Geena Davis Talks About Gender Inequality and her Career in Hollywood


Geena Davis became a household name with the film "Thelma & Louise" back in 1991. Since then, she has had a long career in the movie industry and as an activist to denounce gender inequality in Hollywood.  In this interview, she talks to The Irish Times about The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, which she launched and has successfully managed for two decades; about sexual harassment and the #MeToo movement; about being a mother in her 40's and about her career in general. 

The interview is long and the language includes some colloquial, American slang, so it is suitable for C1 students. You will surely find new words and expressions like: Hot dog!, harassment, prejudice, a sweatsuit, athleisure, a bra, knickers, snappy, personable, pals, cosy, lockdown, a homebody, downtime, to snuggle, to wipe, to scrub, to account for, to make up the top 100 grossing films, far-fetched, endeavour, to focus on, to launch, a toddler, her jaw dropped to the floor, gender bias, a dwarf, to gather data, mainstream industry, misogynistic, ennui, in the wake of [#MeToo], to wash away, to retrench, to read up on [a topic], pluckiness, to be let down, a slash, a hit, to go by, a lap, an audition, a [film] set, to fall off the cliff, blithely, femalecentric, tippy-top, high profile, a cameo appearance, a trailer, a showgirl, an outfit, rhinestones, high-powered women, onscreen, lingerie, to start out, to bat a question away, to land a role [or a job], a flop, shattered, to starve, to gasp, to live up to your expectations, to shrink, to vanish.

If you want to listen to Geena Davis's voice, you can listen to this 27 minute, Fresh Air interview to herself and to director Maria Giese, where Geena Davis talks, about her acting career, her Institue on Gender in Media and gender inequality in Hollywood. This is radio interview, which was originally broadcast on NPR in 2019, covers some of  the very same topics as the The Irish Times article above, but it is recommeded for C2 students, even with the help of the script. 

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