Film and television audiences have seen Geena Davis on the screen for 30 years, starting with “Tootsie” in 1982 and leading to this month’s TV mini-series “Coma.” She’s played all kinds of women, from an athlete in “A League of Their Own” to the other woman in “The Accidental Tourist,” a role for which she won an Academy Award for best supporting actress.
She was beloved as the browbeaten housewife Thelma, opposite Susan Sarandon in “Thelma & Louise,” and she portrayed Mrs. Eleanor Little in the “Stuart Little” family movies before becoming “Commander in Chief” in the 2005-06 television series.
Known for her height (an impressive 6 feet) and brains (she’s a Mensa member), Davis is also an expert archer (at one time ranking 13th in the nation).
Lately, she has also been busy with the roles of mother (her daughter was born in 2002 and twin boys in 2004) and as an advocate for women and girls, which is what brings her to Denver on Friday. She’ll be the speaker at the 25th annual Women’s Foundation of Colorado luncheon Friday at the Colorado Convention Center.
We caught up with Davis and asked her a few questions via e-mail.
Q: What has been your favorite movie character to portray? Dottie in “A League of Their Own”? Thelma in “Thelma & Louise?”
A: Those are definitely two of my absolute favorites. But I also really liked Charly Baltimore in “Long Kiss Goodnight.” And playing the first woman president on TV (“Commander in Chief,” 2005-2006) was pretty thrilling, I must say!
Q: Your Institute on Gender in Media focuses on children 11 and younger. Why that age?
A: What I didn’t know, until I had a daughter, was how poorly we’re doing by girls in kids’ entertainment! I decided I wanted to help the creators of kids media to realize how few female characters they were putting into what’s made specifically for kids, and how stereotyped those few females characters were — especially in family films. I formed the Institute so I could have the data to back up my perception, and we now have sponsored the largest amount of research ever done on gender representations in media. We’ve chosen to focus on kids 11 and under because if boys and girls grow up seeing a big imbalance in the ratio of male to female characters from the very beginning, they will start to see this imbalance as normal. They may grow up believing that girls aren’t as important as boys.
Q: Can you point to some of the positive media role models out there right now for that age group, in television and/or recent movies?
A: We make it a practice not to point out specific shows or movies, for good or ill. My philosophy is that it’s usually fine, for example, to take your kids to the latest animated film that’s showing — but point out gender imbalance if you see it, and discuss stereotyping and hyper-sexualization of the female characters with them.
Q: What was your personal experience growing up: Were there more positive or negative gender portrayals? Do you think it has gotten better or worse?
A: The research shows that things have stayed pretty much exactly the same: The ratio of male to female characters has been the same since 1946! There’s something very comfortable or familiar to creators about a 3-, 4- or 5-to-1 ratio. I know as a kid there weren’t really any women TV characters I wanted to emulate; my best friend and I used to pretend to be the (male) characters on “The Rifleman!”
Q: Archery has become a popular sport — is it something you continue to practice? How do you feel about the image portrayed by archery wiz Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) in “The Hunger Games?”
A: I haven’t competed in archery for a while now — with the kids still young and my crazy schedule it’s hard to fit in hours of practice. I loved the archery in “Hunger Games,” and in “Brave” as well; both were so well done. The lucky thing for me is that archery is not an age-dependent sport, so I can take it up again anytime.
Suzanne S. Brown: sbrown@ denverpost.com; 303-954-1697; twitter: @suzannebro
A TALK BY GEENA DAVIS, PRESENTED BY THE WOMEN’S FOUNDATION OF COLORADO. The Academy Award-winning actress speaks at the annual fundraiser, 11:30 a.m.-1:15 p.m. Friday at the Colorado Convention Center, 700 14th St. Tickets: $125 for individuals, $250 for the luncheon and VIP reception, at wfco.org or 303-285-2961.
