This has been the most turbulent start to a semester in my two years at Olin. I started with 18 credits of classes and OCO, for a total of 19 credits. I was taking UOCD, PDEs, MechSolids, and the special topics course Paradigms, Predictions and Joules. Within a couple weeks, it became clear to me that PDEs required a different level of understanding of math than I had, or at least a different way of thinking that would require more time to grasp than I had to give. After a late night discussion with a close friend, I decided, on the last day of Add/Drop, to drop PDEs and pick up Thermo. This decision was a lifesaver for me, and is one I wholeheartedly stand behind. Thermo is more closely and concretely connected to my interests of energy, sustainability, and systems thinking than PDEs.

This brings me forward to the first Candidate’s Weekend. On Wednesday of that week (an Olin Monday), the narrative running through my head, of feeling like I’m drowning in work and commitments and feeling like I wasn’t cut out for Olin but didn’t want to leave, caused me to step out of class. It was the closest to a mental breakdown that I’ve come in my life, and it was scary. I was trying to hide my turbulent emotions, to maintain the façade that everything was okay, that I could handle everything. But I knew that something had to give. I wasn’t able to put the time or effort into any of my classes, meaning that I was struggling to varying degrees in all of them, feeling like a poor teammate in UOCD and PPJ, and that I was putting in the minimum effort but the maximum that my time allowed on problem sets in Thermo and MechSolids. I kept thinking, something has to give.

My realization now is that the thing that needs to give is bigger than my personal decision to drop MechSolids in favor of the other three classes that more closely correlate to and support my interests, because I know I’m not the only one who has felt inadequate and experienced this level of stress. The thing that needs to give is the feeling among students at Olin, propagated and fueled by students at Olin, that everyone needs to do everything, and needs to do everything well. These are two things that do not always go together. Some people are able to take 20 credits and be the leader of a project team and hold down an on-campus job. I have no idea how they do it, but they can, and more power to them. But what is important, if not necessary, to realize is that not everyone can do that, and that’s OK. As a community, we need to take a step back and consider why we are doing what we’re doing, both on an individual level and a community level, and what effects it might be having on the health of the Olin system and the students that compose it.

By stepping back, I realized that I am not a Mech:E. When I think of Mech:Es, I think of someone spending a lot of time using SolidWorks and devoting themselves to vehicle teams and working in the machine shop. I can think of many people who embody what a Mech:E is (and I’m guessing you’re thinking of some right now). But that’s not me. What really excites me, however, is sustainability, renewable energy, and green building. That is why I am in love with PPJ and Thermo. For me, being a Mech:E doesn’t help me accomplish my learning goals. I was learning in MechSolids, true, but at the cost of not learning as much as I want to in PPJ and Thermo and UOCD.

My point in sharing this story is that as a community, we need to be more cognizant of how other people learn, what they want to learn, and why they make their decisions, and then let them do that. I have a feeling that some people reading this article will think that I am quitting, that I could have continued with all four courses and passed, maybe even gotten A’s. And maybe that’s true, but what you’re not considering is that, at least for me, doing so would have come at the expense of my happiness, my duties as an R2 and a friend, and my learning. And those three things are not worth living up to the Olin status quo.

Let’s change the status quo to be doing what YOU are capable of and what YOU want to do, instead of what it SEEMS you should be capable of and what it SEEMS you should want to do. Because then we can all get back to what we came here for: learning, growth, and enjoying our time at Olin.

The film industry is based on a formula that “works.” Namely, a formula that makes money and a formula that is safe–and if you think about how much time, how many people, how much money, and how much love and care and effort that goes into making a film–it makes sense.

I was once told by a screenwriter, no one ever sets out to make a bad movie. But, like most businesses, they will not make anything unless profit is guaranteed – which is why you get sequels dragged into the ground and continual reboots are so prevalent despite the cry for originality. It does not matter how much people rant and rave about how great a film is, the box office speaks the loudest. If a film flies, expect sequels. If it flops, say goodbye. Dreamworks, for example, had an entire series planned for The Road to El Dorado, which was canceled because it was a box office flop and historically their worst financial film of all time at a total loss of $45 million [1].

That said, my point is that Hollywood is saturated with movies of white male protagonists and supporting females, because it is a formula that sadly sells. Strong female leads unfortunately do not – part because most films that pass the Bechdel test flop (this is false, but it’s Hollywood’s biggest argument [2]) – part because even if female moviegoers buy tickets, they don’t buy merchandise of male-targeted movies (strong females or not) [3] – part because even if over half the movie goers are female, they are watching male lead movies so why should anything change [4]? Also, don’t forget that the “rest of the world” is considered a market. Not just the US.

Well, I’m going to tell you a secret – there are a LOT of movies out there with female leads who are pretty awesome. It may not be the majority of films, but they very much exist.

They just get snuffed out by marketing. And memory. People dismiss their actions. And then the whole movie itself is mocked and torn to pieces when they don’t get it right, making the standards too high and the “risk” of making a movie with a female lead more daunting.

Let’s pick on Disney – and the phenomenon that acclaimed Frozen as being a revolutionary feminist film.

