record…then we may actually sustain more longer run change.”
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By Rotman School of Management#MeToo forced Hollywood to reckon with its past — but did it actually change the future of filmmaking?
Looking at years of behind-the-scenes and on-screen data, associate professor Hong Luo explores how the wide-spread social movement did — and did not — change movie-making; how stigma, coordination and market-wide shocks influence organizational behaviour; and why large-scale movements can create opportunities for change that just weren’t profitable or possible before.
Show Notes
Show notes
[0:22] It’s been nearly a decade since the New York Times broke the news of Harvey Weinstein’s abuse of women in Hollywood, sparking the #MeToo movement, which called out multiple men in the film and TV industry.
[1:28] Meet Hong Luo, an associate professor of strategic management at the Rotman School of Management, who studies how industry-wide innovation happens. So, in the wake of #MeToo, she turned her attention to Hollywood.
[2:49] Women are underrepresented behind the camera in Hollywood – and while many factors contribute, widespread sexual abuse is among one of the reasons.
[3:36] To determine whether #MeToo had the power to change the film industry, she looked at how film teams associated with Harvey Weinstein changed compared to those not associated with him.
[4:37] Producers with a history of working with Weinstein were more likely to hire female talent behind the camera after the #MeToo movement than those without.
[5:55] Lots of reasons probably drove the change, but Hong hypothesizes that the publicity and associated guilt helped the change along.
[6:54] One key finding; projects that had at least one woman on the creative team were more likely than those without to make it to theatre.
[8:06] After the behind-the-camera shift, Hong wanted to know if more female-fronted stories were told.
[8:31] If the team behind the scenes was all male, then yes – they were more likely to produce a movie with a female lead. But if the team had a woman, then no – they were more likely to work on male-fronted stories.
[9:11] This is likely a result of how people felt the need to respond in the face of widespread social pressure.
[9:39] All-male teams tended to develop female characters that conformed to traditional gender stereotypes.
[10:53] Ok, so #MeToo changed Hollywood; what does that mean for other industries? Well, to really understand how social movements can spur innovation, let’s look also at the medical device industry.
[12:18] Social movements let industries capitalize on a need for change that would have otherwise been too expensive or unprofitable before.
[14:16] But when the movement wanes, momentum of the change also falters.
[14:38] But for advocates, the long game is probably worth it: “The literature shows that when you actually have more female talent in a particular field, especially if those talent could use that opportunity to gain experience and gain track record…then we may actually sustain more longer run change.”