Remember Pocahontas? The Native American princess that threw her head on John Smith’s own as her father was about to beat his brains out and trigger a war that would have ultimately ended in genocide, and who eventually dumped John Smith for someone else because he was a jerk. It is not uncommon to exclude her from the Disney princess line up – along with Tiana, Mulan, and yes – sometimes Jasmine.

How about Melody from the Little Mermaid 2 – that mother, daughter story where the mother is not abusive and there are no men involved beyond a random crush stereotypical of budding puberty? Ariel’s daughter has never been included in the Disney princess line up because Ariel having a daughter probably ruins the fact that Ariel is marketed as a 16 year old (and with Melody, she is in her 30’s).

And for those of you wondering why Kida is not a Disney princess, it was because Atlantis was a box office meh. Just like Road to El Dorado, it had planned spin-offs focusing on its other characters that was quietly dropped. The Submarine voyage in Disneyland was originally intended to be Atlantis theme, and was changed into Finding Nemo for similar reasons [5].

Disney has a stream of female-lead movies, because “The Princess Franchise” is primarily what it is – a franchise. In fact, it is the #1 franchise in the world (Star Wars is #2) which is why they can experiment in the “dangerous waters” of female leads [6] due to the discovery that girls and women buy feminism [7]. The chiming word this time: merchandising – the other major lever on a film’s success outside of the box office.

Merchandising is why Pixar made a sequel for Cars (made $10 billion in 5 years on merchandising alone [8]). It’s why Young Justice, a wonderful show with a 50-50 male-female show of DC sidekicks, got canceled – because females were half the watchers and they “don’t buy boy’s toys” [9]. With the Disney franchise, toys go with the movies, showers of pretty dolls and dresses little girls are expected to beg their parents to buy. Throw in a minor side-kick character plushie like Flounder or Olaf for the boys. (As a side note, Disney does not include Princess Leila in their Star Wars merchandising, and Gamora for the Guardians of the Galaxy because Star Wars and Marvel are “for boys” [10].)

But moving away from Disney and animation. What about other movies with female leads? Why aren’t they all over our Facebook and tumblr feeds? Is it because movies actually lack a strong female characters, that the writing is bad so they are flat and boring, that the actress herself did poorly so it is not a performance worth acknowledging, or that we get so wrapped up with the men, we stop noticing the women?

Do we ever talk about the lead from Silence of the Lambs? Ignoring the fact that Hannibal was a supporting character popular enough for his own spin off franchise, of course. Do we ever talk about Alice in Wonderland? Because you’d think with every remake they do someone will acknowledge Alice as an iconic character like the Mad Hatter and Cheshire cat (kudos to the Queen of Hearts for escaping). How about the Wizard of Oz? How about Annie? Girl with the Dragon Tattoo? Alien? Kill Bill? Precious? Million Dollar Baby? Easy A? Juno? The Help? Epic? Amelie? Iron Jawed Angels? Doubt? Coraline? Pan’s Labyrinth? Mary Poppins? One Night with the King? Prayers for Bobby? Legally Blond? Anything with Angelina Jolie? Every single horror movie not written by Stephen King ever? Gothika actually takes a spin on that and makes the female lead a black woman!

Or maybe, moving back to animation – here’s an even harder question – do you watch the Barbie franchise? Their most recent film was where Barbie got kissed by a chemically altered bug and gained flight, super strength, and the ability to shoot energy balls (also includes female twin engineers and questionable physics related to lava). Or how about the Tinker Bell franchise? It explores the back story of Tinker Bell, an overly curious tinker fairy and Tesla of the fairy world. Pirates and more questionable physics included.

If you don’t watch these, then why not? Because you never heard of them? Because they are for kids? Because you don’t think they are good? Or because they are “too girly”? Yeah – Barbie is all about her signature color of pink and “buy my dolls!” merchandising, despite the fact that she breaks more stereotypes than Disney films and can easily pass as a feminist heart throb. If you get past what she looks like, you discover she is also smart and a bit quirky. Tinker Bell is too.

However, a funny observation I’ve had is that movies targeted at girls are often considered inferior to those targeted at boys. After all, the cry for an original female superhero is loud. But why would boys be interested in magical sparkle transformations as they discover they are actually the long lost merman prince of Oceana with pearl power and a faithful pet fish? As a side question, does anyone else use “chick flick” as a derogatory term?

That said, I am not here to convince you to watch movies normally targeted at “little girls.” I am here to encourage you, if you want more of a certain type of movie, support it in every way you can, especially if you are not the target audience.

It is not getting better just because Hunger Games and Maleficent exist; it has actually gotten worse. In 2014, there were fewer movies with female leads than there were back in 2002 [11]. And at $90 million, 50 Shades of Grey is the highest gross film of all time with a female lead, a female director, and a 70% female audience on opening weekend (Frozen was $67 million) [12].

So stop harping on Disney Princesses to lead the way – they have been for years and people who are supposed to make animated films of pretty animated girls in dresses (or teenagers if you will) are not the ones to do it. Remind all of Hollywood you want epic female characters leading the way and nothing else will do. That you would pay to see female-lead movies more than any other film. That gender marketing is absurd. That live actresses are as well beloved and capable as animated ones. That female supporting characters are epic and deserve spin off series just as much as Despicable Me’s minions, Hannibal, and Wolverine. Drive the demand out hard – especially if you are a guy. With the deepest respect, if a heavily female audience goes to watch a movie targeted at a female audience, big whoop – that was supposed to happen. That is how gender marketing works.

So put a kink in that formula of expectations. Make that “risky” market look juicy so Hollywood has no choice but to step out of their comfort zone – and that if they flop, it’s a stepping stone – not an “I told you so” dead end. Give them confidence that the years of time, script writing, finding actors, introducing revolutionary animation/graphics, reputation investment, production costs, advertising, actually shooting the movie and so much, much more – is worth that “risk.”

Citations
[1]:http://www.pajiba.com/seriously_random_lists/the-ten-biggest-animated-flops-of-all-time.php
[2]:http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2014_04/fivethirtyeight_analysis_movie049791.php
[3]: http://www.dailydot.com/geek/fans-notice-lack-of-gamora-merchandise/
[4]:http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2014/03/27/mpaa_2013_numbers_women_buy_half_of_all_movie_tickets_but_that_won_t_mean.html
[5]:http://www.latimes.com/travel/la-trw-nemo11jun11-story.html
[6]:http://variety.com/2013/biz/news/disney-star-wars-princesses-licensing-1200498040/
[7]: https://www.beaconreader.com/teresa-jusino/when-feminism-becomes-a-marketing-tool
[8]:http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jun/21/business/la-fi-ct-cars2-20110621
[9]: http://io9.com/paul-dini-superhero-cartoon-execs-dont-want-largely-f-1483758317
[10]:http://www.dailydot.com/geek/fans-notice-lack-of-gamora-merchandise/
[11]:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/10/female-movie-protagonists-2014_n_6652366.html
[12]:http://variety.com/2015/film/news/box-office-fifty-shades-of-grey-explodes-with-record-breaking-

I recently sent out a survey asking students to answer a few questions about what sexuality they identify as and whether or not they considered themselves “out” to the community. The results confirmed some ideas that I have been noticing this year that have been bothering me. Out of the 117 responses that I received, a significant percentage of our population, 20% identified as LGBTQ. Olin has a heavy physical presence of LGBTQ students on campus. Unfortunately, this large population has little to no presence as an LGBTQ body. OPEN, the LGBTQ club on campus, has had almost no participation this year. As president, I really just want the club to exist as a place where people who identify as LGBTQ and allies can gather and be friendly every once in a while. This allows people to realize that they aren’t alone as an LGBTQ student, and allows the rest of the Olin community to realize that we are a large percentage of the population (maybe they should stop assuming they know people’s sexuality) and are all awesome people.

I have heard many people voice that the reason that they don’t attend OPEN meetings is because they feel like Olin is a place where LGBTQ treatment is not an issue. Everyone is cool with it. There is no need to try to continue to improve Olin’s openness to minority sexualities.

The fact is that Olin is not an ideal place for LGBTQ students. Although 20% of students identified as queer, another 11% were unsure or other. Of those students that identified as queer, unsure, or other, only 20% considered themselves “out” to the Olin community. 31% said that they were not out on campus or they were only out to a few close friends. Another 37% said that “coming out” was not important to them. I have personally encountered Oliners that faced confusion when they began coming out to their friends. Students are assumed straight unless otherwise stated, especially male students. Hetero-normative statements can be found in all areas of campus, perpetuating this assumed-straight idea and making many LGBTQ students uncomfortable. Wellesley asked students for their preferred pronoun when they enter orientation. No assumptions are made about gender or sexuality. Why can’t Olin have a similar culture?

Olin advertises itself as a diverse place open and accepting of all backgrounds and lifestyles. Along with gender, sexuality is another area that Olin is succeeding in creating a diverse campus. The issue is that it doesn’t feel that way due to the the inactivity of those students that identify as LGBTQ as a body. The stronger the presence we have, the less often hetero-normative comments and assumptions will be made. Olin students aren’t purposefully being close-minded, they just don’t realize that they are perpetuating ideas that go against what Olin stands for. By lowering these types of occurrences, we will create a community where those 17% of students who identify as LGBTQ but have not come out to Olin feel comfortable being themselves. Even if you are comfortable identifying as LGBTQ, or feel like it is not necessary to be an active ally, think about the Oliners who don’t feel comfortable fully expressing themselves on our campus. Do something to make this campus a better place to be gay.

I want to challenge people to do more, care more. Make Olin a more open place. If you identify as LGBTQ and didn’t see a purpose in participating in OPEN before, I hope you can recognize that participation shows others that Olin does care. That they have people to relate to. If you are an ally, and you want people to feel welcome, then show you care. Bring attention to hetero-normative comments and assumptions you come across. Be receptive when someone hints that they might identify as LGBTQ. Recognize that sexuality is a spectrum; people won’t fall into neat little boxes. Understand that just because someone else has never been attracted to someone of one gender, that does not mean that person never will. I challenge us as a campus to stop assuming.